[Evaluation of the dental pathology in archaeological skeletal material: prevalence of dental caries since prehistory to modern age]. / Moznosti hodnocení dentální patologie na archeologickém kostrovém materiálu: prevalence zubního kazu od praveku po novovek.

BACKGROUND: The evaluation of the dental health of past populations is an important part of the anthropological analysis of human skeletal remains uncovered during the archaeological excavations. The results provide the important information not only of the overall health of past populations, but also are reflective of the nutrition or the social status of our ancestors. We focused on the comparison of dental caries from prehistoric times to the present day. The aim was to evaluate the dental decay in several prehistoric, Early Medieval and modern populations and determine whether and to what extent the decay differ between the individual groups. METHODS AND RESULTS. We observed the permanent dentition in adult men and females, who were divided into three groups: the population of the younger Eneolithic to the Bronze Age, the population of the Early Middle Ages and the population of the modern times. We used the Index of Intensity of Caries I-CE and the Index of Caries Frequency F-CE to evaluate the incidence of caries and intra-vital losses. The comparison was carried out between groups, between both of jaws and between individual teeth. We took into account sex and age of the individuals studied. The highest value of F-CE was set in the population of the modern times (67.5). The difference in caries frequency among populations was not significant. The intensity of caries was the highest in modern population (I-CE: 13.2). Compared with the two older populations the difference was statistically highly significant (p 0.001).With regard to sex, the results differed between populations. It could be caused by a different frequency of men and females in individual groups.The correlation of intensity of caries with age was confirmed. Some partial results were affected by unequal frequency of age categories. CONCLUSION. The results showed the worst dental health in the population of the modern times. The null hypothesis,that tooth decay among the individual populations from different periods is not different, was rejected. The results must be interpreted with regard to the demographic composition of the files researched.

Dynamic changes in genomic and social structures in third millennium BCE central Europe.

Europe's prehistory oversaw dynamic and complex interactions of diverse societies, hitherto unexplored at detailed regional scales. Studying 271 human genomes dated ~4900 to 1600 BCE from the European heartland, Bohemia, we reveal unprecedented genetic changes and social processes. Major migrations preceded the arrival of "steppe" ancestry, and at ~2800 BCE, three genetically and culturally differentiated groups coexisted. Corded Ware appeared by 2900 BCE, were initially genetically diverse, did not derive all steppe ancestry from known Yamnaya, and assimilated females of diverse backgrounds. Both Corded Ware and Bell Beaker groups underwent dynamic changes, involving sharp reductions and complete replacements of Y-chromosomal diversity at ~2600 and ~2400 BCE, respectively, the latter accompanied by increased Neolithic-like ancestry. The Bronze Age saw new social organization emerge amid a ≥40% population turnover.

The health status of the early medieval population of Greater Moravia in relations to social and economic structures.

The Greater Moravian Empire (9th-10th century AD) was the first early state formation of the Slavonic populations in Central Europe. The focus of this research is the comparative assessment of the health status of three cemeteries of different socio-economic status in the area surrounding the Mikulcice castle. We have compared about 850 skeletons from (1) the castle cemetery and (2) non-castle cemeteries in Mikulcice and (3) a cemetery from the poor village of Josefov located eight kilometres from Mikulcice. The following characteristics were examined: linear enamel defects, dental caries, cribra orbitalia, Harris lines, trauma, degenerative joint disease and occupation stress markers, sexual dimorphism and demographic estimators. Hypoplastic defects of enamel determined on the permanent dentition of children appear with high frequency (over 80%). As the incidence of these defects is found mostly in individuals between the ages of 2 to 4 years, it is interpreted to be a consequence of weaning stress. Cribra orbitalia appears more frequently in the rural Josefov cemetery. Inhabitants at the extramural settlement exhibit poorer dental health than people buried inside the castle. Demographic estimators showed also clear the differences between the cemeteries in the Mikulcice settlement and inside the castle. The results show that there were significant differences between the health status of early Slavonic populations from South Moravia.

Facial skeleton asymmetry and its relationship to mastication in the Early Medieval period (Great Moravian Empire, Mikulcice, 9th-10th century).

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyse the relationship of mastication and directional asymmetry (DA) of upper facial skeleton in Early Medieval sample from the Mikulcice settlement (Czech Republic). DESIGN: The settlement is divided into two burial areas of presumably different socioeconomic status: the castle and the sub-castle. The material consisted of 193 individuals (125 castle, 68 sub-castle). The relationship of facial skeleton DA and mastication was analysed by examining tooth wear and mandibular shape by means of 3D geometric morphometrics. Tooth wear of premolars and molars was evaluated using appropriate scoring systems. 3D coordinates of 35 mandibular landmarks were scanned using MicroScribe G2X digitizing system. RESULTS: The results did not reveal any significant differences in tooth wear DA or mandible DA values between burial areas or sexes. Mandibular shape, however, differed significantly between burial areas and sexes. Directional changes of mandibular landmarks supported a right chewing side preference in the sample. Significant relationship between upper facial skeleton DA and mandible DA was recorded. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in subsistence between burial areas and sexes did not translate into differences in mandible DA and dental wear. However, mandibular shape analysis revealed prominence of areas affected by masticatory muscles in individuals from the castle. Higher consumption of tough material, such as meat, has been proposed as possible explanation. The right side was found to be preferential for chewing. The relationship between upper facial skeleton DA and mandible DA was concluded to be the result of the compensatory and adaptive function of mandible.

The prevalence and distribution of dental caries in four early medieval non-adult populations of different socioeconomic status from Central Europe.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to map the dental health status in non-adult individuals and to verify whether and how the existence of caries in the non-adult age group is associated with the different socio-economic status of early medieval populations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We studied the dental remains from the acropolis of the Mikulcice settlement agglomeration, where members of the higher social classes were buried, and from the Mikulcice hinterland. Overall, we evaluated 2544 teeth/3714 alveoli of deciduous dentition and 1938 teeth/2128 alveoli of permanent dentition. We determined the number of individuals with dental caries (i.e., caries frequency index, F-CE) and the proportion of teeth/alveoli with caries/ante-mortem tooth loss (i.e., caries intensity index, I-CE). RESULTS: We found no statistical significant difference in the F-CE values between the Mikulcice hinterland and the acropolis. In addition, we found no statistically significant difference in the proportion of teeth with carious lesions (I-CE) either in the case of deciduous dentition or in the case of permanent dentition between the hinterland and the acropolis. In the case of permanent dentition, the statistically significant highest proportion of carious lesions (I-CE) was found in Mikulcice I (p ≤ 0.05). We confirmed an increase in the rate of caries with age. CONCLUSIONS: The level of caries at all of the studied medieval locations was very low. We presume that lifestyle and the associated dietary habits and hygienic practices of the individuals or population groups had a greater influence on dental caries than did the socio-economic status of these individuals.