1
|
Cox SL, Nicklisch N, Francken M, Wahl J, Meller H, Haak W, Alt KW, Rosenstock E, Mathieson I. Socio-cultural practices may have affected sex differences in stature in Early Neolithic Europe. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:243-255. [PMID: 38081999 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01756-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2024]
Abstract
The rules and structure of human culture impact health as much as genetics or environment. To study these relationships, we combine ancient DNA (n = 230), skeletal metrics (n = 391), palaeopathology (n = 606) and dietary stable isotopes (n = 873) to analyse stature variation in Early Neolithic Europeans from North Central, South Central, Balkan and Mediterranean regions. In North Central Europe, stable isotopes and linear enamel hypoplasias indicate high environmental stress across sexes, but female stature is low, despite polygenic scores identical to males, and suggests that cultural factors preferentially supported male recovery from stress. In Mediterranean populations, sexual dimorphism is reduced, indicating male vulnerability to stress and no strong cultural preference for males. Our analysis indicates that biological effects of sex-specific inequities can be linked to cultural influences at least as early as 7,000 yr ago, and culture, more than environment or genetics, drove height disparities in Early Neolithic Europe.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha L Cox
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
- Physical Anthropology Section, Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| | - Nicole Nicklisch
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University, Krems-Stein, Austria
| | - Michael Francken
- State Office for Cultural Heritage Management Baden-Württemberg, Osteology, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Joachim Wahl
- Paleoanthropology Section, Institute of Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Harald Meller
- State Office for Heritage Management and Archaeology Saxony-Anhalt, State Museum of Prehistory, Halle, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Haak
- Department of Archaeogenetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Kurt W Alt
- Center of Natural and Cultural Human History, Danube Private University, Krems-Stein, Austria
| | - Eva Rosenstock
- Bonn Center for ArchaeoSciences, Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Iain Mathieson
- Department of Genetics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Orellana-González E, Sparacello VS, Bocaege E, Varalli A, Moggi-Cecchi J, Dori I. Insights on patterns of developmental disturbances from the analysis of linear enamel hypoplasia in a Neolithic sample from Liguria (northwestern Italy). INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PALEOPATHOLOGY 2020; 28:123-136. [PMID: 31901428 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2019.12.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2019] [Revised: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 12/15/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To assess developmental disturbances through the analysis of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) frequency and to infer environmental stress and life history within Neolithic communities from Liguria (Italy). MATERIALS 43 unworn/minimally worn permanent anterior teeth of 13 individuals recovered from nearby caves and dated to c. 4800-4400 cal. BCE. METHODS LEH defects were identified with high-resolution macrophotos of dental replicas, age at LEH was calculated via perikymata counts. LEH defects matched between two or more teeth were considered as systemic disturbances. LEH frequency by age classes was analyzed via GLZ and Friedman ANOVA. RESULTS Number of matched defects per individual range between 2-12. The mean LEH per individual was highest in the 2.5-2.99 age category, with a significant increase relative to earlier growth stages, followed by a decline. CONCLUSION LEH may reflect life-history in the local ecology of Neolithic Liguria, where several individuals with osteoarticular tuberculosis have been recorded. Disease burden may have triggered developmental disturbances around the time of weaning. Age at first defect was negatively correlated with age at death and positively with the total number of defects, suggesting that early stress may have affected survivorship. SIGNIFICANCE The study contributes to the reconstruction of ecological pressures among Neolithic people of Liguria, and informs on environmental challenges during the Neolithic adaptive expansion. LIMITATIONS The visual examination of macrophotos is prone to observer error; mid-crown tends to display more visible LEH due to tooth architecture. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Apply different quantitative methods to examine severity and duration of disturbances.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Emmy Bocaege
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Alessandra Varalli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615 Pessac, France; Department of Archaeology, Durham University, UK
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Department of Biology, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy
| | - Irene Dori
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33615 Pessac, France; Department of Biology, Laboratory of Anthropology, University of Florence, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Florence, Italy; Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio per le province di Verona, Rovigo e Vicenza, Piazza S. Fermo 3, 37121 Verona, Italy.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
NAKAYAMA NANA. Diachronic changes in linear enamel hypoplasia during the Edo period (1603–1867), Japan. ANTHROPOL SCI 2019. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.190303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- NANA NAKAYAMA
- Advanced Research Center for Human Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Dental health status of skeletal remains excavated from an abandoned well at Ajnala, India: a bioarchaeological study. ANTHROPOLOGICAL REVIEW 2018. [DOI: 10.2478/anre-2018-0025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Present study was conducted to assess dental health status of the mid-19th century skeletal remains excavated from an abandoned ancient well and to scrutinize the demographic affiliations of the remains. Thousands of bones, teeth and contextual items were excavated non-scientifically from an abandoned well situated underneath a religious structure at Ajnala (Amritsar, India). Four thousands four hundred and seventy five teeth of each type were examined for presence of dental pathologies of caries, wear and linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH). The frequency distribution of each pathological state was calculated for each tooth type using international dental standards available in the literature. The overall dental status was characteristic of young individuals having low prevalence of dental caries and enamel hypoplasiac lesions. Very few teeth had seriously exposed dentine and pulp cavity; indicating consumption of some cariogenic food items. The maxillary and posterior teeth were more affected with dental caries than the mandibular and anterior teeth. LEH defects were found more commonly distributed in the lower canines (44.9%) and upper incisors (34.8%) than their corresponding counterparts and statistically significant differences were noticed in LEH prevalence between anterior and, posterior dentition. The overall percentage of LEH has been found as 15.8%; with 15.4% maxillary and 16.2% mandibular teeth being affected with LEH. The paleodontogical examinations, contextual items and the preliminary molecular findings supported the written versions that victims of Ajnala skeletal remains had sound dental health status and probably belonged to adult males who were killed in 1857 as per written versions.
Collapse
|
5
|
Masotti S, Bogdanic N, Arnaud J, Cervellati F, Gualdi-Russo E. Tooth wear pattern analysis in a sample of Italian Early Bronze Age population. Proposal of a 3-D sampling sequence. Arch Oral Biol 2016; 74:37-45. [PMID: 27871014 DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2016.10.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 10/06/2016] [Accepted: 10/16/2016] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence, distribution and intensity of tooth wear in a sample of an ancient Italian population in order to explain the pattern in terms of dietary habits and/or non-dietary tooth-use behaviors during the Early Bronze Age, with a focus on possible age-group and sex differences. DESIGN Well-preserved permanent teeth of individuals from the Bronze Age site of Ballabio (Lecco) in northern Italy were examined for tooth wear by different methods. Eight 3D models of teeth at increasing severity of wear were created. RESULTS In total, 357 permanent teeth belonging to male and female individuals were included in the study. Dental wear was present in 96.6% of the total sample. Males showed significantly greater levels of wear than females in the mandibular teeth. Both sexes exhibited a significantly different wear direction between the anterior (oblique and flat) and posterior (oblique and concave) teeth. Significant age differences were observed in the direction and level of wear in the incisors, canines and premolars, with higher wear in the older group. Complete and rotatable virtual 3D images of different wear patterns are proposed. CONCLUSIONS The findings of the present study confirm the data from archaeological studies on this site and on northern Italian habits during the Early Bronze Age suggesting a diet rich in vegetables. The observed wear patterns can be related both to the diet of this Bronze age population, based on hard and abrasive food requiring vigorous mastication, and to sex differences in cultural practices.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina Masotti
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Surgical Specialties, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I D'Este, 32, Ferrara 44121, Italy.
| | - Nika Bogdanic
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Surgical Specialties, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I D'Este, 32, Ferrara 44121, Italy
| | - Julie Arnaud
- Department of Human Sciences, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I D'Este, 32, Ferrara 44121, Italy
| | - Franco Cervellati
- Department of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, University of Ferrara, via Luigi Borsari, 46, Ferrara 44121, Italy
| | - Emanuela Gualdi-Russo
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Surgical Specialties, University of Ferrara, Corso Ercole I D'Este, 32, Ferrara 44121, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Age of linear enamel hypoplasia formation based on Massler and colleagues’ and Reid and Dean's standards in a Polish sample dated to 13th–18th century CE. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2014; 65:296-310. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2013.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2013] [Accepted: 11/01/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
|
7
|
No significant difference in the levels of dental fluctuating asymmetry between hypoplastic and non-hypoplastic skeletal groups from the Joseon Dynasty (mid 15th–early 20th century), South Korea. Arch Oral Biol 2013; 58:1047-56. [DOI: 10.1016/j.archoralbio.2013.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2012] [Revised: 01/07/2013] [Accepted: 03/04/2013] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
|
8
|
Cucina A. Maya Sub Adult Mortality and Individual Physiological Frailty: An Analysis of Infant Stress by Means of Linear Enamel Hypoplasia. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013. [DOI: 10.1179/cip.2011.4.1.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
|
9
|
Guatelli-Steinberg D, Ferrell RJ, Spence J. Linear enamel hypoplasia as an indicator of physiological stress in great apes: Reviewing the evidence in light of enamel growth variation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 148:191-204. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
|
10
|
Méndez Collí C, Sierra Sosa T, Tiesler V, Cucina A. Linear enamel hypoplasia at Xcambó, Yucatán, during the Maya Classic period: An evaluation of coastal marshland impact on ancient human populations. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2009; 60:343-58. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2009.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2008] [Accepted: 04/30/2009] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
|
11
|
Ritzman TB, Baker BJ, Schwartz GT. A fine line: A comparison of methods for estimating ages of linear enamel hypoplasia formation. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2008; 135:348-61. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
|
12
|
Starling AP, Stock JT. Dental indicators of health and stress in early Egyptian and Nubian agriculturalists: A difficult transition and gradual recovery. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2007; 134:520-8. [PMID: 17786997 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Although agriculture is now the globally predominant mode of food production, studies of the skeletal remains of early agriculturalists have indicated high levels of physiological stress and poor health relative to hunter-gatherers in similar environments. Previous studies identifying this trend in different regions prompt further research of the causes and effects of subsistence transitions in human societies. Here, 242 dentitions from five ancient Egyptian and Nubian populations are examined: 38 individuals from Jebel Sahaba (Upper Paleolithic), 56 from Badari (Predynastic), 54 from Naqada (Predynastic), 47 from Tarkhan (Dynastic), and 47 from Kerma (Dynastic). These populations span the early period of agricultural intensification along the Nile valley. Skeletal remains were scored for the presence of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) of the dentition, an established indicator of physiological stress and growth interruption. The prevalence of LEH was highest in the "proto-agricultural" (pastoralist) Badari population, with a gradual decline throughout the late Predynastic and early Dynastic periods of state formation. This suggests that the period surrounding the emergence of early agriculture in the Nile valley was associated with high stress and poor health, but that the health of agriculturalists improved substantially with the increasing urbanization and trade that accompanied the formation of the Egyptian state. This evidence for poor health among proto- and early agriculturalists in the Nile valley supports theories that agricultural intensification occurred as a response to ecological or demographic pressure rather than simply as an innovation over an existing stable subsistence strategy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne P Starling
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
| | | |
Collapse
|
13
|
Griffin RC, Donlon D. Dental enamel hypoplasias and health changes in the Middle Bronze Age – Early Iron Age transition at Pella in Jordan. HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2007; 58:211-20. [PMID: 17582411 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2006.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2006] [Accepted: 08/14/2006] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Dental enamel hypoplasias are increasingly being used in epidemiological studies as indicators of health within both modern and prehistoric populations. This symptom of growth disruption is used here to examine possible changes in health occurring at the transition between the Bronze Age and Iron Age in Jordan, through examination of enamel hypoplasias in skeletal remains from two tombs at the archaeological site of Pella. A small but not statistically significant difference in the prevalence and frequency of hypoplastic defects was found between the two time periods. These results suggest that the political and economic changes occurring at this time were not sufficiently stressful to cause a dramatic deterioration in health at the onset of the Early Iron Age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- R C Griffin
- Department of Archaeology, Laver Building, North Park Road, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QE, UK.
| | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
King T, Humphrey LT, Hillson S. Linear enamel hypoplasias as indicators of systemic physiological stress: evidence from two known age-at-death and sex populations from postmedieval London. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2005; 128:547-59. [PMID: 15861429 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.20232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 129] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Enamel hypoplasias are useful indicators of systemic growth disturbances during childhood, and are routinely used to investigate patterns of morbidity and mortality in past populations. This study examined the pattern of linear enamel hypoplasias in two different burial populations from 18th and 19th Century church crypts in London. Linear enamel hypoplasias on the permanent dentitions of individuals from the crypt of Christ Church, Spitalfields, were compared to enamel defects on the teeth of individuals from St. Bride's. The method used involves the identification of enamel defects at a microscopic level, and systemic perturbations are detected by matching hypoplasias among different tooth classes within each individual. The pattern of linear enamel hypoplasias was contrasted between individuals from the burial sites of Spitalfields and St. Bride's, between males and females, and between those aged less than 20 years of age and those aged over 20 years at death. Six different parameters were examined: frequency of linear enamel hypoplasias, interval between defects, duration of hypoplasias, age at first occurrence of hypoplasia, age at last occurrence of hypoplasia, and the percentage of enamel formation time taken up by growth disturbances. All individuals in the study displayed linear enamel hypoplasias, with up to 33% of total visible enamel formation time affected by growth disruptions. Multiple regression analysis indicated a number of significant differences in the pattern of enamel hypoplasias. Individuals from Spitalfields had shorter intervals between defects and greater percentages of enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances than did individuals from St. Bride's. Females had greater numbers of linear enamel hypoplasias, shorter intervals between defects, and greater percentages of enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances than males. There were also differences in the pattern of enamel hypoplasias and age at death in this study. Individuals who died younger in life had an earlier age at first occurrence of enamel hypoplasia than those who survived to an older age. The pattern of enamel hypoplasias detected in this study was influenced by tooth crown geometry and tooth wear such that most defects were found in the midcrown and cervical regions of the teeth, and greater numbers of defects were identified on the anterior teeth. Differences in sensitivity of the parameters used for the detection of enamel hypoplasias were found in this study. The percentage of visible enamel formation time affected by growth disturbances was the parameter that identified the greatest number of significant differences among the subgroups examined.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- T King
- Human Origins Group, Department of Palaeontology, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK.
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
15
|
Obertová Z. Environmental stress in the Early Mediaeval Slavic population at Borovce (Slovakia). HOMO-JOURNAL OF COMPARATIVE HUMAN BIOLOGY 2005; 55:283-91. [PMID: 15803772 DOI: 10.1016/j.jchb.2004.07.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Several palaeopathological indicators examined in skeletal samples are caused by stress during childhood and remain visible in adults. In this study, dental enamel hypoplasia was observed in 451 individuals from the Early Mediaeval (8th to beginning of 12th c. AD) Slavic skeletal series at Borovce (Slovakia). The presence of enamel hypoplasia was scored in all types of deciduous and permanent teeth. More than one-fourth (27.2%) of the individuals with preserved permanent teeth showed enamel hypoplasia. No significant differences in the occurrence of the enamel lesions were found between males and females. The age at development of hypoplasias was estimated for 74 individuals by measuring the distance of the defect from the cemento-enamel junction. The hypoplastic defects appeared most frequently between 2.5 and 3.0 years. Following the trends observed in the distribution of age at development of the enamel lesions between subadults and adults, individuals stressed earlier in life had a reduced ability to cope with later insults. High prevalence of enamel hypoplasia, especially among 10-14-year-old growing juveniles, has led to the assumption that the Borovce population lived a considerably long period under conditions of high environmental pathogen load, and probably also suffered from some nutritional deficiencies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Obertová
- Institut für Ur- und Frühgeschichte und Archäologie des Mittelalters, Eberhard Karls-Universität, Tübingen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|