There was a time, not so long ago, when a simple fracture of the tibia condemned you to lifelong disability.
Infirmity, yes, but not to exclusion, as disabilities of this type affected almost everyone.
The study of burials shows that throughout the ages, able-bodied and disabled people were treated in the same way after death.
But while some disabilities are clearly visible on the bones, not all are.
This is particularly the case for genetic or chromosomal diseases.
A team from the Max Planck Institute in Leipzig (Germany), led by Adam Rohrlach, searched more than 10,000 ancient genomes for genetic clues indicating Down syndrome
(Nature Communications,
February 20, 2024).
They thus discovered eight affected individuals, including seven prehistoric people, all very young children.
In detail, they recorded seven cases of Down syndrome, the form with the highest survival rate.
The oldest child was 16 months old at the time of death, the youngest…
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