The Association of Pregnancy and Scurvy in Indigenous Women and Their Children From the Late Holocene in California (USA)

ABSTRACT Limited evidence of nutritional deficiencies has been identified in bioarchaeological studies of Native California populations, although isotopic and ethnohistoric research provides evidence of regional, seasonal, and cultural variability in food shortages. Here, we document skeletal changes observed in individuals to share the cascading impacts of dietary practices on the development of skeletal manifestations of scurvy at several Late Holocene archaeological sites from California (500 bce – 1834 ce ). Seventeen individuals from a shell mound (CA‐ALA‐11) and a village site (CA‐SCL‐690) were assessed for nutritional deficiencies based on macroscopic and radiographic features observed in their skeletal remains. Eight individuals from CA‐ALA‐11 had lesions on at least one cranial element, of which five also had lesions on postcranial bones, both of which were consistent with scurvy. Of these individuals, two infants were recovered from double burials that contained adult females. Two individuals from CA‐SCL‐690 had skeletal changes consistent with scurvy. Radiographic imaging presented evidence of White line of Fraenkel, Trümmerfeld zones, and Pelkan's spurs supporting the presence of scurvy in seven burials, six from CA‐ALA‐11 and one from CA‐SCL‐690. In addition, another five California sites with evidence of nutritional deficiencies were contextualized with these findings; however, radiographic imaging was not performed for these sites, highlighting the largely invisible impacts of pregnancy in the archaeological record when macroscopic features are relied on solely. Scurvy was not necessarily the cause of death for individuals presented but may have been a contributing factor affecting frailty. These findings suggest that while a wide range of proteins, greens, and berries with sufficient nutrient components are native to California, their presence does not equate to evidence of consumption.