Introduction

In 1970, a multidisciplinary study was initiated by the Peruvian government under my direction to evaluate health conditions in a population group which had lived in a relatively stable environment for some 5,000 years. So far, American and Peruvian archeologists, anthropologists, radiologists, anatomic, oral, neuro- and clinical pathologists, chemists, immunologists, an otologist, and students from many different disciplines have been involved in the study which has been supported largely by the National Geographic Society with many individual contributions

Treatment of Head Wounds in Pre-Columbian and Colonial Peru

As is frequently the case, art objects often depict the life in a particular civilization, thus giving a visual record of a people where the people themselves have disappeared. Peru is one of the areas of the world where art depicts the life of the people while the people themselves are present in the form of mummies to confirm much of what is seen in art. A number of ceramic vessels have been found depicting one man working on the skull of another with a knife. That such actions were possibly surgical was documented in 1865 when Squier was given a skull with a trephined opening made during life. Continued documentation of such operations has been reported in the literature, but the best studies are in Spanish. This paper is a study of the material existing in the Regional Museum of Ica, Ica, Peru, and a review of selected authors’ interpretations of these operations

Paleoserologic Studies: ABO and Histocompatibility Antigens in Mummified American Indians

The first genetic polymorphism to be described in man was the ABO blood group system. Ths system proved to be present as a membrane antigen of the cells of almost all organs of the body. In this it not only stimulates histocompatibility antigens but also helps to determine ABO compatibility between organ recipients and their donors. The presence of the ABH and HL-A antigens in tissues and their stability on storage allows typing mummified bodies despite the passage of thousands of years

Effects of Salmonella Vaccination on Metabolism and Resistance to Infection of Rabbit Peritoneal Cells

Salmonella vaccine caused a depression of metabolism of peritoneal exudate cells from rabbits. This effect was associated with a depression in resistance of rabbits to infection with C. albicans. This depression in metabolism is similar to the one previously noted following BCG vaccine and associated with a depression in resistance to tuberculosis

The Documentation of Communicable Diseases in Peruvian Mummies

Communicable disease in Egyptian mummies was documented by Ruffer and Ferguson when early in this century they reported a case of smallpox. A case of schistosomiasis was also reported by Ruffer. Various intestinal parasites have been reported from mummies, and suggestive evidence has been presented for poliomyelitis and tuberculosis. Much of this work was done at a time when good laboratory techniques were not available

Talon Cusp: A Clinically Significant Anomaly in a Primary Incisor from Pre-Columbian America

Shafer, Hine, and Levy describe the talon cusp, a structure resembling an eagle’s talon, as a cusp projecting lingually from the cingulum area of a maxillary or mandibular permanent incisor. This cusp blends smoothly with the tooth except that there is a deep developmental groove where the cusp blends with the sloping lingual tooth surface. The cusp is composed of a normal enamel and dentin and contains a horn of pulp tissue

Thyroid Diseas in a Peruvian Mummy

Although the pathogenesis of endocrine disorders has only recently been recognized, disorders of the thyroid gland have been recorded since ancient times, primarily because of the gland’s strategic location in the neck. Goiter, enlargement of the gland, was described early in history and endocrine goiter was also mentioned. The earliest written references go back as far as the Chinese of the second millennium BC, Greek and Roman authors of classical times, and medieval manuscripts. In his history of goiter, Greenwald contended that there was no evidence of goiter in the Americas before the coming of the white man, although the protruding eyes of possible exophthalmic goiter are seen in Peruvian ceramic sculpture from 2000 years ago

Primary Generalized Hyperostosis in Ancient Peru

Primary generalized hyperostosis is a rare disease usually diagnosed by radiographic examination. Uehlinger considers this syndrome to be different from the secondary osteoarthropathy of the Marie-Bamberger variety and Paget’s disease. The primary type is probably of familial origin and may involve all the bones of the body, appearing independently of severe pulmonary disease. It is predominantly a disease of males (29:2) and in some cases is associated with pachydermia. The literature on this disease is primarily European; the case described below is the first in South America and first among pre-Columbian people

Further Correlations of Cell Metabolism and Resistance to Tuberculosis: Studies on Mononuclear Peritoneal Exudate Cells from Mice and Guinea Pigs

The metabolic activity of mononuclear exudate cells from mice of different strains, and from the guinea pig, have been compared to the rabbit with the aim of relating metabolic activity of these cells to resistance of these species to tuberculosis. The presence of mast cells in the peritoneal exudates of mice was thought to interfere with the dehydrogenation of certain substrates due to the release of histamine. Some experimental evidence presented by the authors seems to support this thesis