Indicators of Stress in Prehistoric Jomon Skeletal Remains in Japan.

Abstract

Seven indicators of stress (cribra orbitalia, osteoarthritis of apophyseal joints in the cervical vertebrae, spondylosis deformans in the lumbar vertebrae, spondylolysis in the fourth or fifth lumbar vertebrae, osteoarthritis of elbow and knee joints, and inflammatory changes of bone) were examined in human skeletal remains from eight prehistoric Jomon sites in Japan. Among these indicators, spondylosis deformans in the lumbar vertebrae showed the highest frequency of occurrence, and rose with increase of age. On the other hand, osteoarthritis of apophyseal joints in the cervical vertebrae showed the lowest frequency of occurrence, which means that the Jomon people might have a lifestyle or behavior which overloaded the lumbar more than in the cervical vertebrae. There were no significant differences of frequency of occurrence of each indicator among the major Jomon sites examined in this study. However, two skeletal series from the shell mounds in the Atsumi Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture showed relatively higher frequencies of occurrence of osteoarthritic changes in both elbow and knee joints.

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