Gregg J B, Zimmerman L, Clifford S, Gregg P S
Cleft Palate J. 1981 Jul;18(3):210-22.
Congenital facial clefting occurs more often in Native Americans from the Upper Missouri River Basin (UMRB) than it does in the general population. However, no facial clefts were seen in 3,750 ancient UMRB skeletons. Very few reports concerning defective palate crania are in the literature of paleopathology. Findings regarding craniofacial anomalies in today's native Americans in the UMRB are presented briefly and compared to those in skeletons from this region. There is a marked difference between the frequency of anomalies which occurred in the past and those which are present today. Although the people sampled here were from many cultures and lived during different time periods, encompassing over a millenium, the fundamental denominator was a common geographic location. Reasons for the differences between the past and the present are advanced. It may be possible to estimate the frequency of anomalies which have not been found in archeological specimens but which are present today. By comparing data concerning "occult" congenital anomalies of the past with those of the present, the actual prevalence of past cranio-facial anomalies may be estimated through careful extrapolation.
先天性面部裂在密苏里河上游流域（UMRB）的美洲原住民中比在普通人群中更为常见。然而，在3750具UMRB古代骨骼中未发现面部裂。古病理学文献中关于腭裂颅骨的报道非常少。简要介绍了当今UMRB地区美洲原住民颅面异常的研究结果，并与该地区骨骼中的结果进行了比较。过去出现的异常频率与当今出现的异常频率之间存在显著差异。尽管这里抽样的人群来自多种文化，生活在不同时期，跨越了一千多年，但基本共同点是地理位置相同。文中提出了过去与现在存在差异的原因。有可能估计在考古标本中未发现但在当今存在的异常频率。通过将过去“隐匿”先天性异常的数据与现在的数据进行比较，可以通过仔细推断来估计过去颅面异常的实际患病率。
