Urbanization, Economic Change, and Dental Health in Roman and Medieval Britain

Abstract

In modern populations, inequalities in oral health have been observed between urban and rural communities, but to date the impact of the place of residence on oral health in archaeological populations has received only limited attention. This meta-study analyses dental palaeopathological data to examine the relationship between place of residence and oral health in Roman, early medieval, and late medieval Britain. Published data on ante-mortem tooth loss, calculus, caries, dental abscesses, and periodontal disease were analysed from cemeteries in urban and rural locations from each period. The results indicate that the place of residence influenced oral health in Roman and late medieval times, with urban populations enjoying better oral health than rural populations in Roman Britain, but poorer oral health in the late Middle Ages. These findings may reflect changes in the nature of urban settlements and in their relationship with their rural hinterlands over time.

Height and health in Roman and Post-Roman Gaul, a life course approach

“…Several studies from across the Western Roman Empire have attributed perceived dips in health to high degrees of urbanization and population density, resulting in overcrowding and insalubrity (Gowland, 2017;Griffin, 2017;Jongman et al, 2019;Redfern and Roberts, 2005;Redfern and DeWitte, 2011;Rohnbogner and Lewis, 2016;Scheidel, 2012a). These conditions would have increased pathogen exposure and pathogen sustainability, including viruses, bacteria and parasites (Aldrete, 2004;Morley, 2004;Scheidel, 2015;Scobie, 1986).…”

Toward a bioarchaeology of urbanization: Demography, health, and behavior in cities in the past

“…The frequencies of LEH were lowest in one of the rural samples (though the two rural sites had the highest rates of the most severe forms of LEH), but frequencies of caries were lowest in one of the urban samples. Griffin (2017) finds that the direction of urban-rural differences in oral health (i.e., dental caries, antemortem tooth loss, calculus, dental abscess, and periodontal disease) reversed over time in Britain with urban inhabitants initially having better oral health than rural inhabitants (Roman Britain), but by the late medieval period, oral health is better among the rural samples. Nystrom (2013)…”

“…Griffin (2017) finds that the direction of urban–rural differences in oral health (i.e., dental caries, antemortem tooth loss, calculus, dental abscess, and periodontal disease) reversed over time in Britain with urban inhabitants initially having better oral health than rural inhabitants (Roman Britain), but by the late medieval period, oral health is better among the rural samples. Nystrom (2013) compares rates of caries, periapical abscesses, and antemortem tooth loss in a rural, 19th‐century CE free Black cemetery to those in contemporaneous urban almshouse, middle‐ and upper‐class European, and free Black and enslaved Black cemeteries from the Northeastern United States.…”

Health, stress, and urbanism in the Hellenistic–Roman metropolis of Nea Paphos, Cyprus: A comparative analysis

“…Urbanization is one of the most significant shifts in human history with numerous bioarchaeological studies exploring its effects in ancient societies (Betsinger & DeWitte, 2021; Griffin, 2017; Primeau et al, 2018; Redfern et al, 2015; Walter & DeWitte, 2017). Urbanism, as defined in geographical and social sciences, is the way of living associated with living in cities (Moles, 2019; Wirth, 1938).…”

“…There are only few bioarchaeological studies focusing on urban Hellenistic populations while Roman populations and of other chronological periods as well as comparisons between urban, suburban, and rural areas have been a subject of research for many years now (e.g., Bonsall, 2013;Griffin, 2017;Killgrove, 2014Killgrove, , 2018Killgrove, , 2017Pitts & Griffin, 2012;Primeau et al, 2018;Redfern et al, 2015;Walter & DeWitte, 2017). Cyprus, an island situated at the most eastern part of the Mediterranean, is of great interest to archaeologists, particularly due to a series of key politico-economic developments and innovations that took place at that time.…”