Dental indicators of ancient dietary patterns: dental analysis in archaeology (original) (raw)
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Unlocking the past: The role of dental analysis in archaeology
Dental Historian, 2015
What can the study of ancient teeth tell us about the lifestyle and dietary habits of our ancestors? Dental palaeopathology is particularly important as it can provide direct evidence of the type of diet an individual consumed during life. An analysis of the angle of tooth wear evident on the crown of the tooth can help to distinguish between early hunter-gatherers and later agriculturists, whilst microwear features on the occlusal surface can help to discern subtle dietary shifts. The distributions of stable isotopes in food webs make it possible to use them to reconstruct ancient diets as well as tracing the geographic origins and migrations of peoples. Plant microfossils have been isolated from calculus which can be identified using light microscopy. Teeth are particularly useful in ancient DNA studies due to the excellent preservation of biomaterials within the enamel shell of the tooth.
Stable isotope and dental-microwear analysis are methods commonly used to reconstruct dietary habits in modern and ancient human populations. However, it is rare that they are both used together in the same study, and here both methods are combined to obtain information on human dietary habits from the site of Tossal de les Basses (Alicante, Spain) through time. Middle Neolithic, Late Roman and Medieval (Islamic) individuals have been analyzed for carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of bone collagen, as well as for buccal-dental microwear. Overall, δ 13 C and δ 15 N isotopic values show that for all periods the diet was mainly based on C 3 terrestrial resources. However, the isotopic signature suggests a small, but clear amount of marine protein consumption during the Neolithic period and possibly also for a few individuals from the Medieval period. When compared to other studies from the region, it is also possible to see that the consumption of C 4 resources was much more extensive during Medieval times than in previous periods. Microwear scratch density and length found for teeth from the Neolithic and Medieval periods reflect a diet in which tough foods predominated, requiring substantial pressure to chew in comparison with what was recorded for the Roman individuals. Combined with the δ 15 N data, the microwear signature suggests a higher input of marine/gritty resources among the Neolithic and Medieval populations compared to the Romans. Our findings also suggest that dietary patterns might be explained by cultural and technological population factors rather than habitat resource availability.
Scientific Reports, 2021
This paper provides results from a suite of analyses made on human dental material from the Late Palaeolithic to Neolithic strata of the cave site of Grotta Continenza situated in the Fucino Basin of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. The available human remains from this site provide a unique possibility to study ways in which forager versus farmer lifeways affected human odonto-skeletal remains. The main aim of our study is to understand palaeodietary patterns and their changes over time as reflected in teeth. These analyses involve a review of metrics and oral pathologies, micro-fossils preserved in the mineralized dental plaque, macrowear, and buccal microwear. Our results suggest that these complementary approaches support the assumption about a critical change in dental conditions and status with the introduction of Neolithic foodstuff and habits. However, we warn that different methodologies applied here provide data at different scales of resolution for detecting such changes and a multipronged approach to the study of dental collections is needed for a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of diachronic changes. The transition from foraging to farming was a long-lasting and nonlinear process that took place over several millennia and enfolded at different times in different parts of the world (e.g. 1-3). While this process is clearly reflected in changes in material culture traditions, it can equally well be observed on skeletal evidence (e.g. 4-6). Among other human remains, teeth represent the privileged anatomical segment for the application of sophisticated analytical methods. Teeth are the most durable part of the human body; mineralized tissues capable of preserving valuable information about an individual's biological life history. As food passes through the mouth, teeth trap direct evidence of dietary practices-either through physical-chemical changes foodstuff causes in teeth (certain dental pathologies), traces of wear, and/or foods deposited in the matrix of mineralized dental plaque. Besides information on dietary practices, various physiological processes are also recorded in dental structures. In particular, carious lesions can be informative of the consumption of highly cariogenic wild and domesticated plant foods as they involve the progressive demineralization of the mineral component of the dental tissues by acids produced from the fermentation of food particles 7. Dental microwear analysis is commonly used to investigate shifts in dietary habits in past human populations 8-12. Foodstuffs chewing causes microscopic OPEN
2016
Análisis antropométrico y de paleodieta de los restos humanos de un subadulto de ocho años de edad recuperados en la excavación del yacimiento mesolítico de Sheikh Mustafa (Sudán Central). Se ha comparado la muestra con otras de hueso animal y del suelo circundante para evaluar los efectos diagenéticos de contaminación. El individuo tuvo una dieta fundamentalmente vegetariana incorporando la ingesta de leche y pescado; los moluscos y la carne forman parte de la dieta en menor grado. The human remains of an eight years old subadult found in the excavation of the Sheikh Mustafa site (Central Sudan) have been analysed for anthropometric description and palaeodiet determination. Comparison of the human sample with animal bone and soil samples from the same context has allowed to evaluate the diagenetic contamination effects on the human sample. The individual had a basically vegetarian diet with a milk and fish component; molluscs and meat seem to have been minor. SUMARIO 1. Anthropometric analysis. 2. Dietary analysis.
Here, we present δ 13 C and δ 15 N results for the dietary reconstruction of nomadic pastoralists from the Iron Age (ca. 1000 BC–8 AD) site of Heigouliang. The human (n = 27) δ 13 C values range from À19.6‰ to À17.0‰ with a mean value of À18.5 ± 0.5‰, and the δ 15 N results range from 11.5‰ to 13.8‰ with a mean value of 12.4 ± 0.6‰. The results indicated that animals, like sheep, were part of the predominately C 3 terrestrial diet, but two individuals have values greater than À18‰ that is indicative of some input of C 4 foods in their diets. Because of a lack of faunal samples and to supply complementary information concerning plant consumption, teeth from four individuals were analysed for dental calculus microfossils. Starch grains were found to correspond to Triticeae and Poaceae, possibly including wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), highland barley (H. vulgare L var. nudum), foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and/or common millet (Panicum miliaceum). At the population level, no dietary differences were detected between burial owners and sacrificial victims, but variations were found when specific tombs were analysed. In particular, individuals with bone trauma associated with armed conflict also had distinct isotopic signatures possibly suggesting that some of the sacrificial victims could have been captured warriors that were sacrificed for the burial owners. While limited, the results are some of the first from an Iron Age population from Xinjiang and contribute to our understanding of the dietary patterns of this region.
The diet of settled Neolithic farmers of east-central Europe: isotopic and dental microwear evidence
This study reconstructs Middle and Late Neolithic dietary practices in the area of the today Czech Republic and Lower Austria with a help of complementary evidence of stable isotope and dental microwear analysis. From a total of 171 humans, carbon and nitrogen isotopic values were measured in bone collagen of 146 individuals (accompanied by 64 animals) while 113 individuals were included into buccal dental microwear analysis. The samples were divided into two newly established chronological phases: Neolithic B (4900-4000 BC) and Neolithic C (3800-3400 BC) based on radiocarbon data modelling. Isotopic results show that the Neolithic diet was of terrestrial origin with a dominant plant component. A small but statistically significant shift in human carbon isotopic values to a higher δ 13 C was observed during the Neolithic C, probably reflecting an underlying change in plant growing conditions. Dental microwear results suggest a shift in adult diet and/or food preparation techniques between the Neolithic B and C, which, however, was not reflected in either the carbon or nitrogen isotopic values. The positive correlations between nitrogen isotopic values and the dental microwear variables (NV, XV, XT and NV/ NT) observed in the adult sample suggest that meat rather than milk was the dominant source of animal protein, or that food enriched in 15 N was processed specifically. Also, as both methods offer a snapshot of different periods of an individual's life, the presence of a significant correlation may imply highly repetitive dietary behaviour during their lifetime.
Stable isotopes from bones and teeth have been used to reconstruct human lifeways in bioarchaeological research for over 30 years. Recently, there have been efforts to use less invasive methods of analysis that meet ethical standards and do not compromise the integrity of human skeletal remains. To that end, this study examines dental calculus from human teeth as a proxy for paleodietary reconstruction. This current work builds on a handful of studies that have tested the use of dental calculus for reconstructing diet, which have shown mixed results. This study contributes to those ongoing efforts to improve methods and capacities in paleodiet research. The sample is comprised of dental calculus from individuals from the Wari (600-1000 CE) and post-Wari periods (1000-1400 CE). Individuals from both time periods with stable carbon and nitrogen isotope data from the calculus are directly compared to the stable isotope results from human bone collagen, dental carbonates, and bone carbonates. Results from dental calculus show δ 13 C that range from-20.5 ‰ to − 12.3 ‰, consistent with the use of C 4 plants (maize) as a major component of the diet. The δ 13 C from calculus are isotopically lighter and more varied than those obtained from collagen, and this is likely explained by the distinct composition of calculus compared to that of bone collagen and apatite. The δ 15 N from calculus range from +8.9 ‰ to +18.8 ‰, which is heavier than expected for highland maize-based diets in the Peruvian Andes. This may be explained by 15 N enrichment from aridity or crop fertilization (e.g., camelid dung), especially during the post Wari period, a time of social upheaval and severe drought. The differences in stable isotope values may also be partially explained by the diet-sourced isotopes in bone collagen (e.g., averaging the last 5-10 years of life) versus that of dental calculus (e.g., averaging the last few years of life). Documenting these differences in stable isotope ratios from distinct components may aid in richer understandings of past diets and provide additional ways to compare diet through time and space. Indeed, as more researchers begin analyzing the stable isotope ratios from dental calculus, we can minimize destructive techniques and make direct comparisons between studies that use dental calculus. We suggest that this is an important expansion of our analytical toolkit.
Dental caries evidence for dietary change: An archaeological context
The study of pattern of health and lifestyle from human dentition has been an important area of investigation throughout much of the history of dental anthropology. In this regard, the analysis of pathological processes in enamel, its underlying tissue, and the associated bone supporting the teeth has proved of immense value in understanding the relationship between diet and dental health (Huss-Ashmore et &1., 1982; Goodman et &1., 1984; Larsen , 1987a). It is the purpose of this chapter to present findings on diachronic change in the prevalence of dental caries in archaeological populations by way of study of a well documented series from the Southeastern United States, especially with relation to dietary reconstruction and behavioral inference.
The abuse of archaeological bone analyses for dietary studies
Archaeometry, 1989
The archaeometric literature is filling rapidly with articles extolling the virtues of employing the trace element contents of archaeological bone in the reconstruction of ancient diets and age-or sex-related bone metabolism studies (e.g. Bratter et al. 1977;