CONICET | Buscador de Institutos y Recursos Humanos

The work being conducted at the Salesian Mission is generating information about changes in living conditions as a result of interethnic contact in the region. Historical sources suggest: a) changes in the diet, b) overcrowding in places of habitation, and c) tuberculosis as the leading cause of death (Casali 2011). According to Kelley (1989), chronic nutritional inadequacy makes individuals more susceptible to infectious diseases, and the latter inversely reduces access to nutrients. The objective of this exploratory study is to evaluate the relationship between non-specific indicators of infectious diseases, markers of stress and diet (periosteal reaction [rib and appendicular], porotic hyperostosis, cribra orbitalia, lines of hypoplasia, stable isotopes, abscesses, and caries) in 11 individuals recovered from the cemetery. According to the model by Wilbur et al. (2008), a low protein diet can cause death from tuberculosis in less time and result in a lower degree of bone tissue injury. We detected four different situations in relation to interactions: 1) absence of all lesions, 2) all lesions present, 3) presence of one or two lesions attributable to stress associated with one or two lesions attributable to infectious diseases, and 4) presence of indicators of stress only. The high observed rates (77%) of anemia indicators may be associated with the immune response, as mentioned before, and help explain the absence of characteristic lesions of this condition, such as Pott´s disease.

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