Skip to main content

Ancient Woman from China was a Drawf - Archaeologists

A 5,000 year old skeleton of a woman suffering from non-genetic dwarfism is found in China. Skeletal dysplasia resulted in proportionate dwarfism where the whole skeleton is small. It is rare in humans. Pediatric onset hypopituitarism and hypothyroidism is an underactive thyroid and pituitary gland.


This individual would need support from others to survive. It indicates that a tight social structure existed in the community. Of course, the society did not know that iodine would have prevented the ongoing damage to the person's body. Even today Chinese people suffer more from iodine deficiency than Westerners because it is lacking in their diet.

There is contentious debate among archaeologists about the treatment of those with dwarfism in Ancient Chinese society. Confucian texts written in the 4th century B.C. say that those with deformities were accepted as equals. However, accounts two centuries later indicate that people with dwarfism were pushed out to live with others seen as "not normal."

It seems that societies in the past had different ways of treating others deleteriously affected by disease or genetics. Deformities would prevent them from helping to grow food, and hunting for meat was out of the question.




Keywords: science, china, dwarfism, ancient, skeleton, news, rare, live, individual, human, people, life, archaeologists, condition, skeletal, buried, giant, humans, discovered, related, b.c, body, grow, short, skeleton's, bones, remains, dysplasia, scientists, meaning, woman, history, tomb, health, fact, texts, historical, century, neolithic, hypothyroidism, pituitary, thyroid, achondroplasia, function, development, bone, gland, stature, archaeological, proportionate, diagnosed, adult, trunk, head, limbs, burial, report, science, china, dwarfism, ancient, skeleton


Popular posts from this blog

New Species Found in Australia

An endangered animal, Antechinus, has two new members. Well, they have been there all along. A team from Queensland University of Technology discovered the Tasman Peninsula Dusky Antechinus (Antechinus vandycki) in south east Tasmania, and nominated the Mainland Dusky Antechinus   (Antechinus mimetes) . The latter was known to be in New South Wales and Victoria but it is now a species in its own right. The Tasman Antechinus is about 13 cm long with a short tail weighing roughly 90g. It is located in Port Arther, Tasmania. Under threat from clearing of trees it resides in state forest in fragmented groups.  Survival is precarious in the isolated stands. While uncovering new species is rare in developed countries, new ones are being found in Australia all the time. This is due to the low population density of people in inland Australia. Unfortunately, new species when found are usually in small numbers and under threat. Antechinus are not helping themselves...

Albert Einstein's Genius Was Due to His Unusual Brain

Albert Einstein wasn't only a genius her was a very odd human being. His brain shows peculiar differences from the norm; it had many more folds than the average person. This gave the brain a greater surface area. It is like using a larger computer to do calculations. Upon his father's death in 1955, Thomas Einstein gave the pathologist permission to preserve the brain of Albert Einstein. It was photographed then dissected into 2,000 ultra-thin slices. The slices and slides of them were later distributed to researchers. The brain had more neurons and glia cells, well outside of the normal range; pariental lobes were unusual in the pattern of ridges and grooves. Einstein only had a brain of average size. The area controlling the tongue and face was larger, as was the region that involves attention and planning. Overall, Einstein's brain was complex. Many people think in words. He said his thinking was like a physical activity. If selection based on "healthy...

Beatboxing - Percussion Sounds of the Mouth

There must be a dearth of things to study. Scientists are now researching the odd sounds that people make. It may seem weird but its true. Those who can make odd sounds are called beatboxers. Scientists are interested in percussion sounds. These are expressed in Celtic, Chinese, North American and Indian cultures. Hip-hop is an area of great interest. A young "practitioner" had MRI scans done on his mouth while he created percussion sounds. The conclusion reached is that a lot of brainpower is involved in imitating percussion. It "is a small part of the larger puzzle," experts say. In my view it takes little mental concentration. Just put your tongue behind you top teeth a "tap" away. http://www.adventure--australia.blogspot.com/ http://www.tysaustralia.blogspot.com/ http://adventure--australia.blogspot.com/atom.xml http://www.technorati.com/blogs/ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Society Vista C...