I still have a dent in the back of my skull from where I used to always wear a barrette that dug in too much. Lol.
Archaeologists apparently beleve that riding horses can change skeletons.
There was a big announcement in March 2023, which moved the date of the first evidence of humans riding horses back to 3000 BC (previously thought to be 2000 BC) based on skeletal analysis of the Yamnaya people in what is now Bulgaria.
According to the Scientific American article
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/humans-started-riding-horses-5-000-years-ago-new-evidence-suggests/
Martin Trautmann … was stunned by a familiar pattern of marks associated with frequent horseback riding on the skeleton of a man in his 30s. These patterns—called “horseman syndrome”—happen as bones adapt to the biomechanical stress caused by repeated movements. “Bones are living tissue in living creatures,” Trautmann says. “You can read life histories from bones.”
Horseman syndrome involves changes to the thigh bones, pelvis and lower spine. Trautmann had seen these alterations in countless skeletons from much later time periods. “Horseback riding is a very specific pattern of biomechanical stress,” he says. “You use muscle groups in a way you usually don’t do in everyday locomotion.”
Trautmann initially hesitated to link the markings to horseback riding but soon found similar patterns on additional skeletons from that same time. All told, the new paper reports five Yamnaya skeletons displaying at least four of six such traits out of a total of 217 skeletons included in the kurgan survey.
5 Likes
Preach! Lol.
2 Likes
Sounds like accessory navicular — an extra bone. Had mine removed as part of an orthopaedic adventure.
I’m pretty sure this is a thing - I recall seeing an article in the NYTimes (I think) about “phone neck” where people are getting a lump in their necks from starting down at their phones.
ETA: I found the article from 2018 about “text neck”: here is a gift link.
3 Likes
About 30 years ago I had a pair of custom Dehner dress boots, you know the stiff ones that fit like a too-tall stovepipe until broken in? I had a bump just above my heels where the wrinkle hit my foot. It took a few years of not using the boots for the lumps to go down.
1 Like
Anyone interested in bone structure and forensics should check out Dame Sue Blacks books “written in Bone” and “All That Remains” Both highly readable
I wish she had discussed bone remodeling in athletes more, however. She did touch on a particular remodeling of the drawing arm of archers though said it was most particular to those who start at a young age.
The force of muscles , over time, on their bony attachment point is where most particular changes occur.
She was a lead forensic pathologist on Kosovo mass grave recovery and has lent her expertise in other major war and natural disasters
2 Likes
I learn so much on this forum! I too have this extra bone formation above both arches. Never knew what is was called. “Accessory Navicular…” : now I know! Thanks for the info.
2 Likes
