Differences in interproximal and occlusal tooth wear among prehistoric Tennessee Indians: implications for masticatory function.

Breadth of the interproximal wear facet between lower P2 and M1 and between lower M1 and M2 was measured in human skeletal samples representing the Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian periods of Tennessee River Valley prehistory, with the aim of assessing relative magnitudes of applied masticatory forces. When stratified by level of occlusal wear, mean interproximal facet breadth was consistently larger in the Archaic sample than in the Mississippi sample, with the Woodland sample intermediate. An analysis of covariance demonstrated that there was significant (p less than or equal to 0.01) differences in facet size among the three groups even when differencs in crown breadth were taken into account. Similar results were obtained in regressions of facet size on chronological age (Archaic larger than Mississippian at P less than or equal to 0.01). Since rate of occlusal wear appears to be somewhat greater in the Archaic sample than in the later samples, the differences in interproximal wear are probably underestimated. It is suggested that the high levels of interproximal wear in the Archaic are indicative of the large occlusal forces and repetitive chewing required to masticate a diet of seeds, wild plant foods, and small animals, for which prior preparation (e.g., grinding, cooking) was minimal or nonexistent (as indicated by paleofecal samples). The lower amounts of interproximal wear observed in the Woodland and Mississippian samples imply considerable reductions in strenous mastication, perhaps due to the widespread adoption during these period of pottery and the earth oven, together with ethnographically-documented techniques of food preparation that transformed most foods to a soft consistency.