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Communication Dans Un Congrès Année : 2019

Disability in a medieval village community: a unique case of facial dysmorphism

Résumé

Archaeological excavations carried out in the 1990s in the former rural parish of Rigny (Indre-et-Loire, France) uncovered 1738 graves. Among the individuals discovered, a female adult presents a series of cranial deformities characteristic of an extremely rare pathology, til then unknown in the archaeological record: the Treacher-Collins syndrome. It induces facial dysmorphism and is generally associated with hearing loss or even conductive deafness of the patient due to malformations of the hearing system. The retrospectif diagnosis of this individual was based on macroscopic analysis and computed tomography (CTscan). The use of 3D imaging made it possible to explore the impact of the pathology on the individual's hearing. In addition to the functional implications, the negative impacts of facial dysmorphic disorders in the social sphere are well known in today's societies while they are poorly documented for the medieval period. During this period, diet was an important social marker. The analysis of the individual affected by this syndrome’s diet, compared to those of other members of the Rigny village community, provide an opportunity to discuss the social significance of disability in a rural context in the Middle Ages. In this perspective, the isotopic ratios of carbon and nitrogen in this individual's bone collagen were compared to those of forty-seven other individuals found on the site. Archaeological, paleopathological and biochemical information are relevant to better characterize the functional repercussions of this syndrome on the Rigny individual and also to discuss the integration of this individual into this medieval village community.
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Dates et versions

hal-03194973 , version 1 (09-04-2021)

Identifiants

  • HAL Id : hal-03194973 , version 1

Citer

Valentin Miclon, Samuel Bédécarrats, Boris Laure, Elisabeth Zadora-Rio, Matthieu Gaultier, et al.. Disability in a medieval village community: a unique case of facial dysmorphism. European Association of Archaeologists, Sep 2019, Bern, Switzerland. ⟨hal-03194973⟩
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