On the Prevalence of External Auditory Exostoses Among the Proto-Neolithic Homo Sapiens Population of Shanidar Cave, Iraq

The purpose of this paper is to report on the incidence of external auditory exostoses among the Proto-NeolithicHomo sapiens population from Shanidar Cave, in northern Iraq. Out of 31 individuals comprising the skeletal collection, seven individuals preserved pertinent temporal bone loci. Of these, four of five adult individuals presented exostoses, yielding an 80% observation ratio of this manifestation. Based on the association of external auditory exostoses with cold aquatic exposures, the observed presence of these growths among cranial remains may provide further insight as to aspects of life conditions among this population

Text messaging to promote responsible personal listening device use in young adults

OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study is to examine efficacy of text message reminders and to educate and promote safe personal listening device (PLD) use in young adults. METHODS: Three hundred and eighty-seven urban college students from an urban university located in New York City, New York, participated in this pre- and postsurvey 6-month study (September 2016–March 2017). One hundred and ninety-eight students assigned to Group 1 (safe PLD use) received biweekly informative and humorous text reminders to encourage safe PLD use; 189 students assigned to Group 2 (controls) received monthly text messages related to the importance of their participation in the study with no mention of responsible PLD use. The Kruskal–Wallis test was used to analyze the pre- and postquestionnaire data; outcomes were considered significant at P < 0.05. RESULTS: Participants who received text message reminders reported significant (H[1] = 86.7, P < 0.001) change in increasing responsible PLD use; no significant change was reported by controls (H[1] = 0.002, P = 0.96). Females assigned to Group 1 reported modified PLD use more (H[1] = 6.7, P < 0.01) than males, suggesting a gender effect. Participants who received the bi-weekly text reminders rated them as helpful in promoting responsible PLD use; participants assigned to the control group who did not receive biweekly text reminders indicated the reminders could have been helpful in promoting safe PLD use. CONCLUSIONS: Text message reminders were reported and appear effective in motivating responsible PLD use in young adults

Markers of Occupational Stress in Maritime Activities of Ancient Thasos Island: an Exercise in Ethno-Archaeology

Le syndrome des exostoses de l’oreille externe est un trouble auditif que l’on peut sans doute associer à des expositions prolongées ou répétées à l’eau froide. Dans les nécropoles de la Thasos antique, en Grèce, un seul cas (sujet adulte mâle) d’exostoses auditives a été identifié parmi un grand nombre de sépultures. Selon les données historiques et archéologiques, la Cité-État était renommée dans l’Antiquité pour l’importance de sa flotte et ses activités maritimes. Le squelette sur lequel ont été identifiées des exostoses auditives présentait également d’indéniables ressemblances avec 16 autres individus mâles sur les 57 sépultures situées le long de la côte. Ceci semble bien pouvoir être mis en rapport avec une activité professionnelle, si l’on compare cet ensemble au large échantillon de population étudié à Thasos. Cette étude présente également des données ethnographiques comparatives basées sur l’étude d’un groupe d’artisans de Thasos spécialisés dans la construction de bateaux en bois, comprenant 9 individus mâles d’âges et de spécialisations divers. Grâce à cette approche, il est proposé d’appréhender la faible fréquence d’exostoses auditives dans la Thasos antique non pas comme une question liée à la conservation des ossements ou à l’échantillon de population représenté mais plutôt comme le reflet de la spécialisation des activités dans le domaine de l’artisanat naval.Acquired external ear exostoses are auditory disorders presumably associated with prolonged or repeated exposure to cold aquatic activities. At the ancient necropolis of Thasos, Greece, a low prevalence of auditory exostoses has been documented involving one adult male out of an initially larger number of individuals. However, according to historical and archaeological records, the City-state was renowned in antiquity for the strength of its fleet and its seafaring activities. In addition to auditory exostoses, this individual showed distinct similarities to a select sample of 16 males out of 57 individuals interred in proximal contextual associations near the shoreline. This may comprise a pattern of occupational conditions when juxtaposed with the context of the larger skeletal population studied at Thasos so far. This study also presents comparative ethnographic information relative to occupational changes documented among a surviving group of wooden boat craftsmen on Thasos, comprising nine male individuals of diverse age-subgroups and intra-trade specializations. It is proposed that the low incidence of external auditory exostoses from ancient Thasos may not necessarily reflect issues of preservation or population sample, but rather the specificity of activities within the domain of specific maritime occupations