Institute of Evolutionary Medicine - University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland; South Tyrol Archeological Museum, Bozen, Italy; Institute for Mummy Studies, Eurac Research, Bozen, Italy.
Institute of Evolutionary Medicine - University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse, 190, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland.
Arch Oral Biol. 2024 Aug;164:105985. doi: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2024.105985. Epub 2024 Apr 30.
Oral status is an important indicator of past lifestyles. Determining the presence and extent of oral pathologies helps reconstruct average oral health, paramasticatory activities and diet of ancient and historical populations.
In this study, the dental remains from the early medieval cemetery of Früebergstrasse in Baar (Canton of Zug, Switzerland) and the high medieval Dalheim cemetery (North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) were analyzed. Caries, periodontal condition, periapical lesions, antemortem tooth loss, and enamel hypoplasia were assessed in 654 teeth (993 observable loci) from 68 individuals (Baar: n = 36; Dalheim: n = 32).
The oral status of both populations was affected by age with higher values of tooth wear in advanced age individuals. High tooth wear values in both populations point towards the consumption of abrasive foods. Pronounced anterior tooth wear in Baar may also be due to non-masticatory tooth usage. Finally, possible nutritional deficiencies were hypothesized for the Baar population. A higher caries prevalence was observed in the Baar group, probably due to differences in carbohydrate intake. The oral conditions observed in the two studied populations exhibited several analogies, suggesting comparable lifestyles despite their separation in space and time. The only differences observed are related to the use of teeth as "tools" and are thus determined by behavioral choices rather than diverse socioeconomic factors.
Using multiple dental parameters to examine the oral health of premodern individuals can provide useful insights into the interactions between humans and their environment, from dietary patterns to paramasticatory activities.
口腔状况是过去生活方式的重要指标。确定口腔病变的存在和程度有助于重建古代和历史人群的平均口腔健康、副咀嚼活动和饮食情况。
本研究分析了瑞士楚格州巴尔（Früebergstrasse）早期中世纪墓地和德国北莱茵-威斯特法伦州（Dalheim）高中世纪墓地的牙齿遗骸。对 68 名个体（巴尔：n=36；Dalheim：n=32）的 654 颗牙齿（993 个可观察部位）进行了龋齿、牙周状况、根尖病变、生前牙缺失和釉质发育不全的评估。
两个群体的口腔状况都受到年龄的影响，高龄个体的牙齿磨损值较高。两个群体的高牙齿磨损值表明食用了粗糙食物。巴尔人群前牙磨损明显可能也与非咀嚼性牙齿使用有关。最后，巴尔人群可能存在营养不足的情况。巴尔组的龋齿患病率较高，可能是由于碳水化合物摄入量的差异。研究中观察到的两个群体的口腔状况存在一些相似之处，表明尽管在空间和时间上存在差异，但生活方式相似。唯一观察到的差异与牙齿作为“工具”的使用有关，因此是由行为选择决定的，而不是多样化的社会经济因素。
使用多个牙齿参数来检查前现代人的口腔健康，可以深入了解人类与环境之间的相互作用，包括饮食模式和副咀嚼活动。
