Tooth wear and dental pathology at the advent of agriculture: New evidence from the Levant

Abstract

Differences in patterns of diet and subsistence through the analysis of dental pathology and tooth wear were studied in skeletal populations of Natufian hunter-gatherers (10,500-8300 BC) and Neolithic populations (8300-5500 BC, noncalibrated) from the southern Levant. 1,160 Natufians and 804 Neolithic teeth were examined for rate of attrition, caries, antemortem tooth loss, calculus, periapical lesions, and periodontal processes. While the Natufian people manifest a higher rate of dental attrition and periodontal disease (36.4% vs. 19%), Neolithic people show a higher rate of calculus. Both populations manifested low and similar rates of caries (6.4% in the Natufian vs. 6.7% in the Neolithic), periapical lesions (not over 1.5%), and antemortem tooth loss (3.7% vs. 4.5%, respectively). Molar wear pattern in the Neolithic is different than in the Natufian. The current study shows that the dental picture obtained from the two populations is multifactorial in nature, and not exclusively of dietary origin, i.e., the higher rate and unique pattern of attrition seen in the Natufian could result from a greater consumption of fibrous plants, the use of pestles and mortars (which introduce large quantities of stone-dust to the food), and/or the use of teeth as a "third hand." The two major conclusions of this study are: 1) The transition from hunting and gathering to a food-producing economy in the Levant did not promote changes in dental health, as previously believed. This generally indicates that the Natufians and Neolithic people of the Levant may have differed in their ecosystem management (i.e., gathering vs. growing grains), but not in the type of food consumed. 2) Changes in food-preparation techniques and nondietary usage of the teeth explain much of the variation in tooth condition in populations before and after the agricultural revolution.

First molar size and wear within and among modern hunter-gatherers and agricultural populations

“…Variation in dental wear between hunter-gatherers and agricultural populations has been widely reported (Deter, 2009;Eshed et al, 2006;Hinton, 1982). Surprisingly, our results for both dental size and dental wear are not consistent with this idea.…”

“…In general, the Inuit, Batéké-Balali, and Navajo were characterized by higher values of dental wear than the Agta group. This result is somewhat surprising, as we would have expected hunter-gatherers to present more pronounced dental wear than agricultural groups, as was reported elsewhere (Deter, 2009;Eshed et al, 2006;Hinton, 1982). Agta are the indigenous inhabitants of the Philippine islands and are typical representatives of the hunting-gathering lifestyle, with a diet based on hunted meat and gathered wild fruits and other plants (Estiko-Griffin and Griffin, 1981;Minter, 2010).…”

“…The transition from forager to agro-pastoral lifestyles implied significant changes in dietary habits and food-processing techniques that decreased the abrasiveness of consumed foods (Deter, 2009;Eshed et al, 2006;Hinton, 1982;Smith, 1984). Smith (1984) reported an increase in the inclination of wear surfaces of lower molars in agricultural populations compared to hunter-gatherers, as a result of a reduction in food toughness with the adoption of agriculture.…”

“…Hinton (1982), who compared dental wear scores on first and second molars among Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian samples from the Tennessee Valley, reported higher degrees of this feature in the Archaic sample (hunter-gatherers), followed by the Woodland group (hunter-gatherers with some cultivation admixture) and Mississippian sample (food production with supplementary hunting and gathering). Eshed et al (2006) analyzed mandibular dental wear between the Natufian hunter-gatherers from southern Levant (10500-8300 BCE) and Neolithic populations (8300-5500 BCE) and found higher rates of dental wear, for all tooth types, in the forager groups. Finally, Deter (2009), analyzing maxillary teeth, found higher percentages of dentin exposure for all tooth types in North American hunter-gatherers (3,385±365 BCE) than in more recent agricultural groups (~1300 CE).…”

Using dental and activity indicators in order to explore possible sex differences in an adult rural medieval population from Thebes (Greece)

“…However, apart from the reduction of wear rates, the onset of agriculture also brought the differentiation of wear patterns. For instance, it has been documented that populations of hunter-gatherers presented evenly distributed flat wear, whereas agricultural communities a more angled wear (Eshed et al 2006). Furthermore, a hypothesis of caries attrition competition has been formed, based on the assumption that a beneficial effect of tooth wear is to avoid development of caries (Maat and Van der Velde 1987).…”