OBJECTIVE: This study evaluates a case of pseudopathology and the effects that postmortem taphonomic changes and environmental influences can have on bone.
METHODS: A skeleton of a young male from the early medieval site Staré Město, dated to the 9th-10th century CE.
METHODS: The skeletal remains were subjected to detailed macroscopic and X-ray examination, and then a CT scan and XRF analysis were performed.
RESULTS: X-ray examination of the mandible revealed unusually dense structures, whose appearance was not consistent with any known pathology. Based on the results of CT scanning, it was hypothesized that these were cavities filled with alluvial sediment. X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF), focusing on the determination of the silica content, revealed a high intensity of silica in the samples of the affected area of the bone.
CONCLUSIONS: The hypothesis that the inclusions were composed of waterborne sediment was supported.
CONCLUSIONS: Although it is well known that soil can infiltrate bones buried in the ground, its appearance on plain radiographs is not that commonly known. The case illustrates the usefulness of differentiating true pathologies from postmortem alterations to avoid inappropriate interpretations.
CONCLUSIONS: No similar cases have been described.
UNASSIGNED: In palaeopathological evaluation, the use of multiple imaging and evaluative techniques should be implemented to differentiate pathological lesions from pseudopathology.

Biological activity at deep-sea hydrothermal chimneys is driven by chemotrophic microorganisms that metabolize chemicals from the venting high-temperature fluids. Understanding taphonomy and microbial microtextures in such environments is a necessity for micropaleontological and palaeoecological research. This study examines fossilized microorganisms and related microtextures in a recent black smoker from the Roman Ruins hydrothermal vent site, Eastern Manus Basin offshore of Papua New Guinea. Whereas the center of the examined sulfide chimney is dominated by high-temperature mineralogy (chalcopyrite and dendritic sphalerite), filamentous and coccoidal biomorphs occur in an outer, warm zone of mixing between hydrothermal fluids and seawater, which is indicated by their occurrence within colloform and botryoidal pyrite of barite-pyrite coprecipitates. Both morphotypes can be interpreted as thermophilic microorganisms based on their occurrence in a high-temperature habitat. Their separate (non-commensal) occurrence hints at sensitivities to microenvironmental conditions, which is expectable for strong temperature, pH, and redox gradients at the walls of deep-sea hydrothermal chimneys. Whereas both morphotypes experienced mild thermal overprint, taphonomic differences exist: (i) spaces left by cells in filamentous fossils are predominately filled by silica, whereas inter/extracellular features (crosswalls/septae and outer sheaths) are pyritized; (ii) coccoidal fossils show both silica- and pyrite-infilled interiors, and generally better preservation of cell walls. These different manifestations presumably relate to an interplay between microenvironmental and biological factors, potentially contrasting metabolisms, and differences in cell wall chemistries of distinct bacteria and/or archaea. A further hypothesis is that the coccoidal features represent biofilm-forming organisms, whose organic matter derivates contributed to the formation of intimately associated wavy and wrinkly carbonaceous laminations that are at least locally distinguishable from the texture of the surrounding pyrite. Hence, the presented data provide evidence that microtextures of microbiota from hydrothermal systems can have a similar significance for palaeobiological research as those from sedimentary environments.

Meat eating is one of the hallmarks of human evolution. It has been linked to the beginning of stone tool use, to physiological changes leading to crucial anatomical transformations defining our genus, and to new socioreproductive and cognitive behaviors. Uncontroversial evidence of meat eating goes back to 2.6 million years ago; however, little is known about the frequency and timing with which early hominins acquired animal resources. Here, we show that the combination of hunting and scavenging documented in some modern human foragers may have a long evolutionary trajectory. Using a new set of artificial intelligence methods for objective identification, we present direct evidence of an episode of hominins scavenging from large felids-probably lions-discovered at Olduvai Gorge (DS site, Bed I). This casts a new perspective on the diversity of hominin carcass acquisition behaviors and survival strategies, and places some early Pleistocene hominins in ecological proximity to African large carnivore guilds.

To outline the importance of accurate diagnosis in ancient rare diseases by presenting a possible case of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis.
Skeletal elements from a well-preserved skeleton of a nine to eleven-year-old, probably female child who lived around 300-400 AD Late Roman Neuburg / Donau (Germany).
Macroscopic, radiologic, light and scanning-electron microscopic and physical techniques were used.
Resorptive defects, particularly in the cranium, but also in the left hip bone and the right femur, suggest the presence of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis macroscopically and radiologically. The presence of morphological changes along the edges of osteolytic lesions and in the diploic spaces appear to be post-mortem artifacts based on microscopic investigation and elemental analysis.
Re-evaluation of morphological structures and elemental constitution of lesions is critical to differential diagnosis. In the case examined here, the identification of post-mortem structures rules out the former diagnosis of Langerhans-cell histiocytosis. Re-evaluation of cases of rare diseases require applying a range of methods during the analysis, as every single case makes a difference in the numbers of this very small group of diseases.
This study emphasizes the importance of utilizing different analytical techniques to avoid false diagnoses.
Not all morphological features can reliably be diagnosed using microscopic and elemental techniques.
In the case of rare diseases that are difficult to diagnose, the widest possible spectrum of techniques should always be used, particularly microscopy.

Understanding the taphonomic process of burning allows forensic practitioners to better interpret remains and reconstruct the burning incident in a medicolegal investigation. This can yield critical information, especially when other details, such as the biological profile, are obscured by fire. A forensic case involving human remains recovered within a Greek Orthodox cemetery that exhibited a distinctive pattern of differential burning is reported. The bones exhibited a range of differential burning in a pattern inconsistent with the anatomical position of the remains during heat exposure. No macroscopic signs of skeletal trauma or evidence of dismemberment were present on the remains. The pre-burning condition of the bones was inferred based on the presence of the differential burning and its localization identified through analysis of a suite of macroscopic heat-induced traits, as well as consideration of the forensic context. The anthropologists concluded that the bones were skeletonized prior to burning and that the remains were once interred or stored in an ossuary and were likely burned in a ritualistic manner, given the artifacts present and the conspicuous location of the burn area. This case highlights the practical experience required of forensic practitioners encountering burned remains and the necessity of understanding fire as a taphonomic agent that can be analyzed to determine pre-burning condition and the scenario of the burning event in a medicolegal investigation. Furthermore, this case underscores the achievability of pre-burning condition determination using macroscopic traits alone, even when there is a paucity of skeletal elements in the inventory. Due to knowledge of the funerary customs of modern-day Greece, the practitioners were able to interpret the origin of the remains, thereby this paper provides insight into a geographically specific forensic context.

Estimating post-mortem interval is an important aspect in forensic investigations. The aim of this study was to investigate if time-lapse imaging can be used to improve estimates of post-mortem interval using Megyesi et al.\'s [1] method for a human donor decomposing in an Australian environment. To achieve this, time-lapse images were taken every 30 min over a 6-month period. The Megyesi et al. [1] total body score (TBS) system was used to quantify the level of decomposition of the donor for each image. Linear regression was performed to determine if observing decomposition more than once a day leads to increased accuracy in predicting PMI (post-mortem interval). Decomposition initially progressed quickly and then plateaued at 1004 hours PMI, with a TBS of 24. Individual timestamps were created from the time-lapse images taken each day at 08:00 hrs, 11:00 hrs, 14:00 hrs, 15:00 hrs, and 17:00 hrs. All timestamps produced R2 values > 0.80, indicating that the Megyesi et al. [1] method accurately predicts PMI for this donor. The 08:00 hrs timestamp had the highest value R2 = 0.886, whilst the combined timestamp (which included the scores from all five images for each 24-hour period) R2 = 0.823 was the lowest. This study supports the validity of Megyesi et al.\'s [1] TBS model to estimate PMI. Two other interesting findings were that the results suggest that scoring TBS multiple times per day does not improve estimates of PMI, however scoring TBS at daybreak produces more accurate results than scoring TBS later in the day. This may be an important consideration in forensic scenarios.

We present a study of skeletal damage to four chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) infanticide victims from Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Skeletal analysis may provide insight into the adaptive significance of infanticide by examining whether nutritional benefits sufficiently explain infanticidal behavior. The nutritional hypothesis would be supported if bone survivorship rates and skeletal damage patterns are comparable to those of monkey prey. If not, other explanations, such as the resource competition hypothesis, should be considered.
Taphonomic assessment of two chimpanzee infants included description of breakage and surface modification, data on MNE, %MNE, and bone survivorship. Two additional infants were assessed qualitatively. The data were compared to published information on monkey prey. We also undertook a review of published infanticide cases.
The cases were intercommunity infanticides (one male and three female infants) committed by males. Attackers partially consumed two of the victims. Damage to all four infants included puncture marks and compression fractures to the cranium, crenulated breaks to long bones, and incipient fractures on ribs. Compared to monkey prey, the chimpanzee infants had an abundance of vertebrae and hand/foot bones.
The cases described here suggest that chimpanzees may not always completely consume infanticide victims, while reports on chimpanzee predation indicated that complete consumption of monkey prey usually occurred. Infanticidal chimpanzees undoubtedly gain nutritional benefits when they consume dead infants, but this benefit may not sufficiently explain infanticide in this species. Continued study of infanticidal and hunting behavior, including skeletal analysis, is likely to be of interest.

Exceptionally well-preserved three-dimensional insects with fine details and even labile tissues are ubiquitous in the Crato Member Konservat Lagerstätte (northeastern Brazil). Here we investigate the preservational pathways which yielded such specimens. We employed high resolution techniques (EDXRF, SR-SXS, SEM, EDS, micro Raman, and PIXE) to understand their fossilisation on mineralogical and geochemical grounds. Pseudomorphs of framboidal pyrite, the dominant fossil microfabric, display size variation when comparing cuticle with inner areas or soft tissues, which we interpret as the result of the balance between ion diffusion rates and nucleation rates of pyrite through the originally decaying carcasses. Furthermore, the mineral fabrics are associated with structures that can be the remains of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Geochemical data also point to a concentration of Fe, Zn, and Cu in the fossils in comparison to the embedding rock. Therefore, we consider that biofilms of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) had a central role in insect decay and mineralisation. Therefore, we shed light on exceptional preservation of fossils by pyritisation in a Cretaceous limestone lacustrine palaeoenvironment.

Forensic anthropologists and pathologists are more and more requested to answer questions on bone trauma. However limitations still exist concerning the proper interpretation of bone fractures and bone lesions in general. Access to known skeletal populations which derive from cadavers (victims of violent deaths) who underwent autopsy and whose autopsy reports are available are obvious sources of information on what happens to bone trauma when subjected to taphonomic variables, such as burial, decomposition, postmortem chemical and mechanical insults; such skeletal collections are still however quite rare. This study presents the results of the comparative analysis between the autopsy findings on seven cadavers (six of which victims of blunt, sharp or gunshot wounds) and those of the anthropological assessment performed 20 years later on the exhumed dry bones (part of the Milano skeletal collection). The investigation allowed us to verify how perimortem sharp, blunt and gunshot lesions appear after a long inhumation period, whether they are still recognizable, and how many lesions are no longer detectable or were not detectable at all compared to the autopsy report. It also underlines the importance of creating skeletal collections with known information on cause of death and trauma.