Scientists have discovered the corpse of a child in compass north - easterly France which they trust present the earliest grammatical case of Down ’s syndrome in the archaeologic record . The skeleton in the closet belonged to a 5 - 7 year sometime and dates back to the 5 - 6thcentury advertising . what is more , from the way that the child was buried , the researchers believe that he / she may not have been stigmatized by others for the condition . The study has been bring out in theInternational Journal of Paleopathology .
Down ’s syndromeis a familial term do by the front of an extra copy of chromosome 21 . It induce a kind of characteristic physical feature and sufferers typically have some layer of intellectual disability but this varies significantly between individuals . While it waspredictedthat the condition plausibly existed throughout human history , there has been lilliputian grounds in the archeological disc to confirm this and uncommon cases that have been documented in past populations were ill line .
The 1500 year old skeleton was discovered , alongside94 others , during an dig of a graveyard in Saint - Jean - des - Vignes , France . The researchersexaminedthe skull of the somebody and compared it with other , normal skulls of soul of a similar age found in the country . They found the skull had severalfeaturesthat together were suggestive of Down ’s syndrome including a short , broad skull and thin cranial ivory .
The team also find that the child was buried in the same style as the others in the area , suggesting that he / she was given a normal burial . This indicates that the child was not treated differently , at least in death , from other members of the community . The researchers therefore generalise that the child was probably not stigmatized for having Down ’s syndrome .
While someagreethat the case is convincing with regard to the diagnosing of Down ’s syndrome , it has also been pointed out that it is very difficult to make assertions about cultural values and praxis just from modes of inhumation . moreover , the beliefs and values hold by this particular community may not necessarily have been the same as those of other populations throughout the world last during this period .
[ ViaInternational Journal of PaleopathologyandNew Scientist ]
