Paleopathological Analysis of Craniosynostosis (CS): Two Cases of Plagiocephaly from the Archaeological Site of Kayalipinar, Sivas, Turkey

Sari I., ACAR S., AÇIKKOL A.

Anadolu Arastirmalari, sa.30, ss.1-17, 2024 (ESCI) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2024
  • Doi Numarası: 10.26650/anar.2024.30.1306705
  • Dergi Adı: Anadolu Arastirmalari
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-17
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Craniosynostosis, Paleopathology, Plagiocephaly, Unicoronal synostosis, Unilambdoid synostosis
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This article describes two individuals diagnosed with craniosynostosis. The archaeological human remains were uncovered from Kayalipinar excavations in Sivas's province in Turkey. The skeletons described here belong to the Byzantine period. Anterior plagiocephaly (unicoronal synostosis) observed in a female aged 30-34, and posterior plagiocephaly (unilambdoid synostosis) observed in a male aged 20-30. Both skulls show deformities due to synostosis. It is assumed that premature suture closure has no influence on the death of individuals. Craniosynostosis is a known case in clinical studies; however, its frequency in archaeological records/paleopathological literature is unclear. No example of craniosynostosis (especially plagiocephaly) has been found in ancient Anatolian populations, except for scaphocephaly. In conclusion, in addition to dental anomalies, bulging on the frontal bone and lambdoid suture fusion were found in this study, which provides a specific example and useful results for future research.