Trent M Trombley1, Sabrina C Agarwal1, Patrick D Beauchesne2, Caroline Goodson3, Francesca Candilio4,5, Alfredo Coppa6, Mauro Rubini7,8. 1. Department of Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California. 2. Department of Behavioral Sciences, University of Michigan, Dearborn, Dearborn, Michigan. 3. Faculty of History, University of Cambridge, King's College, Cambridge, United Kingdom. 4. Anthropological Service, Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per la città metropolitana di Cagliari e le province di Oristano e Sud Sardegna, Cagliari, Italy. 5. Physical Anthropology Section, University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 6. Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy. 7. Department of Archaeology, Foggia University, Foggia, Italy. 8. Anthropological Service, S.A.B.A.P.-LAZ, Rome, Italy.
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Bioarchaeological investigations of sex-based differences in the prevalence of dental pathological lesions, particularly caries, have drawn considerable attention, and out of this work, two dominant models have emerged. Traditionally, the first model interprets sex-related patterns in caries as a product of gendered differences in diet. A more recent model interprets a generally higher propensity for caries prevalence in females in light of reproductive ecology. To test the hypothesis that females have higher risk of caries in accordance with reproductive ecology, we examined and analyzed caries prevalence and other potentially synergistic oral pathological lesions in a late medieval (A.D. 1300-1500) Italian archaeological sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined sex- and age-related prevalence in caries and other oral pathological lesions in a late medieval Italian skeletal assemblage excavated from Villamagna consisting of 38 females and 37 males (n = 1,534 teeth). We examined age- and sex-related patterns in six dental traits: antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, periapical inflammation, tooth wear, and periodontitis. RESULTS: Significant age-related increases in antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, and tooth wear were observed in both males and females. However, there was a lack of expected sex differences in oral pathological lesions, with instead older males exhibiting significantly more antemortem tooth loss and corrected caries than females. DISCUSSION: Results are discussed in relation to the ethnohistoric context of medieval rural dietary practices as well as biomedical salivary literature, which suggest that dietary changes throughout the life course may have facilitated trade-offs that buffered females from higher rates of dental pathological lesions.
OBJECTIVES: Bioarchaeological investigations of sex-based differences in the prevalence of dental pathological lesions, particularly caries, have drawn considerable attention, and out of this work, two dominant models have emerged. Traditionally, the first model interprets sex-related patterns in caries as a product of gendered differences in diet. A more recent model interprets a generally higher propensity for caries prevalence in females in light of reproductive ecology. To test the hypothesis that females have higher risk of caries in accordance with reproductive ecology, we examined and analyzed caries prevalence and other potentially synergistic oral pathological lesions in a late medieval (A.D. 1300-1500) Italian archaeological sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined sex- and age-related prevalence in caries and other oral pathological lesions in a late medieval Italian skeletal assemblage excavated from Villamagna consisting of 38 females and 37 males (n = 1,534 teeth). We examined age- and sex-related patterns in six dental traits: antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, periapical inflammation, tooth wear, and periodontitis. RESULTS: Significant age-related increases in antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, and tooth wear were observed in both males and females. However, there was a lack of expected sex differences in oral pathological lesions, with instead older males exhibiting significantly more antemortem tooth loss and corrected caries than females. DISCUSSION: Results are discussed in relation to the ethnohistoric context of medieval rural dietary practices as well as biomedical salivary literature, which suggest that dietary changes throughout the life course may have facilitated trade-offs that buffered females from higher rates of dental pathological lesions.
Authors: Carolina Bertilsson; Eva Borg; Sabine Sten; Eva Hessman; Helen Sjöblom; Peter Lingström Journal: Caries Res Date: 2022-01-31 Impact factor: 4.056