Volume 5, June 2014, Pages 95–105
Advances in the Paleopathology of Scurvy: Papers in Honor of Donald J. Ortner
Adult scurvy in New France: Samuel de Champlain's “Mal de la terre” at Saint Croix Island, 1604–1605
- a Programs in Physical Therapy and Sociology/Anthropology, Utica College, 1600 Burrstone Road, Utica, NY 13502, USA
- b Department of Anthropology, University of Maine, 5773 South Stevens Hall, Orono, ME 04469-5773, USA
- Received 17 February 2013, Revised 14 April 2014, Accepted 18 April 2014, Available online 14 May 2014
Abstract
Diagnosing
scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) in adult skeletal remains is difficult
despite documentary evidence of its past prevalence. Analysis of 20
European colonists buried at Saint Croix Island in New France during the
winter of 1604–1605, accompanied by their leader Samuel de Champlain's
eyewitness account of their symptoms, provided the opportunity to
document lesions of adult scurvy within a tightly dated historical
context. Previous diagnoses of adult scurvy have relied predominantly on
the presence of periosteal lesions of the lower limbs and excessive
antemortem tooth loss. Our analysis suggests that, when observed
together, reactive lesions of the oral cavity associated with palatal
inflammation and bilateral lesions at the mastication muscle attachment
sites support the differential diagnosis of adult scurvy. Antemortem
loss of the anterior teeth, however, is not a reliable diagnostic
indicator. Employing a biocultural interpretive approach, analysis of
these early colonists’ skeletal remains enhances current understanding
of the methods that medical practitioners used to treat the disorder
during the Age of Discovery, performing rudimentary oral surgery and
autopsies. Although limited by a small sample and taphonomic effects,
this analysis strongly supports the use of weighted paleopathological
criteria to diagnose adult scurvy based on the co-occurrence of specific
porotic lesions.
Keywords
- Adult scurvy;
- Oral lesions;
- Dental retention;
- Renaissance medicine
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