Enfermedad y estatus social: un caso de treponematosis infantil en un entierro Preclásico del valle de Maltrata, Veracruz, México

Abstract

This work provides the paleopathological examination of a child burial explored in the archaeological locality of Barriales de las Besanas, in the Maltrata Valley, Veracruz, dated to the Middle Preclassic, 600-450 BC. The osteopathological features recorded through an assessment Gross and radiographic analysis suggest a treponematosis condition, particularly congenital syphilis. The archaeological context of this burial, on the other hand, shows evidence of a distinguished treatment, indicative of a high social rank, which would account for the care offered to the patient and his survival until second childhood. The differential diagnosis of the case studied is compatible with congenital syphilis, which would be the oldest case reported so far in Mesoamerica.