Thoracic aortic aneurysm in a pre-Columbian (210 BC) inhabitant of Northern Chile: Implications for the origins of syphilis

Abstract

The aim of this work is to report a probable first case of a thoracic aortic aneurysm in the remains of a pre-Columbian individual from South America and to explore the relationship of this case to the only other paleopathological case previously described. We also consider the implications of both cases for the origins of syphilis. This study is based on the macroscopical analysis of human remains recovered during excavation of the Chiu Chiu 273 prehistoric cemetery, in the Antofagasta Region of Northern Chile. Ceramic sherds from the grave have a thermoluminescence date of 2160 +/- 100 A.P. or 210 B.C. The skeletal remains of an adult individual display resorptive lesions in both the sternum and the first two thoracic vertebrae, which are suggestive of a thoracic aortic aneurysm. The lesions observed in the case described are clearly compatible with the development of an aneurysm of the thoracic aorta (ascending portion and arch). We suggest that this aneurysm has a syphilitic etiology, considering the vascular segments compromised, the type of lesions observed, and the prevalent etiology of this kind of cardiovascular pathology in pre-penicillin times. Since the only two cases of thoracic aortic aneurysms reported to date have been found in the Americas and are clearly pre-Columbian, it can be suggested that venereal syphilis was present in the Americas in times before European contact.