Arthritis in the prehistoric Southeastern United States: Biological and cultural variables

Abstract

Recent research shows that a bacterial life form, Erysipelothrix insidiosa, can produce rheumatoid arthritis in deer, swine, and dogs, and that a number of animals, including man, birds, and fish, may be infected by the organism. Examination of the archaeological record suggests that both cultural and biological variables may be interrelated in the maintenance of some forms of arthritis over long periods of time in geographically disparate populations. Re‐examination of Cherokee folk beliefs concerning arthritis suggests that they had some recognition of this connection, and it also suggests that the term “magical” may relate more to the world view of the observer than to any actual inability of preliterate peoples to draw causal relations on the basis of their own intimate knowledge of their environments.