Liu W, Zhang Q C, Wu X J, Zhu H
Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China.
Homo. 2010 Apr;61(2):102-16. doi: 10.1016/j.jchb.2010.02.002. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
Tooth wear and dental pathology related to diet and lifestyle were investigated in the human dental remains unearthed from three archaeological sites of Bronze Age and Iron Age in Xinjiang of northwest China, and in comparative samples from two Neolithic sites in Henan and Shanxi in central China along the Yellow River. Our results indicate that the average tooth wear on most tooth types in the three Xinjiang sites was close to those of the Neolithic samples from central China. The variation within the Xinjiang samples was also explored. Some special wear patterns such as severe wear on the first molar and relatively heavy wear of anterior teeth were observed on the specimens from the Xinjiang sites. Obvious differences in caries and antemortem tooth loss were found between Xinjiang and comparative samples with higher frequencies of caries observed in samples from central China and higher antemortem tooth loss in samples from the Xinjiang sites. Strongly developed exostoses (tori) were also identified on mandibles and maxillae of the specimens from Xinjiang. The authors believe that the differences in tooth wear and dental pathology between Xinjiang and central China were caused by differences in diet and lifestyle. Food of a harder texture was consumed by the people who lived in Xinjiang than by the people in Henan and Shanxi of central China. The higher occurrence of heavily worn anterior teeth and some other special wear patterns, antemortem tooth loss and presence of exostoses on jaw bones in Xinjiang suggest that the people in Xinjiang lived in a relatively harsh environment, frequently gnawing hard objects, or using teeth as some kind of tools. All these activities put masticatory organs under a heavy load. The differences in caries frequencies between the frontier and central areas of China indicate that food richer in carbohydrates was consumed by the people in the central areas. It is proposed that about 3000-2000 years BP in many areas of frontier Xinjiang, people mainly relied on the type of hunter-gatherer economy with agriculture playing a smaller role in their lifestyle.
在中国西北部新疆地区的三个青铜时代和铁器时代考古遗址出土的人类牙齿遗骸中，以及在中国中部黄河流域河南和山西的两个新石器时代遗址的对比样本中，研究了与饮食和生活方式相关的牙齿磨损及牙齿病理学情况。我们的研究结果表明，新疆三个遗址中大多数牙齿类型的平均牙齿磨损程度与中国中部新石器时代样本相近。同时也探究了新疆样本内部的差异情况。在新疆遗址的标本上观察到了一些特殊的磨损模式，比如第一磨牙的严重磨损以及前牙相对较重的磨损。新疆样本与对比样本在龋齿和生前牙齿脱落方面存在明显差异，在中国中部样本中观察到更高的龋齿发生率，而在新疆遗址样本中生前牙齿脱落的发生率更高。在新疆标本的下颌骨和上颌骨上还发现了发育强烈的外生骨疣（骨隆突）。作者认为，新疆与中国中部在牙齿磨损和牙齿病理学方面的差异是由饮食和生活方式的不同导致的。生活在新疆的人食用的食物质地比中国中部河南和山西的人食用的食物质地更硬。新疆前牙重度磨损及其他一些特殊磨损模式、生前牙齿脱落以及颌骨上存在外生骨疣的较高发生率表明，新疆的人们生活在相对恶劣的环境中，经常啃咬硬物，或者将牙齿用作某种工具。所有这些活动都使咀嚼器官承受了沉重负担。中国边疆地区和中部地区龋齿发生率的差异表明，中部地区的人们食用了碳水化合物含量更高的食物。据推测，在距今约3000 - 2000年前的新疆边疆许多地区，人们主要依赖狩猎采集型经济，农业在他们的生活方式中所起的作用较小。
