Insights on patterns of developmental disturbances from the analysis of linear enamel hypoplasia in a Neolithic sample from Liguria (northwestern Italy)

Subsistence and Behavioral Variation in the Neolithic Meuse Basin (BE): Insights From Dental Collections

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the Neolithic subsistence and population diversity in the 4th and 3rd millennia bce within Belgium's Meuse basin. The main objectives are to shed light on lifeways and cultural differences among groups known from collective cave burials. It focuses on dietary habits and behavioral practices through dental anthropology.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Commingled dental collections from four cave sites (Ben Ahin, La Faucille, Maurenne, and Bois Madame) were analyzed. A total of 1916 permanent teeth were examined for various oral conditions, including caries, calculus, dental wear patterns, trauma, and chipping.

RESULTS

Oral health conditions and dental wear patterns were in line with those associated with terrestrial diets and farming-related subsistence. Inter-site comparisons revealed significant variability in dental indicators of diet, health, and behavior between groups. Variations were found in caries and calculus prevalence. Also, significant differences in chipping and extra-masticatory wear are evident.

DISCUSSION

The findings support hypotheses of agricultural subsistence and provide evidence for group differentiation. Distinct habits for food processing or material cultures were evident among populations.

CONCLUSION

This study highlights inter-site variations within four Neolithic cave burials in the Belgian Meuse basin.

Multiproxy bioarchaeological data reveals interplay between growth, diet and population dynamics across the transition to farming in the central Mediterranean

The transition to farming brought on a series of important changes in human society, lifestyle, diet and health. The human bioarchaeology of the agricultural transition has received much attention, however, relatively few studies have directly tested the interrelationship between individual lifestyle factors and their implications for understanding life history changes among the first farmers. We investigate the interplay between skeletal growth, diet, physical activity and population size across 30,000 years in the central Mediterranean through a 'big data' cross-analysis of osteological data related to stature (n = 361), body mass (n = 334) and long bone biomechanics (n = 481), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes (n = 1986 human, n = 475 animal) and radiocarbon dates (n = 5263). We present the observed trends on a continuous timescale in order to avoid grouping our data into assigned 'time periods', thus achieving greater resolution and chronological control over our analysis. The results identify important changes in human life history strategies associated with the first farmers, but also highlight the long-term nature of these trends in the millennia either side of the agricultural transition. The integration of these different data is an important step towards disentangling the complex relationship between demography, diet and health, and reconstruct life history changes within a southern European context. We believe the methodological approach adopted here has broader global implications for bioarchaeological studies of human adaptation more generally.

Conventional microscopy makes perikymata count and spacing data feasible for large samples

OBJECTIVES

Current methods of quantifying defects of dental enamel (DDE) include either gross or low-level examination for linear enamel hypoplasia, histological analysis of striae of Retzius, or scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of a tooth or a tooth cast. Gross examination has been shown to miss many defects. Other methods can be destructive, require transporting samples, and are expensive. Here, we show that digital light microscopy (DLM) can be used for the analysis of DDE as indicated by widened perikymata spacing (WPS). This method takes advantage of high-power (100×) microscopy, but is non-destructive, can be implemented almost anywhere, and is inexpensive.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

As proof of concept, we created photomontages of labial surfaces of five human canines from images made using DLM and SEM. We counted and measured the widths of all visible perikymata for each imaging modality and fit measurements to a negative curve representing the expected values for each tooth. We calculated residuals for each measurement. WPS were defined when R² was in the 90th percentile, and were considered matched in DLM and SEM images when observed within the same decile of the tooth surface.

RESULTS

There were more WPS detected in the images derived from DLM than from SEM. Overall, the data derived from the two imaging modalities provided similar information about the frequency and timing of stress during dental development.

CONCLUSIONS

The method described here allows for DDE data acquisition as WPS from large samples, making feasible population-level studies that reflect sophisticated understanding of dental development.