Ear infection prevalence in prehistoric and historic populations of the southern Levant: A new diagnostic method

AbstractStudying infectious diseases in ancient times is of significant importance to our understanding of past populations' ways of life. Otitis media (OM) is beneficial for this purpose, since it is frequent and influenced by environmental conditions. The aims of the current study were to create a reliable criterion for identifying OM in skeletal material, and to follow trends regarding the prevalence of OM throughout the terminal Pleistocene ‐Holocene Levant.Complete petrous bones of 229 individuals from six populations of the terminal Pleistocene ‐Holocene Levant (14,900 cal BP–1,917 AD) were included in the study. The promontory of the middle ear was examined using a flexible videoscope and a microscope. The observations were validated by micro‐CT images. The absence or presence of bone remodeling on the promontory surface was registe red as well as the appearance of the promontory sulcus (open or covered). Kappa tests were carried out to examine intra‐ and inter‐observer variation. Chi‐square tests were carried out to examine the association between promontory appearance and period as well as the association between the pr esence of bone remodeling and the sulcus type.The suggested criteria were found to be reliable. A fluctuation in the prevalence of bone remodeling on the promontory surface was found during the studied period. The highest prevalence (80%) was among the protohistoric populations, followed by the prehistoric populations (ca. 60.6%), and fi...
Source: International Journal of Osteoarchaeology - Category: Science Authors: Tags: RESEARCH ARTICLE Source Type: research