The analysis of oral pathologies is routinely a part of bioarchaeological and paleopathological investigations. Oral health, while certainly interesting by itself, is also potentially informative about general or systemic health. Numerous studies within modern populations have shown associations between oral pathologies and other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer, and pulmonary infections. This paper addresses the question of how oral health was associated with general health in past populations by examining the relationship between two oral pathologies (periodontal disease and dental caries) and the risk of mortality in a cemetery sample from medieval England. The effects of periodontitis and dental caries on risk of death were assessed using a sample of 190 individuals from the St. Mary Graces, London cemetery dating to approximately A.D. 1350–1538. The results suggest that the oral pathologies are associated with elevated risks of mortality in the St. Mary Graces cemetery, such that individuals with periodontitis and dental caries were more likely to die than their peers without such pathologies. The results shown here suggest that these oral pathologies can be used as informative indicators of general health in past populations.

These results might indicate strong selective mortality operating during childhood or the effects of migration in the industrial-era population of London.

Numerous studies have demonstrated significant associations between periodontal disease and many other diseases in living populations, and some studies have shown that individuals with periodontal disease are at elevated risks of mortality. Recent analysis of a medieval skeletal sample from London has also shown that periodontal disease was associated with increased risks of mortality in the past. This study examines whether periodontal disease is associated with periosteal lesions in a skeletal sample from the urban St. Mary Graces cemetery (n = 265) from medieval London. The results reveal a significant association between periodontal disease and periosteal lesions in the St. Mary Graces sample (i.e., individuals with periodontal disease were also likely to have periosteal lesions), and the association between the two is independent of age. The association between the two pathological conditions might reflect underlying reduced immune competence and thus heightened susceptibility to pathogens that cause periodontal disease or periosteal lesions, exposure to an environmental factor, or underlying heightened inflammatory responses.

24The trillions of microorganisms that live in association with the human body 25 (microbiota) are critical for human health and disease, but there is a limited 26 understanding of how cultural and environmental factors shaped our microbiota 27 diversity through time. However, biomolecular remnants of the human oral 28 microbiota -recovered from the calcified dental plaque (calculus) of our long-dead 29ancestors -are providing a new means of exploring this key relationship of our 30 evolutionary history. Here, we correlate extensive experimental, archaeological, and 31 biological metadata with 128 ancient dental calculus specimens from Medieval and 32Post-Medieval London, UK (1066 -1853 CE). We identify a significant association 33 between microbiota and oral geography (i.e. tooth type and tooth surface), which has 34 confounded ancient microbiota studies to date. By controlling for oral geography, 35 however, we identify the first associations between ancient microbiota and cultural 36 and environmental signatures. We find significant links between ancient British 37 microbiota structure and health, including skeletal markers of stress that may reflect 38 low socioeconomic status. Furthermore, this study provides baseline data to explore 39 factors that drive microbiota differentiation within and between ancient populations 40 and highlights the potential of ancient microbiota to infer detailed health and socio-41 cultural information about the past.

When recorded consistently, HFI was positively correlated with age and longevity but had also increased among old age females over time. Our results suggest that nulliparity co-occurs with HFI but is not a primary factor in its pathogenesis. Key factors in HFI presence in females are likely to be increased androgens and the dysregulation of insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1.