Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2013 Mar;150(3):409-20. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.22215. Epub 2013 Jan 28.
Many bioarchaeological studies have established a link between increased dental caries prevalence and the intensification of agriculture. However, research in Southeast Asia challenges the global application of this theory. Although often overlooked, dental health of infants and children can provide a sensitive source of information concerning health and subsistence change. This article investigates the prevalence and location of caries in the dentition of infants and children (less than 15 years of age) from eight prehistoric mainland Southeast Asian sites collectively spanning the Neolithic to late Iron Age, during which time rice agriculture became an increasingly important subsistence mode. Caries prevalence varied among the sites but there was no correlation with chronological change. The absence of evidence of a decline in dental health over time can be attributed to the relative noncariogenicity of rice and retention of broad-spectrum subsistence strategies. No differences in caries type indicating differences in dental health were found between the sites, apart from the Iron Age site of Muang Sema. There was a higher prevalence of caries in the deciduous dentition than the permanent dentition, likely due to a cariogenic weaning diet and the higher sensitivity of deciduous teeth to decay. The level of caries in the permanent dentition suggests an increased reliance on less cariogenic foods during childhood, including rice. The absence of a temporal decline in dental health of infants and children strengthens the argument that the relationship between caries and agricultural intensification in Southeast Asia was more complex than the general model suggests.
许多生物考古学研究已经建立了一个联系，即龋齿的流行与农业的集约化之间存在联系。然而，东南亚的研究挑战了这一理论在全球范围内的适用性。尽管经常被忽视，但婴儿和儿童的牙齿健康可以为健康和生存方式的变化提供一个敏感的信息来源。本文调查了来自东南亚大陆的八个史前遗址的婴儿和儿童（15 岁以下）的龋齿流行情况和位置，这些遗址共同跨越了新石器时代到后期铁器时代，在此期间，水稻农业成为一种越来越重要的生存方式。龋齿的流行率在各遗址之间有所不同，但与时间变化无关。随着时间的推移，牙齿健康没有下降的证据可以归因于水稻的相对非致龋性和广谱生存策略的保留。除了铁器时代的 Muang Sema 遗址外，各遗址之间没有发现龋齿类型的差异，这表明牙齿健康状况没有差异。乳牙的龋齿患病率高于恒牙，这可能是由于致龋的断奶饮食和乳牙对腐烂的敏感性较高所致。恒牙的龋齿程度表明，儿童时期对包括水稻在内的致龋性较低的食物的依赖程度增加。婴儿和儿童牙齿健康没有随时间下降，这有力地证明了东南亚地区龋齿与农业集约化之间的关系比一般模式所表明的更为复杂。
