Abstract
The diagnosis of scurvy (vitamin C deficiency) in immature human remains is still challenging and there is yet a paucity of published cases in various geographical areas. This holds true for the Andean region, where reports of metabolic diseases come predominantly from Peruvian sites but are absent from Bolivia. In 2022, in the framework of the interdisciplinary Bolivian Mummy Project, pre-Columbian human remains housed at the National Museum of Archaeology in La Paz underwent a bioarcheological study. Here we present a differential diagnosis based on the wellpreserved skull of a 9-12-month-old individual. While this individual’s exact burial location is unknown, the general archaeological context of the anthropological collection suggests that this individual belonged to a pre-Columbian Bolivian population. Macroscopic investigation revealed multiple hypertrophic porous lesions on the frontal and occipital squamae and extensive lesions of the parietal bones, bounded by the temporal line, along with ectocranial porosity on the temporal bones, greater wing of the sphenoid, the orbital roofs, and maxillae. Computed tomography
scanning allowed us to further investigate the extent of the macroscopically observed lesions, showing asymmetrical expansion of the diploic space in the frontal and parietal bones and radially oriented trabeculae, along with new bone formation in the orbits. Though differential diagnosis is constrained by the absence of postcranial skeleton, these findings are consistent with scurvy possibly comorbid with anemia. This first possible case of scurvy reported in Bolivia adds to growing evidence on patterns of metabolic diseases in the Andes and childhood health in ancient societies.