The Great Inca Rebellion
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Student Handout
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Skull: Porotic Changes
Porotic changes are spongy
holes that appear in the normally dense bone in the top of the skull and the
orbits. They are linked to iron-deficiency anemia. Rather than a sign of
inadequate amounts of iron in the diet, this type of anemia can be indicative
of poor absorption of iron, or heavy iron losses from the body. Diets low in
protein can result in poor iron absorption.
The porotic changes seen in Indian Knoll community
members were considered mild, suggesting that the changes would not have had an ill effect on the health of the
Indian Knoll people. Changes seen in the skulls of the Hardin Village community
members, however, were severe. These changes very likely impacted their health.
The number and percentages of skulls found with porotic
changes is shown in Tables 1a and 1b.
Procedure
Review and graph the data. Analyze the data for what it reveals about the health
of each community. Use the information on this page and what you have
learned from the data to answer the questions listed.
Table 1a:
Porotic Changes in Children
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Indian Knoll
Children
|
Hardin Village
Children
|
|
Ages
|
#w |
#w/o |
%
with
|
#w |
#w/o |
%
with
|
|
0–5
|
3 |
94 |
3.1
|
12 |
95 |
11.2
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|
6–11
|
2 |
11 |
15.4
|
1 |
21 |
4.5
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12–16
|
8 |
7 |
53.3
|
1 |
22 |
4.3
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Table 1b:
Porotic Changes in Adults
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Indian
Knoll
|
Hardin Village
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|
Ages
|
Males
|
Females
|
Males
|
Females
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|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
|
#w |
#w/o |
% with
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17–29
|
13 |
13 |
50.0
|
15 |
13 |
53.6
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2 |
25 |
7.4
|
1 |
25 |
3.9
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30–39
|
10 |
9 |
52.6
|
4 |
6 |
40.0
|
0 |
19 |
0
|
3 |
11 |
21.4
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40+
|
19 |
27 |
41.3
|
16 |
14 |
53.3
|
1 |
20 |
4.8
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3 |
30 |
9.1
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Questions
Write your
answers on a separate sheet of paper.
What do you
notice about the distribution of porotic changes in the skulls of the
skeletons? In what age groups were porotic skull changes most
prevalent? In which community were the porotic skull changes
severe enough to impact the overall health of community members? What conclusions could you draw from this data and the
information you have been given? Write down
any other observations you have about this data set.
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