1. A glimpse into the past of Hansen's disease - Re-evaluation and comparative analysis of cases with leprosy from the Avar period of the Trans-Tisza region, Hungary.
- Author
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Tihanyi B, Samu L, Koncz I, Hergott K, Medgyesi P, Pálfi G, Szabó KÁ, Kis L, Marcsik A, Molnár E, and Spekker O
- Subjects
- Humans, Male, Hungary epidemiology, Adult, Female, Leprosy history, Leprosy diagnosis, Leprosy epidemiology, Middle Aged, History, Ancient, History, Medieval, Leprosy, Lepromatous history, Leprosy, Lepromatous diagnosis, Paleopathology
- Abstract
Our knowledge of how society viewed leprosy and treated its victims in the past is still scarce, especially in geographical regions and archaeological periods from where no written sources are available. To fill in some research gaps, we provide the comparative analysis of five previously described, probable cases with leprosy from the Avar-period Trans-Tisza region (Hungary). The five skeletons were subject to a detailed macromorphological (re-)evaluation. Where possible, the biological and social consequences of having leprosy were reconstructed based on the observed bony changes and mortuary treatment, respectively. The retrospective, macromorphology-based diagnosis of leprosy could be established in three cases only. Based on the detected skeletal lesions, all of them suffered from near-lepromatous or lepromatous leprosy. The disease resulted in aesthetic repercussions and functional implications, which would have been disadvantageous for these individuals, and limited or changed their possibilities to participate in social situations. They could have even required heavy time investment from their respective communities. The analysis of the mortuary treatment of the confirmed leprosy cases revealed no evidence of a social stigma. These findings indicate that the afflicted have not been systematically expulsed or segregated, at least in death, in the Early Middle Ages of the Carpathian Basin., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2024
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