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Art often mimics life, but when University of Cincinnati anthropologist and geologist Kenneth Tankersley investigated a 2000-year-old carved statue of a tobacco pipe, he revealed a truth that he believed , would rewrite the history of art.
Since its discovery in 1901, archaeologists have assumed, at the Adena memorial site in Ross County, Ohio, that the 8-inch pipe statue – carved in the likeness of a Native American to the Valley of the Ohio – represented a achondroplastic dwarf (AD). People with achondroplasia usually have short arms and legs, an enlarged head and a medium-sized trunk, under the same conditions as the actor Peter Dinklage, winner of an Emmy Award, "Game of Thrones" by HBO.
"In the early twentieth century, this theory was consistent with the human remains of a Native American excavated in Kentucky, also interpreted by archaeologists as being an achondroplastic dwarf," says Tankersley.
This theory flourished in the scientific literature until the turn of the 21st century, when Tankersley took a closer look.
"We have here a carved statue and human remains, both of achondroplasia dating from the same period," says Tankersley. "But what drew my attention to this pipe statue was an obvious neck tumor that looked remarkably like a goitre or a thyroid tumor."
The first theory in smoke
Tankersley collaborated with Frederic Bauduer, anthropologist and paleopathologist invited from the University of Bordeaux in Paris, to dispel the earlier scientific literature claiming that the sculpture described an achondroplasia.
The research results were published in the latest issue of the Medical Hypotheses review titled "Evidence of an Old Goitre (2000 Years Ago) Attributed to Iodine Deficiency in North America".
"In archaeological science, the flesh does not survive, so many ancient diseases go unnoticed and are almost always impossible to detect from an archaeological point of view," says Tankersley. "So, what has struck me is that Bauduer has remarkably used the ancient art of various periods of antiquity to advocate for the paleopathology that he has presented. "
By using radiocarbon dating on textile and bark samples surrounding driving on the site, Adena's driving date is about 2000 years old, at the time of the first traces of tobacco.
Tobacco is traditionally considered a sacred plant by Native Americans in this region, and smoking tobacco played an important role in their ceremonies, but he indicated that smoking has long been associated with an increased prevalence of goiter in low iodine consumption in the world.
On the medical side, Bauduer discovered that physical features, such as the short forehead and long bones of the upper and lower limbs, simply did not correspond to an achondroplastic dwarf.
"We found that the tumor in the neck, as well as the crouching position of the figure – and not the shortened legs as it was previously described in the literature – were both signs and symptoms of a disease. the thyroid, "says Tankersley.
"We already know that iodine deficiencies can lead to thyroid tumors, and the Ohio Valley region, where this artifact has been found, has always had soil and water depleted of iodine compared to the progression of a glacier from the Ice Age about 300,000 years ago. "
Tankersley says that the Ohio Valley region, before the introduction of iodized salt in the 1920s, was part of the so-called "goitre belt" of the United States, where the frequency of goiter was relatively high. – 5 to 15 incidences out of 1,000.
According to Baudeur, the lower limbs of the statue, described in the literature as being of small size, have a normal size and a length in normal bone. After a more thorough inspection, Bauduer and Tankersley agree that the figure is also represented as an inclined squat, a common gait abnormality in people with hypothyroidism.
The figure has what appears to be an abdominal six-pack, but both researchers say that the detailed physical characteristics actually portray a normal physique, with the exception of the telltale signs of a thyroid disease.
"The fact that the bones in the figure are of normal size suggests that the squat is more of an abnormal gait, whereas it looks like a typical Native American ritual dance," says Tankersley, himself a quarter of the Indians. . and regularly attends ceremonies throughout Ohio and Kentucky.
The insignia on the figurine are also very revealing of the ancient native tribes of the Ohio Valley, Shawnee, Delaware and Ojibwa to the north, as well as tribes of the Miami nation, Indiana.
"The traditional headdress, pierced ears with spread earrings and loincloth adorned with a serpentine pattern on the front and a feathered animation on the back are still worn by local indigenous tribes during ceremonies. ceremony today. "
Artistic Indices
According to Tankersley, besides the figures found in South America and Central America, the Adena pipe is the first known example of goiter described in the ancient Native American art and one of the oldest in the hemisphere Western.
"The other real catch here is that many people are asking," What is the value of ancient art? "", Says Tankersley. "Well, here is an example of ancient art that tells a deeper story." Similar Aboriginal art representations found in South America and Mesoamerica reinforce our hypothesis. "
Tankersley is more interested in the diseases and conditions described in other ancient artifacts of Native Americans thousands of years ago, here in the Ohio Valley and elsewhere.
"The history of the art begins to help corroborate many scientific assumptions," says Tankersley. "Because artists are adepts of anatomy, craftsmen such as this former Adena pipe sculptor could portray physical illnesses with great precision, even before knowing what illness it is. ; was. "
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