Bone histology of prehistoric inhabitants of the Canary Islands: comparison between El Hierro and Gran Canaria.
The trabecular bone mass (TBM) of the proximal epiphyses of right tibiae belonging to 273 prehispanic inhabitants of Gran Canaria (60. 81% males and 35.53% females) were assessed by histomorphometrical analysis of undecalcified samples and compared with that of 41 samples from El Hierro (52.63% males and 47.37% females). Among the prehispanic population of Gran Canaria 19.05% showed TBM values below 13.5% and 30.40% below 15%, although individual variability was high (range 6.71-35.4%). In sharp contrast with these results, only one case (2.44%) from El Hierro showed a TBM value below 15%, whereas mean TBM (23.50;+/- 5.60%) was significantly higher than that of the population of Gran Canaria (17.88 +/- 5.20%). The high prevalence of osteoporosis on Gran Canaria may reflect protein-calorie malnutrition. Prehistorically Gran Canaria exhibited a relatively high population density (30-40/km(2)) and a strong reliance on agriculture, in contrast with a lower population density (4/km(2)) on the island El Hierro, where the population consumed mainly marine products.
Velasco-Vázquez
J
J
Departomento de Ciencias Históricas, Area de Prehistoria, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain.
González-Reimers
E
E
Arnay-De-La-Rosa
M
M
Barros-López
N
N
Martín-Rodríguez
E
E
Santolaria-Fernández
F
F
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000365:Age Determination by Skeleton; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010024:Osteoporosis / Q000473:pathology; D010163:Paleontology; D012732:Sex Determination Analysis; D013030:Spain; D013977:Tibia / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology