A comparison of dietary isotopes in pulp stones and incremental dentine from Early Neolithic individuals of the Whitwell Long Cairn, England

Abstract

Objectives: This study investigates if palaeodietary information can be obtained from pulp stones through stable isotope analysis, presents a method for their extraction from tooth samples, and assesses their utility as a source of paleodietary information when coupled with the incremental dentine method.Materials and Methods: Six tooth samples (2 per individual), four of which contained pulp stones, were selected from three Early Neolithic (3720-3650 cal BC) individuals from the Whitwell Long Cairn in Derbyshire, England. After demineralization, each tooth was divided into 1 mm increments. Stable isotope analysis of collagen was conducted on each dentine increment and a portion of each pulp stone.Results: All samples met the quality control criteria for well-preserved collagen.Excluding the pulp stones, the mean δ 13 C value of the teeth sampled was À21.5 ± 0.2‰ and the mean δ 15 N value was 9.9 ± 0.5‰, suggesting these individuals had a terrestrial-based diet. The pulp stones produced similar δ 13 C values between À21.6 and À21.4‰ and δ 15 N values between 9.1 and 9.8‰. Discussion:The results demonstrate that paleodietary information can be obtained from pulp stones through stable isotope analysis. There are, however, significant challenges in interpreting this data, particularly as to inferring the timing and duration of their formation. The pulp stone results were compared with the incremental dentine profiles for each person to further investigate when they might have formed. For two individuals, the pulp stones appear to reflect diet from a time period after childhood and adolescence. For the third individual, it could not be determined if the pulp stones reflect a contemporary or later time period than the incremental dentine series. All teeth with pulp stones have moderate to severe wear on the occlusal surface, which could have been a contributing factor to their development.

Prevalence of pulp stones in IOPA radiographs

“…[ 15 ] Hence, minute pulp stones would be left undetected through radiographic means. [ 25 26 ] A number of studies used the paralleling technique to take the radiographs, and some employed periapical and bitewing radiographs,[ 8 26 ] whereas some studies even used panoramic radiographs for determining the prevalence of pulp stones. [ 27 28 29 ] There has been no single radiographic modality pointed out so far.…”