Bioarchaeology of neanderthal burials in the territory of France and the Crimea

The paper presents the results of new research carried out on Neanderthalskeletons from the La Ferrassie grotto in France and the Kiik-Koba grotto in the Crimea.Particular attention was paid to the description of the remains of juveniles. Features ofpalaeopathology were discovered on the skeletons of the Neanderthal juveniles using,among other pieces of equipment, a digital microscope: La Ferrassie 8, 6, 4, 4bis andalso on the infant skeleton in the Kiik Koba grotto 2. The identified symptoms included:consequences of endocranial haemorrhages, thinning of the compact layer of the ilium,calcified haematomas, periostitis and cribrotic changes on the long bones of the extremities.Possible causes of these diseases are considered within a framework of differential diagnosis. The most likely is the hypothesis regarding malnutrition, in particular lack of vitaminC which led to infantile scurvy. These data specify more accurately the cause of deathof the adult Neanderthal individual - La Ferrassie 1, who possibly suffered from scurvyas well as a lung disease. The results are examined against a background of informationrelating to the diet of Neanderthals. The conclusion is drawn that the conditions pertainingduring the Glacial Age and the specific nature of their dietary traditions led certain risksfor the health of European primitive man