BICORONAL SYNOSTOSIS IN A CHILD FROM HISTORIC OMAHA CEMETERY 25DK10

Fragmentary cranial remains of a child from a commingled burial in a h istoric Omaha Cemetery (AD 1780-1800) exhibit bony fusion between the frontal, parietals, and sphenoid. The child's remains are consistent w ith a developmental age between newborn and 6 months postnatal. Radiol ogical and morphological analyses confirm that this individual exhibit s osteological signs pathognomic of bicoronal sutural synostosis, incl uding deformation of the lateral orbital margin. This case, although f ragmentary, significantly augments other archaeological cases of coron al synostosis reported in the literature. In addition, an extremely la rge bregmatic fontanel, expanded anterior cranial fossa, and bossed fo rehead compared with undeformed individuals suggest the child also suf fered from increased intracranial pressure perhaps related to an assoc iated hydrocephaly. Despite the deformity, the remains of this child w ere treated in much the same manner as other infant remains from the s ite, including the presence of red mercury pigment on the skeletal rem ains. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.