Richter Svend, Eliasson Sigfus Thor
Faculty of Odontology, University of Iceland, IS101 Reykjavik, Iceland.
Dent J (Basel). 2017 Aug 29;5(3):24. doi: 10.3390/dj5030024.
(1) Background: The importance of the Icelandic Sagas as a source of information about diet habits in medieval Iceland, and possibly other Nordic countries, is obvious. Extensive tooth wear in archaeological material worldwide has revealed that the main cause of this wear is believed to have been a coarse diet. Near the volcano Hekla, 66 skeletons dated from before 1104 were excavated, and 49 skulls could be evaluated for tooth wear. The purpose of this study was to determine the main causes of tooth wear in light of diet and beverage consumption described in the Sagas; (2) Materials and methods: Two methods were used to evaluate tooth wear and seven for age estimation; (3) Results: Extensive tooth wear was seen in all of the groups, increasing with age. The first molars had the highest score, with no difference between sexes. These had all the similarities seen in wear from a coarse diet, but also presented with characteristics that are seen in erosion in modern Icelanders, through consuming excessive amounts of soft drinks. According to the Sagas, acidic whey was a daily drink and was used for the preservation of food in Iceland, until fairly recently; (4) Conclusions: It is postulated that the consumption of acidic drinks and food, in addition to a coarse and rough diet, played a significant role in the dental wear seen in ancient Icelanders.
(1) 背景：冰岛传奇作为中世纪冰岛饮食习惯信息来源的重要性不言而喻，对其他北欧国家可能也具有重要意义。世界各地考古材料中广泛存在的牙齿磨损表明，这种磨损的主要原因据信是粗糙的饮食。在赫克拉火山附近，挖掘出了66具可追溯至1104年以前的骨骼，其中49颗头骨可用于评估牙齿磨损情况。本研究的目的是根据传奇中描述的饮食和饮料消费情况，确定牙齿磨损的主要原因；(2) 材料与方法：采用两种方法评估牙齿磨损情况，七种方法估计年龄；(3) 结果：所有组均出现广泛的牙齿磨损，且随年龄增长而增加。第一磨牙得分最高，男女之间无差异。这些磨损具有粗糙饮食导致磨损的所有相似之处，但也呈现出冰岛现代人因过量饮用软饮料而出现的侵蚀特征。根据传奇记载，酸性乳清曾是冰岛的日常饮品，且直到最近仍被用于保存食物；(4) 结论：据推测，除了粗糙的饮食外，酸性饮料和食物的消费在古代冰岛人的牙齿磨损中起到了重要作用。
