Anthropol. Sci. 110(4),421-436, 2002

Chosei Zukeran¹, Tadahiko Fukumine¹, Naomi Doi¹, Noburu Sensui¹, Hajime Ishida¹, Fuminori Kanaya², and Ayano Shimabukuro³

1	Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa
2	Department of Orthopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa
3	Civic History Compilation Division, General Affairs Department, Ishigaki City Hall, Okinawa

(Received November 2, 2001; accepted July 25, 2002)

Abstract This study investigates some aspects of skeletal and dental paleopathology, including cribra orbitalia, dental enamel hypoplasia, trauma, osteoarthritis, periostitis and osteomyelitis. The sample consists of the skeletal remains of 33 individuals from the medieval and early modern periods, found on Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan. High frequencies of cribra oribitalia and enamel hypoplasia suggest that the Ishigaki people may have experienced many severe nutritional deficiency stress, infectious diseases, and/or parasitism during early childhood. This study further reports a markedly high frequency of periostitis and two cases of osteomyelitis in bones of the lower leg, probably the result of a specific infection, such as treponematosis.