scholarly journals Dental Health and Diet of Two Prehistoric Populations from Chile's Semiarid North

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Araya Rosado
Keyword(s):  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Historical Evidence ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Antemortem Tooth Loss ◽  
Infection Processes ◽  
Log Ratio ◽  
Two Populations

This investigation examines dental health and diet of two prehistoric populations from Chile's semiarid north. Trace element and dental paleopathological analyses  have been conducted on skeletal remains of hunter-gatherers of the Archaic period (n=99, ca. 1,800 BC) and agriculturalists of the Diaguita period (n=82, 1,000-1,500 AD). Archaeological and historical evidence indicates that the Diaguita diet primarily incorporated cultivated and wild plants, but also included pastoralism and marine resources. By contrast, the subsistence of Archaic peoples was primarily based on marine resources. Concentration values of the elements strontium and barium (mean log ratio values for Archaic = -0.7985, n=38; for Diaguita = -0.5475, n=53) support the archaeological evidence for subsistence mode, and thus for diet, of both populations. These concentrations fall within the ranges determined for various archaeological New World populations with similar subsistence and dietary patterns. Based on the differences in subsistence and diet, the variations in dental health between the two populations were investigated. The analysis to date has revealed that both populations suffered from infectious (antemortem tooth loss, abscesses, caries, alveolar recession), degenerative (calculus deposition), and developmental (enamel hypoplasia) dental pathologies. The differences in frequencies of some of the infection processes are statistically significant between the two populations (p,0.05), but overall do not seem to demonstrate, as many other studies have (Larsen, 1984; Schmucker, 1985; Murphy, 1993), as sharp decline in dental health from the hunter-gatherer population. 

scholarly journals Dental Paleopathologies in the Sanders Site ( 41LR2) Population from Lamar County, Texas

1993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diane Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Dental Enamel ◽  
Dietary Factors ◽  
The Body ◽  
High Status ◽  
Skeletal Health ◽  
Pulp Cavity ◽  
Dental Attrition ◽  
Antemortem Tooth Loss

Dental health, like skeletal health, reflects the natural and social environment, as well as genetics. This paper focuses on the results of stress on the teeth once they have erupted; stresses include chemical, mechanical, and pathogenic forces. These forces are primarily the result of dietary factors. The specific aspects of dental health examined in this paper are cariogenesis, dental attrition, antemortem tooth loss, and abscessing. These dental paleopathologies primarily reflect diet and food processing strategies. Throughout the Americas, dental disorders have increased with the adoption of maize agriculture. Reliance on maize provides a sticky, carbohydraterich dietary staple that is favorable to microbial attack. Maize cultivation has been ... correlated with an increase in caries and abscess frequency. Poor dental health also may directly impact general physical health. Periodontal disease often results in gingival inflammation, abscessing, and tooth loss. Lesions in the mouth can be the port of entry for pathogens, such as staphylococci and streptococci, that may then travel to other parts of the body. Dental attrition is not considered a disorder in this paper, but the natural result of a diet high in unprocessed vegetal materials and grit. Grit is introduced into the diet from a variety of means, but I will focus on the introduction of grit through stone grinding implements. Sand particles can also result in a considerable amount of attrition. Dental attrition can, however, lead to pathologies if the pulp cavity is exposed. In this case, the pulp cavity may serve as the focus of infection, resulting in abscessing and eventual tooth loss. Dental health is thus largely dependent on dietary factors. The examination of dental health is useful in reconstructing nutritional behaviors. It will be seen in this examination of the teeth that the maize agriculturalists at the Sanders site were primarily affected by a high frequency of caries. Other factors examined (moderate dental enamel attrition, slight antemortem tooth loss, and slight abscessing) suggest that dietary behaviors were not as detrimental to the Sanders population as has been noted for other maize-dependent agricultural groups. If nutrition was related to status among Caddoan groups, this may be the result of the assumed high status of the individuals interred at the Sanders site, since all the individuals were interred in a mound context.

“Founder crops” v. wild plants: Assessing the plant-based diet of the last hunter-gatherers in southwest Asia

2018 ◽  
Vol 186 ◽  
pp. 263-283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amaia Arranz-Otaegui ◽  
Lara González Carretero ◽  
Joe Roe ◽  
Tobias Richter
Keyword(s):  
Wild Plants ◽  
Southwest Asia ◽  
Hunter Gatherers

Archaeology, Historical Ecology, and Marginality

2019 ◽  
pp. 273-294
Author(s):  
Scott M. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jon M. Erlandson ◽  
Kristina M. Gill ◽  
Mikael Fauvelle ◽  
Jon M. Erlandson
Keyword(s):  
Historical Ecology ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Marine Resources ◽  
Human Settlement ◽  
Island Size ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Plant Foods ◽  
Marginal Environments ◽  
The World

The California Islands provide a case study that suggests that historical depictions of many islands as marginal environments for hunter-gatherers have been exaggerated by the ecological effects of the introduction of exotic plants and animals, historically or prehistorically. The perception of island marginality is traditionally based on variables ranging from island size to remoteness, isolation, and limited resources. Located near a continent, the California Islands are neither remote nor isolated, and they now appear to have been richer in plant foods, marine resources, minerals, fuel, and freshwater, than previously believed. We discuss these issues and explore the implications for other islands around the world where similar transformations have affected views about their marginality for human settlement and sustainability.

scholarly journals Risk factors and socioeconomic condition effects on periodontal and dental health: A pilot study among adults over fifty years of age

2013 ◽  
Vol 07 (03) ◽  
pp. 336-346 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlo Bertoldi ◽  
Michele Lalla ◽  
John Mauricio Pradelli ◽  
Pierpaolo Cortellini ◽  
Andrea Lucchi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Socioeconomic Status ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Socioeconomic Condition ◽  
The Public ◽  
Periodontal Condition ◽  
Unexpected Outcomes

ABSTRACT Objective: Observational studies on the association among systemic/general and oral cavity indices, tooth loss, periodontal conditions, and socioeconomic inequalities are to be still performed in the population of Southern Europe. This study aims to determine the extent of this relationship among Italian healthy adults 50 years of age and above. Materials and Methods: Socioeconomic and lifestyle characteristics, cardiovascular indicators, and systemic indices were examined by contrasting the dental indices among adult people of Northern Italy. Data were processed through correlation analysis, and multivariate analysis was carried out using seemingly unrelated regressions. Results: A total of 118 adults 50 years of age and above, after anamnesis, underwent systemic and dental examination. Their socioeconomic status was found to be inversely associated only with smoking and dental parameters. Unexpected outcomes between lifestyle and risk factors were detected. The statistical analysis showed an uneven correlation among dental indices and between those indices and the socioeconomic status, such as, a periodontal condition, apparently free from influences, unusually became worse as the socioeconomic status enhanced. Conclusions: The study outcomes indicate a relationship between tooth loss and conservative endodontic therapy, but they result in alternative choices. Nevertheless, the socioeconomic status has an inverse relationship with tooth loss and conservative endodontic therapy, but a direct relation with worsening of the periodontal condition. This pilot study highlights a need for the public health administration to adopt a socioeconomic assessment not only based on the household income, but also to accordingly improve its therapeutic course.

Dental health state utility values associated with tooth loss in two contrasting cultures

2009 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 601-609 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Z. NASSANI ◽  
D. LOCKER ◽  
A. A. ELMESALLATI ◽  
H. DEVLIN ◽  
T. M. MOHAMMADI ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Dental Health ◽  
Health State Utility ◽  
Health State ◽  
Utility Values ◽  
Health State Utility Values

scholarly journals Comparative perspective on antemortem tooth loss in Neandertals

2016 ◽  
Vol 92 ◽  
pp. 80-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cassandra C. Gilmore ◽  
Timothy D. Weaver
Keyword(s):  
Tooth Loss ◽  
Comparative Perspective ◽  
Antemortem Tooth Loss

Exploitation of wild plants by the early Neolithic hunter–gatherers of the Western Desert, Egypt: Nabta Playa as a case-study

Antiquity ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 71 (274) ◽  
pp. 932-941 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krystyna Wasylikowa ◽  
Józef Mitka ◽  
Fred Wendorf ◽  
Romuald Schild
Keyword(s):  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Western Desert ◽  
Food Plants ◽  
Wild Plants ◽  
Wild Food ◽  
Wild Food Plants ◽  
Hunter Gatherers ◽  
Agricultural Societies

The role of plants in the subsistence economy of pre-agricultural societies of the eastern Sahara is poorly known because vegetal remains, except for wood charcoal, are seldom found in archaeological sites. Site E-75-6 at Nabta Playa, with rich assemblages of charred seeds and fruits, is exceptional. Around 8000 b.p. the inhabitants of this site collected a wide spectrum of wild food plants. Wild sorghum was of special interest and its occasional cultivation cannot be excluded.

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