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. 2013 Dec 17;8(12):e84814.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0084814. eCollection 2013.

Infection, disease, and biosocial processes at the end of the Indus Civilization

Affiliations

Infection, disease, and biosocial processes at the end of the Indus Civilization

Gwen Robbins Schug et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

In the third millennium B.C., the Indus Civilization flourished in northwest India and Pakistan. The late mature phase (2200-1900 B.C.) was characterized by long-distance exchange networks, planned urban settlements, sanitation facilities, standardized weights and measures, and a sphere of influence over 1,000,000 square kilometers of territory. Recent paleoclimate reconstructions from the Beas River Valley demonstrate hydro-climatic stress due to a weakened monsoon system may have impacted urban centers like Harappa by the end of the third millennium B.C. the impact of environmental change was compounded by concurrent disruptions to the regional interaction sphere. Climate, economic, and social changes contributed to the disintegration of this civilization after 1900 B.C. We assess evidence for paleopathology to infer the biological consequences of climate change and socio-economic disruption in the post-urban period at Harappa, one of the largest urban centers in the Indus Civilization. Bioarchaeological evidence demonstrates the prevalence of infection and infectious disease increased through time. Furthermore, the risk for infection and disease was uneven among burial communities. Corresponding mortuary differences suggest that socially and economically marginalized communities were most vulnerable in the context of climate uncertainty at Harappa. Combined with prior evidence for increasing levels of interpersonal violence, our data support a growing pathology of power at Harappa after 2000 B.C. Observations of the intersection between climate change and social processes in proto-historic cities offer valuable lessons about vulnerability, insecurity, and the long-term consequences of short-term strategies for coping with climate change.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Map of the Third Millennium Interaction Sphere, the Geographic Extent of the Indus Civilization, and the location of the city of Harappa.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Prevalence of infection and disease in three mortuary assemblages from Harappa.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Infection in a metacarpal fragment from individual G.II.32 probably related to a local traumatic injury (lateral view).
Figure 4
Figure 4. Lesions on the cranial vault of a male skull, I.S.11.
This individual also has an injury (sharp blunt force trauma) on the frontal bone. The cranium is isolated and thus the etiology of these lesions is unclear (a: left lateral view). A close-up image demonstrates the destructive and proliferative character of these lesions (b: right frontal bone).
Figure 5
Figure 5. Evidence for maxillary infection in individual G.I.S.15.
The lesions included porosity, alveolar resorption, abscessing at the right canine and third premolar, and antemortem tooth loss (a = right ventral view). This individual also had inflammatory changes to the palatine process of the maxilla leading to localized bone destruction and perforation (b = inferior view of palate). There is evidence for porosity and inflammation at the inferior margin of the pyriform aperture, porosity and deformation of the infraorbital foramen caused by infection of the left maxillary sinus (c: ventral view).
Figure 6
Figure 6. Porosity and alveolar resorption at the maxillary canine of individual H.700a (view of the right maxilla).
Figure 7
Figure 7. Severe rhinomaxillary infection is consistent with a diagnosis of leprosy.
These lesions include resorption of the anterior nasal spine, changes to the inferior nasal margin, and remodeling of the nasal septum in individual H.779 (a: ventral view of cranium; b:superior view of pyriform aperture and maxilla). Among other changes indicative of leprosy, individual H.306a demonstrates recession of the anterior alveolar bone to the level of the naso-palatine nerve, porosity along the margin of and remodeling of the pyriform aperture, porosity on the bony palate, zygoma, nasal and orbital processes of the maxilla (b: ventral view).
Figure 8
Figure 8. Individual G.289 was relatively complete for individuals in the Area G assemblage.
Among other changes, this individual demonstrates porosity and reactive bone formation in the left maxillary sinus, as well as exposure of the neurovascular channel in the pyriform aperture (a: superior view of anterior and inferior surfaces of left sinus and floor of pyriform aperture). The anterior nasal spine has been remodeled; the alveolus for the left central incisor is resorbed; and there is porosity on the inferior margin of the left orbit (b: superior view of left maxilla).
Figure 9
Figure 9. Individual G.289 also demonstrated postcranial changes, some of which are consistent with a diagnosis of leprosy.
There is evidence of supperative osteomyelitis in the vertebral column, with focal lytic lesions on the ventral and left lateral surfaces of a thoracic centrum and osteosclerotic reaction, erosion of the anterior rim, and hypertrophic new bone formation on adjacent vertebral bodies (a: lateral view). Of other postcranial changes consistent with leprosy, there was a palmar groove and a small cloaca on an proximal manual phalanx (indicated by arrows on image b: palmar view); evidence for inflammation and/or infection causing bone overgrowth on the first pedal phalanx and metatarsal (c: top image is of the superior surface; superior and inferior view of the proximal phalanx are on the left and right side on the bottom row).
Figure 10
Figure 10. Two individuals from Cemetery H demonstrated cranial and postcranial lesions consistent with a diagnosis of tuberculosis.
The postcranial lesions included a smooth walled cavitation consistent with evidence for a psoas abscess formation on the right side of the ninth thoracic vertebral centrum and associated reactive bone formation and ankylosis of the adjacent elements in H. 710 (a: lateral view, with arrows indicated abscess and reactive bone formation or ankylosis); osteomyelitis affected the distal third of the left ulna (b: ventral view). H.722 demonstrated evidence of inflammation and bone swelling in the acromial end of the right clavicle (c: inferior view), periostitis on the left distal fibula (d: lateral view), and inflammatory changes to the surface of a left rib at the angle (e: dorsal view).
Figure 11
Figure 11. Changes to the maxilla in H. 710 that are consistent with the diagnosis of tuberculosis include abscess formation and destruction of the maxillary alveoli, periosteal reaction in the right maxillary sinus, destruction of the bony palate and initial changes leading to perforation at the midline of the palate (ventral view image on top, left lateral view in center, and inferior view of maxilla on the bottom).

References

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