Down
syndrome is a genetic disorder and it's caused by the extra copy of
chromosome 21. It was first described by British physician John Langdon Down in
1866 as a unique disorder. However, the earliest depiction of Down syndrome was
found on Olmec statuettes from Mesoamerica that date as far back as 1500
B.C.
Discoveries
The skeleton of a 5-7
years old child was discovered in 1989 from a 5th-7th century necropolis
located in northeastern France. Archaeologists excavated it along with 93 other
skeletons and had suspected the child may have had Down syndrome. However, they
hadn't performed a rigorous analysis to confirm the diagnosis then.
Later, an
archaeologist from the University of Bordeaux named So Maïté Rivollat and her
colleagues studied the case. In order to understand its internal features, they
examine the skull of the child by taking a computed tomography (CT) scan of
it.
The analysis of
French child
Researchers found
that the skull of a 5-7 years old France child was short and broad, and
flattened at the base which are the signs of Down syndrome. They also studied the
child's skull and compared the dimensions and structure of it with the 78 other
children of similar ages. The results showed the indicative of Down syndrome,
which the other skulls lacked.
However,
researchers couldn't find any evidence on the child that he was stigmatized during
life. All the burial process seems like every other people on the cemetery and
there was nothing different
telegram
source: https://www.livescience.com/46721-earliest-down-syndrome-skeleton-discovered.html?cmpid=514629_20140710_27548466
EARLIEST DOWN SYNDROME CASE
4/
5
Oleh
reis-inet
