I happened to find the following, and thought it might be of
interest in connection with some recent discussion about vitamin
A toxicity:

        One of the most important H. erectus fossils is KNM-WT
        15000, a nearly complete skeleton of a 12 year old male
        from a horizon about 1.6 MYBP at Nariokotome, West of
        Lake Turkana. Another extraordinary fragmentary
        postcranial skeleton (KNM-ER 1808) shows extensive
        inflammation of the periosteum, the fibrous membrane that
        surrounds bone.  Widespread abnormal bone deposition has
        occurred on the periosteum, a general and non-specific
        tissue reaction. A popular, but not conclusive,
        interpretation was that KNM-ER 1808 suffered from
        hypervitaminosis of vitamin A (Walker, Leakey & Walker,
        1985).

http://www.dla.utexas.edu/depts/anthro/people/faculty/cbramblett/ant301/thirteen.html

Todd Moody
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