Anthropology 275       Reading Report 12
Disease in Prehistory       due 10/26-2007

Answer the following questions based on the paper by Lori E. Wright and Francisco Chew 1999. Porotic hyperostosis and paleoepidemiology: a forensic perspective on anemia among the ancient Maya. American Anthropologist 100:924-939.

1. Which dietary components can promote iron deficiency anemia and which can help to prevent it?
2. Which parasitic infections can affect the iron status of an individual?
3. How does the frequency of porotic hyperostosis in ancient Maya skeletal samples compare to that in modern forensic samples from Guatemala? In which parts of Guatemala is anemia more common? Does the frequency of porotic hyperostosis increase or decline with age? 4. What factors could have contributed to the disparity between the modern and prehistoric samples with respect to the frequencies of porotic hyperostosis? What explanation is the most likely and why?