Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Disease Without History? Evidence for the Antiquity of Head and Neck Cancers

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Head & Neck Cancer: Current Perspectives, Advances, and Challenges

Abstract

There has been a long-running debate in anthropological, archaeological, and medical literature regarding the prevalence of cancer in various ancient human populations. At one extreme, some scholars have claimed that past human societies had rates of cancer roughly equivalent to those seen among modern peoples; at the other extreme, some researchers have effectively claimed that cancer is a disease of modernity. The present study aims to shed further light on this topic, at least insofar as cancers of the head and neck are concerned. A review of ancient art, medical texts, and paleopathological reports revealed somewhat discordant accounts of the age, geographical distribution, and prevalence of head and neck cancers. While representations of these neoplastic conditions in art are relatively rare and patchy in geographic distribution, descriptions of suspect lesions in ancient medical texts are rather more widespread, if unevenly distributed geographically, and the paleopathological record was found to contain surprisingly abundant evidence for cancers of the head and neck, especially as compared to what are, in modern societies, more ubiquitous cancers of the breast, lung, or prostate. While establishing the absolute prevalence of any of these conditions in antiquity is impossible, the present work establishes that cancers of the head and neck have long been present, and perhaps even prevalent, in human societies.

Do Not Cite in Any Context Without Permission of the Authors

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 169.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 219.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    The humoural theory of disease (cancer included), it must be noted, was not only the state-of-the-art of the ancient Mediterranean world but continued to dominate medical thinking on the origins and treatment of cancer until the nineteenth century when it was finally replaced by Müller and Virchow’s cellular theory of cancer.

  2. 2.

    It should be noted that this review of ancient medical texts is obviously biased in that only literate past societies would have left any written records of their collective medical knowledge.

Abbreviations

H&NC:

Head and neck cancer

References

  1. Allison MJ, Gerszten E, Munizaga J, Santoro C (1980) Metastatic tumor of bone in a Tihuanaco female. Bull N Y Acad Med 56:581–587

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Amyx HL, Salazar AM, Newsome DA, Gibbs CJ, Gajdusek DC (1982) Nasopharyngeal carcinoma with intracranial extension in a chimpanzee. J Am Vet Med Assoc 181:1425–1426

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Anderson T, Wakely J, Carter A (1992) Medieval example of metastatic carcinoma: a dry bone, radiological, and SEM study. Am J Phys Anthropol 80:309–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Armelagos GJ (1969) Disease in ancient Nubia. Science 163:255–259

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Aufderheide AC (2000) Progress in soft tissue paleopathology. J Am Med Assoc 284:2571–2573

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Aufderheide AC, Rodríguez-Martín C (2003) The Cambridge encyclopedia of human paleopathology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge

    Google Scholar 

  7. Baskerville M, Baskerville A, Manktelow BW (1984) Undifferentiated carcinoma of the nasal tissues in the common marmoset. J Comp Pathol 94:329–338

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Beatty WK (1974) Medical numismatic notes XV: some medical aspects of Greek and Roman coins. Bull N Y Acad Med 50:85–95

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Beniashvili DS (1989) An overview of the world literature on spontaneous tumors in nonhuman primates. J Med Primatol 18:423–437

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Benson EP (1982) The man with the V on his Headdress: a figure in Moche III-IV iconography. Indiana 7:201–225

    Google Scholar 

  11. Béraud C, Morel P, Boyer R (1961) Ostéome Géant Fronto-Ethmoidal Découvert sur un Crâne Médiéval du Var. J de Radiologie D’Electrologie 42:45–47

    Google Scholar 

  12. Bernal JE, Briceno I (2006) Genetic and other diseases in the pottery of Tumaco-La Tolita culture in Colombia–Ecuador. Clin Genet 70:188–191

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Betton GR (1984) Spontaneous neoplasms of the marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Oral and nasopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. Vet Pathol 21:193–197

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Bhishagratna KKL (ed) (1918) An English translation of the Sushruta Samhitá based on original Sanskrit text. Published by author, Calcutta

    Google Scholar 

  15. Billard M (1994) Haemangioma of the cranial vault in a skull from the middle Neolithic period (France, 4312–3912 B.C.). Paleopathol Newsl 88:4

    Google Scholar 

  16. Boulos FS (1986) Oncology in Egyptian Papyri. In: Retsas S (ed) Palaeo-oncology: the antiquity of cancer. Farrand Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  17. Breasted JH (1930) The Edwin Smith surgical papyrus: published in facsimile and hieroglyphic transliteration with translation and commentary in two volumes, vol 3–4. University of Chicago Press, Chicago

    Google Scholar 

  18. Brothwell D (1961) The paleopathology of early British Man: an essay on the problems of diagnosis and analysis. J R Anthropol Inst G B Irel 91:318–344

    Google Scholar 

  19. Brothwell D (1967) The evidence for neoplasms. In: Brothwell D, Sandison AT (eds) Diseases in antiquity: a survey of the diseases, injuries and surgery of early populations. Charles C. Thomas, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  20. Brown SL, Anderson DC, Dick EJ, Guardado-Mendoza R, Garcia A, Hubbard GB (2009) Neoplasia in the chimpanzee (Pan spp.). J Med Primatol 38:137–144

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Cai J, Zhen Y (2003) Medicine in ancient China. In: Selin H (ed) Medicine across cultures: history and practice of medicine in non-Western cultures. Kluwer, New York

    Google Scholar 

  22. Canalis RF, Cino L (2003) Ceramic representations of facial paralysis in ancient Peru. Otol Neurotol 24:828–831

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Capasso LL (2000) Indoor pollution and respiratory diseases in ancient Rome. Lancet 356:1774

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Capasso LL (2005) Antiquity of cancer. Int J Cancer 113:2–13

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Capasso LL, Di Muzio M, Di Tota G, Spoletini L (1991) A case of probable cranial hemingioma (Iron Age, Central Italy). J Paleopathol 4:55–62

    Google Scholar 

  26. Caspari R, Lee S-H (2004) Older age becomes common late in human evolution. Proc Natl Acad Sci 101:10895–10900

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Cassidy CM (1977) Probable malignancy in a Sadlermiut Eskimo mandible. Am J Phys Anthropol 46:291–296

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Celsus AC (1935) De Medicina (Books I–IV). In: Book 1. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  29. Celsus AC (1938a) De Medicina (Books V–VI). In: Book 2. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  30. Celsus AC (1938b) De Medicina (Books VII–VIII). In: Book 3. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  31. Chamberlain A (2009) Archaeological demography. Hum Biol 81:275–286

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Chen JCT (2002) Shou Xing, the God of longevity. Neurosurgery 51:517–518

    Google Scholar 

  33. Cianciolo RE, Hubbard GB (2005) A review of spontaneous neoplasia in baboons (Papio spp.). J Med Primatol 34:51–66

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Cleary GJ, Blackburn CRB (1968) Air pollution in native huts in the highlands of New Guinea. Arch Environ Health 17:785–794

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  35. Cockburn A (1978) Paleopathology and its association. J Am Med Assoc 240:151–153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  36. Czarnetzki A (1980) Pathological changes in the morphology of the young Paleolithic skeletal remain from Stetten (Southwest Germany). J Hum Evol 9:15–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. D’Harcourt R (1939) La Médecine dans L’Ancien Pérou. Librairie Maloine, Paris

    Google Scholar 

  38. Dastugue J (1965) Tumeur Maxillaire sur un Crâne du Moyen-Age. Bull Assoc Fr Etud Cancer 52:69–72

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  39. David AR, Zimmerman MR (2010) Cancer: an old disease, a new disease or something in between? Nat Rev Cancer 10:728–733

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  40. David AR, Zimmerman MR (2011) Cancer is an ancient disease? Nat Rev Cancer 11:76

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  41. Derry DE (1909) Anatomical report. Bull Archaeol Surv Nubia 3:29–52

    Google Scholar 

  42. Ebbell B (1937) The Papyrus Ebers. Oxford University Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  43. Ebers G (ed) (1875) Papyros Ebers: Das hermetische Buch über die Arzeneimittel der alten Ägypter in hieratischer Schrift, herausgegeben mit Inhaltsangabe und Einleitung versehen von Georg Ebers, mit Hieroglyphisch-Lateinischem Glossar von Ludwig Stern, mit Unterstützung des Königlich Sächsischen Cultusministerium. Englemann, Leipzig

    Google Scholar 

  44. El-Batrawy AM (1935) Report on the human remains. In: Mission Archéologique de Nubie 19291934. Government Press, Cairo

    Google Scholar 

  45. El-Rakhawy MT, El-Eishi HI, El-Nofely W, Gaballah MF (1971) A contribution to the pathology of ancient Egyptian skulls. Anthropol (Brno) 9:71–78

    Google Scholar 

  46. Elliott-Smith G, Dawson WR (1924) Egyptian mummies. Allen & Unwin, London

    Google Scholar 

  47. Elliott-Smith G, Wood Jones F (1910) Report on the human remains. In: Archaeological survey of Nubia, Report of 1907–1908, Book 11. Ministry of Finance, Cairo

    Google Scholar 

  48. Faltas B (2011) Cancer is an ancient disease: the case for better palaeoepidemiological and molecular studies. Nat Rev Cancer 11:76

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  49. Fusté M (1955) Antropologia de la Poblaciones Pirenaicas durante el Periodo Neolitico. Trabajos del Instituto Bernardino de Sahagún de Antropologia y Etnologia 14:109–135

    Google Scholar 

  50. Gerszten E, Allison M (1991) Human soft tissue tumors in paleopathology. In: Ortner DJ, Aufderheide AC (eds) Human paleopathology: current syntheses and future options. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  51. Gerszten PC, Gerszten E, Allison MJ (2001) Diseases of the spine in South American mummies. Neurosurgery 48:208–213

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  52. Ghalioungui P (1986) Malignancy in ancient Egypt. In: Retsas S (ed) Palaeo-oncology: the antiquity of cancer. Farrand Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  53. Gladykowska-Rzeczycka J (1991) Tumors in antiquity in east and middle Europe. In: Ortner DJ, Aufderheide AC (eds) Human paleopathology: current syntheses and future options. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  54. Goldman L, Sawyer AR (1958) Ancient Peruvian medicine. J Hist Med Allied Sci 13:10–14

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  55. Goodman CN, Morant GM (1940) The human remains of the Iron Age and other periods from Maiden Castle, Dorset. Biometrika 31:295–312

    Google Scholar 

  56. Grana F, Rocca ED, Grana L (1954) Las Trepanaciones Craneanas en el Perú en la Época pre-Hispánica. Maria, Lima

    Google Scholar 

  57. Hacking P (1995) A pituitary tumour in a medieval skull. Int J Osteoarchaeol 5:390–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  58. Hair U, Bartsch H, Nair J (2004) Alert for an epidemic of oral cancer due to use of the betel quid substitutes gutkha and pan masala: a review of agents and causative mechanisms. Mutagenesis 19:251–256

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Halperin EC (2004) Paleo-oncology: the role of ancient remains in the study of cancer. Perspect Biol Med 47:1–14

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  60. Hanakova H (1983) The frequency of various type of paleopathological finds on Czechoslovak territory. Casopis Narodniho Muzea v Praze 152:123–129

    Google Scholar 

  61. Hanakova H, Vyhnanek L (1981) Palaeopathologische Befunde aus dem Gebit der Tchechoslovakei. Sbornik Narodniho Muzea v Praze 37B

    Google Scholar 

  62. Hart GD (1966) Trichoepithelioma and the kings of ancient Parthia. Can Med Assoc J 94:547–549

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Hippocrates (1988) Hippocratic Corpus. In: Book V. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  64. Hippocrates (1994) Hippocratic Corpus. In: Book VII. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA

    Google Scholar 

  65. Howlader N, Noone AM, Krapcho M, Neyman N, Aminou R, Waldron W, Altekruse SF, Kosary CL, Ruhl J, Tatalovich Z, Cho H, Mariotto A, Eisner MP, Lewis DR, Chen HS, Feuer EJ, Cronin KA, Edwards BK (eds) (2011) SEER cancer statistics review, 1975–2008. National Cancer Institute, Bethesda

    Google Scholar 

  66. Huang T (1972) Huang Ti Nei Ching Su Wên, the yellow Emperor’s classic of internal medicine. University of California Press, Berkeley

    Google Scholar 

  67. IARC (2004) Tobacco habits other than smoking: betel quid and areca-nut chewing, vol 85. IARC, Lyon

    Google Scholar 

  68. Ingalls RG (1953) Tumours of the orbit and allied pseudo-tumors: an analysis of 216 case histories. Thomas, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  69. Isherwood I, Jarvis H, Fawcitt RA (1979) Radiology of the Manchester mummies. In: David AR (ed) The Manchester museum mummy project. Manchester Museum Publications, Manchester

    Google Scholar 

  70. Jónsdóttir B, Ortner DJ, Frohlich B (2003) Probable destructive meningioma in an archaeological adult male skull from Alaska. Am J Phys Anthropol 122:232–239

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  71. Karpozilos A, Pavlidis N (2004) The treatment of cancer in Greek antiquity. Eur J Cancer 40:2033–2040

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  72. Kelln E, McMichael E, Zimmerman B (1967) A seventeenth century mandibular tumor in a North American Indian. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 23:78–81

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  73. Kouzis AP (1902) Ο Καρκινος παρα Τοις Αρχαιοις Ελληςιν Ιατροις. Μελετη Ιστορικη, Athens

    Google Scholar 

  74. Krogman WM (1940) The skeletal and dental pathology of an early Iranian site. Bull Hist Med 8:28

    Google Scholar 

  75. Lagier R, Baud CA, Arnaud G, Arnaud S, Menk R (1982) Lesions characteristic of infection or malignant tumor in Paleo-Eskimo skulls. Virchows Arch 395:237–243

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  76. Liddel K (2006) Skin disease in antiquity. J R Coll Physicians Lond 6:81–86

    Google Scholar 

  77. MacCurdy GG (1923) Human skeletal remains from the highlands of Peru. Am J Phys Anthropol 6:217–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  78. Marsteller SJ, Torres-Rouff C, Knudson KJ (2011) Pre-Columbian Andean sickness ideology and the social experience of leishmaniasis: a contextualized analysis of bioarchaeological and paleopathological data from San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Int J Paleopathol 1:24–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  79. Micozzi MS (1986) Disease in antiquity: the case of cancer. Arch Pathol Lab Med 115:838–844

    Google Scholar 

  80. Møller P, Møller-Christensen V (1952) Mediaeval female skull showing evidence of metastases from malignant growth. Acta Pathologica et Microbiologica Scaninavica 30:336–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  81. Moodie RL (1926) Studies in palaeopathology XVIII: tumors of the head among pre-Columbian Peruvians. Ann Med Hist 8:394–412

    Google Scholar 

  82. Muir CS (1983) Nasopharyngeal cancer–a historical vignette. CA-A Cancer J Clin 33:180–185

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  83. Nemeskeri J, Harsány L (1959) Die Bedetung Paläeopathologischer Untersuchungen für die Historische Anthropologie. Homo 10:203–226

    Google Scholar 

  84. Nerlich AG, Rohrbach H, Bachmeier B, Zink A (2006) Malignant tumors in two ancient populations: an approach to historical tumor epidemiology. Oncol Rep 16:197–202

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  85. Nielsen OV (1970) Human remains: metrical and non-metrical anatomical variation, vol 9. Scandanavian University Books, Copenhagen

    Google Scholar 

  86. Olszewski MM (2010) Concepts of cancer from antiquity to the nineteenth century. Univ Toronto Med J 87:181–186

    Google Scholar 

  87. Ortner DJ (2003) Identification of pathological conditions in human skeletal remains. Elsevier, San Diego

    Google Scholar 

  88. Pahl WM (1980) Pathological findings on a head of a mummy from dynastic Egypt. Anthropol Contemp 3:27–33

    Google Scholar 

  89. Pahl WM (1981) La Tomographie par Ordinateur Appliquée aux Momies Égyptiennes. Bulletin et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris 8(Series XIII):343–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  90. Pahl WM (1986) Tumors of bone and soft tissue in ancient Egypt and Nubia: a synopsis of the detected cases. Int J Anthropol 1:267–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  91. Pahl WM, Asaad E, Khattar NY, El-Miligy M (1987) Macroscopic and radiological aspects of tumors in the skull in ancient Egyptians (part I). Hum Evol 2:329–363

    Article  Google Scholar 

  92. Pahor AL (1992) Ear, nose and throat in ancient Egypt. J Laryngol Otol 106:773–779

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  93. Pirsig W (2004) The auricle in the visual arts. Facial Plast Surg 20:251–266

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  94. Retief FP, Cilliers L (2001) Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times. S Afr Med J 91:344–348

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  95. Retief FP, Cilliers L (2006) Tumours and cancers in Graeco-Roman times. Acta Theol Suppl 7:200–212

    Google Scholar 

  96. Retsas S (1986) On the antiquity of cancer; from Hippocrates to Galen. In: Retsas S (ed) Palaeo-oncology: the antiquity of cancer. Farrand Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  97. Ritchie WA, Warren SL (1932) The occurrence of multiple bony lesions suggesting multiple myeloma in the skeleton of a pre-Columbian Indian. Am J Roentgenol 28:622–628

    Google Scholar 

  98. Rogers L (1949) Meningiomas in Pharaoh’s people: hyperostosis in ancient Egyptian skulls. Br J Surg 36:423–424

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  99. Rojlin D (1935) La Radio-Anthropologie. Anthropologie 45:x

    Google Scholar 

  100. Salama N, Hilmi A (1950) A case of osteogenic sarcoma of the maxilla in an ancient Egyptian skull. Br Dent J 88:101–102

    Google Scholar 

  101. Sandison AT (1975) Kanam mandible’s tumour. Lancet 305:279

    Article  Google Scholar 

  102. Satinoff MJ (1968) Preliminary report on the paleopathology of a collection of ancient Egyptian skeletons. Rivista di Anthropologia 55:41–50

    Google Scholar 

  103. Sawyer D, Wood N, Allison M (1988) A condylar tumor from pre-Columbian Chile: a case report. Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol 66:400–403

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  104. Sawyer D, Wood N, Allison M (1990) An ancient “tumor” from pre-Columbian Chile. J Craniomaxillofac Surg 18:136–138

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  105. Shanks SC, Kerley P (eds) (1950) A textbook of X-Ray diagnosis. Lewis, London

    Google Scholar 

  106. Stathopoulos G (1975) Kanam mandible’s tumour. Lancet 305:165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  107. Stathopoulos G (1986) Bone tumours in antiquity. In: Retsas S (ed) Palaeo-oncology: the antiquity of cancer. Farrand Press, London

    Google Scholar 

  108. Steckel RH, Rose JC, Larsen CS, Walker PL (2002) Skeletal health in the Western Hemisphere from 4000 B.C. to the present. Evol Anthropol 11:142–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  109. Steinbock RT (1976) Paleopathological diagnosis and interpretation: bone diseases in ancient human populations. Charles C Thomas, Springfield

    Google Scholar 

  110. Stewart TD (1933) The tympanic plate and external auditory meatus in the Eskimo. Am J Phys Anthropol 17:481–496

    Article  Google Scholar 

  111. Strouhal E (1976) Tumors in the remains of ancient Egyptians. Am J Phys Anthropol 45:613–620

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  112. Strouhal E (1978) Ancient Egyptian case of carcinoma. Bull N Y Acad Med 54:290–302

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  113. Strouhal E (1991) A case of primary carcinoma from Christian Sayala (Egyptian Nubia). J Paleopathol 3:51–65

    Google Scholar 

  114. Strouhal E (1993) A case of metastatic carcinoma from Christian Sayala (Egyptian Nubia). Anthropol Anz 51:97–115

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  115. Strouhal E (1994) Malignant tumors in the old world. Paleopathol Newsl 85 (supplement):1–6

    Google Scholar 

  116. Strouhal E, Kritscher H (1990) Neolithic case of a multiple myeloma from Mauer (Vienna, Austria). Anthropol (Brno) 28:79–87

    Google Scholar 

  117. Strouhal E, Vyhnánek L (1982) New cases of malignant tumors from late period cemeteries at Abusir and Saqqara (Egypt). Ossa 8:165–189

    Google Scholar 

  118. Strouhal E, Vyhnanek L, Horácková L, Benesová L, Nemecková A (1997) A case of osteosarcoma in a Late Medieval-early modern skull from Kyjov (Czech Republic). Int J Osteoarchaeol 7:82–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  119. Suraiya JN (1973) Medicine in ancient India with special reference to cancer. Indian J Cancer 10:391–402

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  120. Tenney JM (1991) Identification and study of carcinoma in paleopathological material: present status and future directions. In: Ortner DJ, Aufderheide AC (eds) Human paleopathology: current syntheses and future options. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  121. Tobias PV (1960) The Kanam jaw. Nature 185:946–947

    Article  Google Scholar 

  122. Todman D (2008) Warts and the kings of Parthia: an ancient representation of hereditary neurofibromatosis depicted in coins. J Hist Neurosci 17:141–146

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  123. Urteaga OB, Pack GT (1966) On the antiquity of melanoma. Cancer 19:607–610

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  124. Veiga PAdS (2009) Oncology and infectious diseases in ancient Egypt: the Ebers Papyrus’ treatise on tumours 857–877 and the cases found in ancient Egyptian human material. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller, Saarbrücken

    Google Scholar 

  125. Wada Y, Ikeda J, Suzuki T (1987) Tumor-like lesions in a human skeleton from the Himrin basin of Iraq. J Anthropol Soc Nippon 95:107–119

    Article  Google Scholar 

  126. Walker PL, Johnson J, Lambert PM (1988) Age and sex biases in the preservation of human skeletal remains. Am J Phys Anthropol 76:183–188

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  127. Wang H-S, Kuo M-F (2010) Nan-ji-xian-weng: the God of longevity. Childs Nerv Syst 26:1–2

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  128. Wang Y, Zhang T, Wang W (2011) An old disease, a new disease or something in between: evidence from China. Nat Rev Cancer 11:76

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  129. Watermann R (1960) Paleopathologische Beobachtungen an altägyptischen Skeletten und Mumien. Homo 11:167–179

    Google Scholar 

  130. Weiss KM, Wobst HM (1973) Demographic models for anthropology, vol 27. Society for American Archaeology, Washington, DC

    Google Scholar 

  131. Weiss L (2000) Early concepts of cancer. Cancer Metastasis Rev 19:205–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  132. Weiss L (2000) Observations on the antiquity of cancer and metastasis. Cancer Metastasis Rev 19:193–204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  133. Wells C (1963) Ancient Egyptian pathology. J Laryngol Otol 77:261–265

    Article  Google Scholar 

  134. Wells C (1964) Bones, bodies, and disease: evidence of disease and abnormality in early man. Frederick A. Praeger, New York

    Google Scholar 

  135. Wells C (1964) Two mediaeval cases of malignant disease. B Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1:1610–1612

    Google Scholar 

  136. Williams GD, Ritchie WA, Titterington PF (1941) Multiple bony lesions suggesting myeloma in a pre-Columbian Indian aged ten years. Am J Roentgenol 46:351–355

    Google Scholar 

  137. Wolff J (1989) The science of cancerous disease from the earliest times to the present. Science History Publications U.S.A, New York

    Google Scholar 

  138. Wood JW, Milner GR, Harpending HC, Weiss KM (1992) The osteological paradox: problems of inferring prehistoric health from skeletal samples. Curr Anthropol 33:343–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  139. Zimmerman MR (1979) Paleopathological diagnosis based on experimental mummification. Am J Phys Anthropol 51:235–254

    Article  Google Scholar 

  140. Zimmerman MR, Kelley MA (1982) Atlas of human paleopathology. Praeger, New York

    Google Scholar 

  141. Zimmerman MR, Trinkaus E, Lemay M, Aufderheide AC, Reyman TA, Marrocco GR, Shultes RE, Coughlin EA (1981) Trauma and trephination in a Peruvian mummy. Am J Phys Anthropol 55:497–501

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    William J. Pestle

  2. Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Dentistry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Michael Colvard

Authors
  1. William J. Pestle
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Michael Colvard
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William J. Pestle .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. S Paulina St 801, Chicago, 60612, USA

    James A. Radosevich

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Pestle, W.J., Colvard, M. (2013). A Disease Without History? Evidence for the Antiquity of Head and Neck Cancers. In: Radosevich, J. (eds) Head & Neck Cancer: Current Perspectives, Advances, and Challenges. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-5827-8_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation