Prehistoric eye disease (trachoma?) in Australian aborigines.

This paper discusses an as yet undescribed lesion of the orbit in Australian Aboriginal skeletal populations. The rather high frequency and geographical distribution of the lesion suggests an association with a common, chronic eye infection. Using differential diagnosis to eliminate a variety of ophthalmic conditions, it is proposed that chronic trachoma may be a possible causative agent. Distribution of the lesion follows that of trachoma among contemporary Aboriginal people, with the highest frequencies occurring in the hotter, arid portions of the Australian continent. It is positively correlated with age, with higher frequencies in older people; it is almost completely absent among sub-adults. The antiquity of the lesion is demonstrated by its appearance among late Pleistocene human remains.