The Bioarchaeological Evidence of Leprosy

Leprosy ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 191-280
Author(s):  
Charlotte A. Roberts

This chapter explores the evidence for leprosy in skeletons from archaeological sites across the globe. On this basis, leprosy has a history of 7,000 years, but this picture will change as more evidence is uncovered. In the past, leprosy appears to have been a disease of the Old World and the northern and eastern hemispheres. The earliest skeletons with leprosy are from Britain, Hungary, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan. Northern Europe has the most evidence with Britain, Denmark, Hungary, and Sweden providing the most data. No evidence has been confirmed in the Americas, but there are more recent documentary data for leprosy there as a result of migration, the slave trade, and colonialism. Leprosy in non-adult skeletons is rare, and there is only one preserved body with evidence: an Egyptian mummy. The majority of the people whose skeletons revealed leprosy were buried normally for the time period in which they lived, their culture, and their geographic location. The bioarchaeological evidence does not corroborate the historical evidence for the frequency of leprosy (and some bioarchaeological evidence predates the historical data), nor does it support the wholesale stigma and marginalization of those affected that is often reported in the historical literature.

Bothalia ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 14 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 845-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. H. Eshbaugh

The genus Capsicum (Solanaceae) includes approximately 20 wild species and 4-5 domesticated taxa commonly referred to as ‘chilies’ or ‘peppers’. The pre-Colombian distribution of the genus was New World. The evolutionary history of the genus is now envisaged as including three distinct lines leading to the domesticated taxa. The route of Capsicum to the Old World is thought to have followed three different courses. First, explorers introduced it to Europe with secondary introduction into Africa via further exploratory expeditions; second, botanical gardens played a major role in introduction; and third, introduction followed the slave trade routes. Today, pepper production in Africa is of two types, vegetable and spice. Statistical profiles on production are difficult to interpret, but the data available indicate that Nigeria, Egypt, Tunisia and Ghana are the leading producers. Production is mainly a local phenomenon and large acreage is seldom devoted to the growing of peppers. The primary peppers in Africa are C.  annuum and C.  frutescens.


2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-396 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew Brown ◽  
Gabriel Paquette

The independence of Latin America from colonial rule in the first decades of the nineteenth century is generally held to have broken the bonds which had linked Europe to the Americas for three centuries. This article contends that a re-examination of the decade of the 1820s reveals the persistence, as well as the reconfiguration, of connections between the Old World and the New after the dissolution of the Iberian Atlantic monarchies. Some of these multi-faceted connections are introduced and explored, most notably commercial ties, intellectual and cultural influences, immigration, financial obligations, the slave trade and its suppression, and diplomatic negotiations. Recognition and appreciation of these connections has important consequences for our understandings of the history of the Atlantic World, the ‘Age of Revolutions’, and Latin American Independence itself.


ICONI ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 48-58
Author(s):  
Anastasia S. Kondrashova ◽  

The article touches on various areas through which the concept of design, its theoretical and practical components can be examined, what is the designer’s thinking from the point of view of philosophy and aesthetics by the example of the real creative life of famous artistic and aesthetic fi gures. Identity, chaos, expediency — those are the defi ning terms, whose subtleties are based on the scholarly works of Vladimir F. Sidorenko (Professor of the Moscow Textile Academy, member of the Artists’ Union, member of the Designers’ Union, Doctor of Art History, Laureate of the State Prize in Literature and Art). The article discloses the features of the aesthetics of expediency, the application of the abbreviation of this term. The time period from the 1920 to the 1880 of the last century suffi ces for explaining the foundations of the aesthetics of expediency, since it is during this time period that we can observe a surge of the most striking movements in art which infl uenced the design style. The world of design and the people of the design culture in it, imitation of nature and retreating from it — all of this is, undoubtedly, relevant for our time. In the decade of the 2020s, when many trends in art are arriving at a dead end, and sometimes even to their logical conclusion, it is important to go one century back, to the sources, to learn from the experience of our predecessors in the artistic fi eld. It is useful for contemporary artists to study what the contemporaries of the past years arrived at earlier in order to achieve their artistic success and remain in the history of design for all times.


2021 ◽  
pp. 48-71
Author(s):  
Oleksii Trachuk

In 2023, Ukraine will celebrate the 130th anniversary of Trypillian culture discovery by Vikentii Khvoika. What has changed in the understanding of the heritage left by such a mysterious and unique Ukrainian archaeological cultures as Trypillia? One of the problems stating that the “sites” in terrestrial housings were not cult burial structures but the remnants of residential buildings was solved. However, in the 1970s, Soviet archaeologists had a bizarre fantasy offered by K. Zinkovskyi that Trypillian settlements had been burned not by conquerors – steppe herders – but by Trypillians themselves. This fantasy was confidently denied by such authoritative archaeologists as V. Petrov, V. Zbenovych, I. Sveshnikov, H. Todorova, M. Gimbutas, V. Dergachev. At the beginning of the 21st century, due to the creation of the state reserve “Trypillian Culture” in Cherkasy region, holding of more than ten “Trypillian Circle” festivals in Kyiv region, and introduction of a tourist route from Kyiv to Lviv, the Ukrainian interest in Trypillian culture as an Eneolithic civilization of farmers grew significantly. During this period, some archaeologists (N. Burdo, M. Videiko, V. Kruts, O. Korvin-Piotrovskyi) extracted from the archives the forgotten imagination of K. Zinkovskyi, gradually and methodically began to prove to their colleagues-archaeologists and Ukrainians that Trypillia farmers ritually burned their settlements. Archaeological sites, unfortunately, keep silent about rituals, but they can testify about those who conquered Trypillia and burned their settlements. In addition, M. Videiko believes that the melee weapons of the people of Trypillia are better than the bows and arrows of the steppe horsemen, while Trypillians also fought among themselves. D. Telegin and V. Dergachev refuted such versions in their research of Middle Stog herdsmen. But on the other hand, the situation is confused by Yu.Rassamakin, who unjustifiably replaces the well-known Middle Stog people with Skelians, Kvitiants, and Derevites, who did not seem to be at war, but traded with European farmers.Thus, in the Eneolithic history of independent Ukraine, artificial problems arose. The author, systematizing the interpretations of famous archaeologists and the experience of the post-Eneolithic epochs, tried to solve them in his article.


1970 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 37-60
Author(s):  
Karin Hedner Zetterholm

This article argues that the Pseudo-Clementine Recognitions 1.27–72, the Pseudo-Clementine Homilies, and the Didascalia Apostolorum – third and fourth century-texts, which combine adherence to Jesus with Jewish law observance – would have made sense to Jews in antiquity as Jewish, although non-rabbinic visions of the history and calling of the people of Israel, and that they ought to be considered as part of the history of Judaism. Recent years have witnessed an emerging trend to reread texts previously regarded as ‘Jewish-Christian’ or ‘heretical Christian’ as Jewish texts, and as evidence of diversity within Judaism in the post-70 period. This understanding emerges from the related insights that rabbinic Judaism was not the only, or even the dominant form of Judaism during the early centuries ce, that there was no definitive early split between a well defined Christianity and an equally well defined Judaism, and that Jewish self-identity in antiquity seems to have allowed for adherence to Jesus as an option within Judaism. Abandoning the practice of using rabbinic Judaism as the sole criterion for defining Jewishness in this time period allows us to see the theologies developed by such Jesus-oriented groups with a Jewish self-identity as profoundly Jewish, although non-rabbinic, visions of the history and calling of biblical Israel.


1997 ◽  
Vol 161 ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Lazcano

AbstractDifferent current ideas on the origin of life are critically examined. Comparison of the now fashionable FeS/H2S pyrite-based autotrophic theory of the origin of life with the heterotrophic viewpoint suggest that the later is still the most fertile explanation for the emergence of life. However, the theory of chemical evolution and heterotrophic origins of life requires major updating, which should include the abandonment of the idea that the appearance of life was a slow process involving billions of years. Stability of organic compounds and the genetics of bacteria suggest that the origin and early diversification of life took place in a time period of the order of 10 million years. Current evidence suggest that the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds may be a widespread phenomenon in the Galaxy and may have a deterministic nature. However, the history of the biosphere does not exhibits any obvious trend towards greater complexity or «higher» forms of life. Therefore, the role of contingency in biological evolution should not be understimated in the discussions of the possibilities of life in the Universe.


2020 ◽  
Vol 58 ◽  
pp. 118-134
Author(s):  
Aleksandr E. Kotov

The journal of Ksenofont A. Govorsky “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii” (“South-West and West Russia Herald”) is known in the history of pubic thought as odious and reactionary. However, this stereotypical image needs some revision: the anti-Polish discourse on the pages of the magazine was not so much nationalistic as anti-aristocratic in nature. Considering the “Poles” primarily as carriers of the aristocratic principles, the editorial board of the magazine claimed to protect the broad masses of the people. Throughout its short history, the magazine consistently opposed both revolutionary and aristocratic propaganda. However, the regional limitations of the problems covered in the magazine did not give it the opportunity to reflect on the essential closeness of the revolutionary and reactionary principles. Yu.F. Samarin and I.S. Aksakov – whose conservative-democratic views, on the whole, were close to “Western Russianism”, promoted by the authors of “Vestnik Yugo-Zapadnoy I Zapadnoy Rossii”, managed to reach that goal.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 657-677 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wilhelm J. Wessels

The book of Jeremiah reflects a particular period in the history of Judah, certain theological perspectives and a particular portrayal of the prophet Jeremiah. Covenant theology played a major role in Jeremiah’s view of life and determined his expectations of leaders and ordinary people. He placed high value on justice and trustworthiness, and people who did not adhere to this would in his view bear the consequences of disobedience to Yahweh’s moral demands and unfaithfulness. The prophet expected those in positions of leadership to adhere to certain ethical obligations as is clear from most of the nouns which appear in Jeremiah 5:1–6. This article argues that crisis situations in history affect leaders’ communication, attitudes and responses. Leaders’ worldviews and ideologies play a definitive role in their responses to crises. Jeremiah’s religious views are reflected in his criticism and demands of people in his society. This is also true as seen from the way the people and leaders in Judah responded to the prophet’s proclamation. Jeremiah 5:1–6 emphasises that knowledge and accountability are expected of leaders at all times, but in particular during unstable political times.


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