{"id":236664,"date":"2025-05-11T14:53:36","date_gmt":"2025-05-11T14:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/anthropology\/tracing-disease-along-the-copper-road\/"},"modified":"2025-05-11T14:53:36","modified_gmt":"2025-05-11T14:53:36","slug":"tracing-disease-along-the-copper-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=236664","title":{"rendered":"Tracing Disease Along the Copper Road"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div dir=\"auto\">\n<p><span>In the hills of northern Oman, beneath the collapsed stones of a 4,000-year-old tomb, archaeologists uncovered<\/span><span> something that hadn\u2019t been seen before in this part of the world: the unmistakable signs of leprosy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>It wasn\u2019t a complete skeleton that told the story. It was fragments\u2014broken jaws, scattered teeth, a porous nasal cavity eroded by years of silent bacterial assault. Pieced together from over 180,000 bone shards at the Umm an-Nar period site of Dahwa, the evidence pushed back the known boundary of <\/span><em>Mycobacterium leprae<\/em><span>\u2019s reach. And in doing so, it also redefined what it means to diagnose disease in the archaeological record.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cWhen that damage fits key signs of leprosy, the diagnosis becomes very clear.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>So said bioarchaeologist Gwen Robbins Schug of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who led the team that identified lepromatous lesions in 12 individuals using micro-CT imaging\u2014marking the earliest confirmed cases of leprosy outside of South Asia.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" rel=\"\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg\" width=\"1216\" height=\"693\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:693,&quot;width&quot;:1216,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:292205,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:false,&quot;topImage&quot;:true,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.anthropology.net\/i\/163329353?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F61b0f766-48b0-437f-9ab4-9e7bbb889405_1216x693.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\" fetchpriority=\"high\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">Deformations on an approximately 4300-year-old skull at Balathal in India are the oldest confirmed skeletal evidence of leprosy.Gwen Robbins Schug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The site of Dahwa wasn\u2019t just a burial ground. It was a hub. Located along the copper-rich Al-Hajar Mountains and facing the Arabian Sea, it sat astride trade routes that once linked the Arabian Peninsula to the Indus Valley. Pottery fragments imported from South Asia\u2014nearly three-quarters of the ceramic assemblage\u2014testify to robust commercial ties. But alongside copper and crafted wares, it seems, another traveler moved: disease.<\/p>\n<p>Leprosy is not easily transmitted. It requires extended, close contact. Most people have natural immunity. But in tightly packed settlements and among mobile traders moving between ecological zones and populations, it had the conditions it needed.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThe idea that sailors could have brought it on a crowded boat with them, or that merchants traveled from the Indus Valley toward Oman and spread it? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense,\u201d said environmental historian Eric Strahorn, who was not involved in the study.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Unlike many other cases of paleopathology, which rely on fully intact skeletons showing obvious signs of disease, the remains at Dahwa were fragmented and commingled. Traditional methods could only go so far. To push beyond them, the team used micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), scanning three preserved maxillae to look for the microstructural signatures of chronic infection.<\/p>\n<div class=\"captioned-image-container\">\n<figure><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg\" data-component-name=\"Image2ToDOM\" rel=\"\" class=\"image-link image2 is-viewable-img\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"image2-inset\"><picture><source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_webp,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"100vw\"\/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg\" width=\"1216\" height=\"564\" data-attrs=\"{&quot;src&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com\/public\/images\/b68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg&quot;,&quot;srcNoWatermark&quot;:null,&quot;fullscreen&quot;:null,&quot;imageSize&quot;:null,&quot;height&quot;:564,&quot;width&quot;:1216,&quot;resizeWidth&quot;:null,&quot;bytes&quot;:333509,&quot;alt&quot;:null,&quot;title&quot;:null,&quot;type&quot;:&quot;image\/jpeg&quot;,&quot;href&quot;:null,&quot;belowTheFold&quot;:true,&quot;topImage&quot;:false,&quot;internalRedirect&quot;:&quot;https:\/\/www.anthropology.net\/i\/163329353?img=https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg&quot;,&quot;isProcessing&quot;:false,&quot;align&quot;:null}\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_424,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 424w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_848,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 848w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1272,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 1272w, https:\/\/substackcdn.com\/image\/fetch\/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep\/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fb68c4347-4512-4b11-bebe-10ebcd178247_1216x564.jpeg 1456w\" sizes=\"auto, 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"sizing-normal\"\/><\/picture><\/div>\n<p><\/a><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">Micro\u2013computerized tomography scans of a 4000-year-old jawbone from Omen show signs of leprosy on and under the bone surface.Gwen Robbins Schug<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>What they found matched what has long been considered pathognomonic for leprosy:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>Resorption of the anterior nasal spine<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Rounded erosion of the pyriform aperture<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Bilateral alveolar bone loss in the upper jaw<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Subperiosteal new bone formation on the palate<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>These changes were not random damage. They were patterned. And when compared to a control sample from modern anatomical collections, the distinctions became undeniable.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cMicro-CT lets us see what the eye can\u2019t\u2014subtle, patterned damage across multiple faces,\u201d said Schug.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Diagnosing leprosy has never been easy\u2014not in antiquity, and not even today. Some modern patients present with atypical forms, delaying recognition until nerve damage and deformity have taken hold. In archaeology, the problem is compounded by time, taphonomy, and incomplete remains.<\/p>\n<p>But Dahwa\u2019s finds suggest a path forward.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cThis paper adds to the limited number of studies evaluating rhinomaxillary changes using micro-CT in fragmentary and commingled assemblages,\u201d the team wrote.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>And beyond paleopathology, the implications stretch toward clinical medicine. In living patients, CT scans focused on the nasal aperture and ventral maxilla could supplement standard diagnostics\u2014especially in ambiguous cases where microbial assays fall short.<\/p>\n<p>This isn\u2019t just a story of pathogens. It\u2019s a story of how humans adapt, organize, and endure. The people buried in Dahwa\u2019s tombs were part of a larger economic and social landscape\u2014one that spanned oceans and deserts, and that brought not just goods but biological entanglements.<\/p>\n<p>As Robbins Schug puts it, \u201cWe\u2019re learning how health, environment, and movement are deeply intertwined\u2014even four millennia ago.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The micro-CT data, stored and shared for future researchers, may help resolve other puzzles. And as climate change, migration, and zoonotic threats rise today, insights from ancient disease landscapes have renewed relevance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In the hills of northern Oman, beneath the collapsed stones of a 4,000-year-old tomb, archaeologists uncovered something that hadn\u2019t been seen before in this part of the world: the unmistakable signs of leprosy. It wasn\u2019t a complete skeleton that told the story. It was fragments\u2014broken jaws, scattered teeth, a porous nasal cavity eroded by years [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":236665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11767],"tags":[2004,13375,2683,14503],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-236664","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anthropology","tag-copper","tag-disease","tag-road","tag-tracing"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Tracing Disease Along the Copper Road - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=236664\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Tracing Disease Along the Copper Road - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In the hills of northern Oman, beneath the collapsed stones of a 4,000-year-old tomb, archaeologists uncovered something that hadn\u2019t been seen before in this part of the world: the unmistakable signs of leprosy. 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It wasn\u2019t a complete skeleton that told the story. 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