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Mushrif-Tripathy: Maxillary Sinusitis from India: A Bio-cultural Approach
Original Article

Korean J Phys Anthropol 2014;27(1):11-28.

Published online: 20 January 2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.11637/kjpa.2014.27.1.11

Maxillary Sinusitis from India: A Bio-cultural Approach

Veena Mushrif-Tripathy

Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute

Correspondence to: Veena Mushrif-Tripathy (Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute) E-mail: vmushrif@gmail.com

The author(s) agree to abide by the good publication practice guideline for medical journals.

The author(s) declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

Received 6 December 2013       Revised 12 January 2014       Accepted 6 March 2014

Copyright © 2014 Korean Association of Physical Anthropologists

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

This paper identifies the presence and etiology of maxillary sinusitis in archaeological populations from protohistoric (1500 B.C.) and medieval (around 17th century) India. 339 human skeleton remains found at the archaeological sites of Chalcolithic Nevasa (1500∼600 B.C.), Inamgaon (1000∼700 B.C.), Balathal (2000 B.C.), Megalithic Kodumanal(400 B.C.∼100 A.D.), Early Historic Navdatoli(200 B.C.), Kodumanal(100∼300 A.D.) and Jotsoma(17th c A.D.) were studied. Macroscopic physical examination revealed that 9 individuals out of 74 observable individuals (12.16%) suffered from inflammation. Of this, 6 were male while 3 were female. Considering the ethnographic aspects, the study reveals that inflammation possibly caused by inhaling polluted air for a long duration or because of dental disease. Also, apart from pollution in domestic zones, external pollution because of vocation is also discussed in this study using relevant ethnographic parallels.

Keywords: India, Sinus, Indoor pollution, Occupational, Ethnoarchaeology, Leprosy

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Fig. 1.
Location of sinuses in skull.
kjpa-27-11f1.tif
Fig. 2.
Approximate location of sites mentioned in the text.
kjpa-27-11f2.tif
Fig. 3.
Line drawing of house cluster from Chalcolithic site Inamgaon(H-House, S-Silo, FP-Fire pit, B-burial, PL-Platform for bin).
kjpa-27-11f3.tif
Fig. 4.
Nevasa VM 71:(Female, 18∼20 years), Cyst formation on L maxilla floor.
kjpa-27-11f4.tif
Fig. 5.
Nevasa VM 73:(Male, 30∼35 years), Cyst formation on L maxilla floor.
kjpa-27-11f5.tif
Fig. 6.
Kodumanal, Trench ZJ 26, Spe. II:(Male, Around 20 years), Lobules bone changes on R maxilla floor.
kjpa-27-11f6.tif
Fig. 7.
Balathal 1997–1:(Male, around 50 years), Spicules on L maxilla.
kjpa-27-11f7.tif
Fig. 8.
Jotsoma VI:(Male, Around 45 years), penetrating lesion on L maxillary floor.
kjpa-27-11f8.tif
Fig. 9.
Smoke inhalation in indoor and outdoor cooking by ladies.
kjpa-27-11f9.tif
Fig. 10.
Exposure to polluted air and particles due to different occupations.
kjpa-27-11f10.tif
Fig. 11.
Bone changes due to habitual/occupational stress on Kodumanal male individual ZJ 26, Spe. II.
kjpa-27-11f11.tif
Table 1.
Sites mentioned in the text with their chronology and cases of maxillary sinusitis
Site Chronological bracket Subsistence pattern Total number of individuals excavated Total number of individuals observed Total no of individuals with maxilla available Affected individuals
Balathal(Udaipur dist. Rajastan) 2000 BC Agro-pastoral 5 5 1 1
Nevasa (Ahmednagar dist. Maharashtra) 1500∼600 B.C. Agro-pastoral 75 5 2 2
Inamgaon∗ (Pune dist. Maharashtra) 1000∼700 B.C. Agro-pastoral 228 228 62 1
Kodumanal (Periyar dist. Tamil Nadu) 400 BC to 100 AD Agro-pastoral 12 12 5 2
Kodumanal (Periyar dist. Tamil Nadu) 100 AD to 300 AD Agriculture based 3 3 2 1
Navadatoli∗ (Khargaon dist. Madhya Pradesh) C 200 BC Agriculture based 1 1 1 1
Jotsoma (Kohima dist. Nagaland) 17 c A.D. Agriculture 15 15 1 1
Total     339 269 74 9[12.16%]

∗ Reported by N. Reddy (2002)

Table 2.
Sitewise details of maxillae preserved
  Site name Age Sex Maxilla preserved
 Observable maxillae
R L
  Nevasa          
1 VM 71 18∼20 Female P(but damaged) P 1
2 VM 72 22∼25 Female – –  
3 VM 73 25±5 Male P P 2
4 VM 74 Adult – – – 0
5 VM 75 30∼35 Male Intact maaxilla 0
  Balathal          
1 1997–1 Around 50y M – P 1
2 1997–2 Around 25y – – – 0
3 1999–1 Around 45y F? P(but not observable) P(but not observable) 0
4 1999–2 Around 30y M? – – 0
5 1999–3 Around 30y F – – 0
  Kodumanal          
1 Meg I, Spe. I 30 to 35years Male P P(but not observable) 1
2 Meg I, Spe. II Around 30years Female P – 1
3 Meg I, Spe. III-A 5 to 6years – – – 0
4 Meg I, Spe. III-B 14±2months – – – 0
5 Meg IV 25 to 30years Male P – 1
6 Meg V Around 30years Male? – – 0
7 Meg IX-A Around 25years Male P P 2
8 Meg IX-B 18 to 20years Female P – 1
9 Meg X-A Around 25years Male – – 0
10 Meg X-B 18 to 20years Female – – 0
11 Trench ZJ26, Spe. I 6 to 7years – P P 2
12 Trench ZJ26, Spe. II 30±5years Male P P 2
13 Near Tr. ZJ26, Spe. III 11 to 12years – P(but not observable) P(but not observable) 0
14 Misc 28months – – – 0
15 Misc Around 15years – – – 0
  Jotsoma          
1 JTA I Middle-aged Male – – 0
2 JTA II-A(Child) 3y±2m – – – 0
3 JTA II-A(Adult) Adult – – – 0
4 JTA II-B(Child) Around 2.5y – – – 0
5 JTA II-B(Adult) Adult – – – 0
6 JTA III 1∼2y – – – 0
7 JTA IV Middle-aged – – – 0
8 JTA V 25∼30y Female P(but damaged) P(but not observable) 0
9 JTA V-A 14∼15y – – – 0
10 JTA VI 45∼50y Male P P 2
11 JTA VII-A Around 25y Female Intact Maxilla 0
12 JTA VII-B Around 50y Male Intact Maxilla 0
13 JTA VIII 50+ y Female – – 0
Table 3.
Identified cases of Maxillary sinusitis with their possible aetiologies
Site Specimen no. Age Sex Location Description Possible etiology
Nevasa VM(NVS) 71 18∼20y Female L side Cyst Chronic exposure to smoke
Nevasa Inamgaon∗ VM(NVS) 73 INM 228 30±5y 12∼14y Male Male L side L side Cyst Pitting Dental origin Air born origin
Navadatoli∗ Navadatoli 14∼18y Female L side Cyst Probably air-born origin
Kodumanal Meg 1, spe. II 30∼35y Female R side Pitting Probably air-born
Kodumanal Meg IV 20∼25y Male L side Pitting Air-born origin
Kodumanal Trench ZJ 26, sp II Around 30y Male R side Lobules Air-born origin
Balathal BTL 1997–1 Around 50y Male L side Spicules Leprosy? or Probably dental origin
Jotsoma JTV IV Around 45y Male L side ‘Hole' on the floor r Dental origin

∗ Pathology reported by Reddy(2002)

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