Age, sex, and antemortem loss of teeth in prehistoric Eskimo samples from point hope and Kodiak Island, Alaska

Abstract

The incidence of teeth lost antemortem was investigated in 244 archeologically derived dried skeletal specimens from the Ipiutak and Tigara burials at Point Hope, Alaska, and 83 Koniag Eskimo specimens excavated at Jones Point, Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Ipiutak skeletal remains date from approximately 1500 years B.P. and the Tigara remains from 300–400 years B.P. The Kodiak Island sample is undated. Specimens were sexed and aged in five‐year groupings using standard techniques. Teeth lost antermortem were identified as having occupied tooth sockets which showed healing of alveolar bone following exfoliation. Numbers of lost teeth were calculated as percentages of total number of tooth sites of each tooth classification for each age, sex, and site subgrouping.Tooth loss was very low in the Kodiak Island sample, with little difference between sexes and no identifiable age trends. The Tigara ramains displayed moderate tooth loss, with strong correlations to increasing age and little differentiation between the sexes. The Ipiutak specimens lost the most teeth antemortem, with notable between‐sex differences and strong correlations with increasing age. In all groups loss of anterior teeth was probably due to accident or heavy wear, while loss of posterior teeth was due to heavy wear, periodontal disease, or agenesis.

Caries Through Time: An Anthropological Overview

“…Northern Chile (3500-2000 BC) 0.60 Patagonia, NE-RN Middle Late Holocene 0.95 Alaska, Ipiutak pre-contact (Costa, 1980) 14.40 Gran Canaria, coastal mounds (Delgado et al, 2006) 6.20 Fishergardeners Early Hawaians (Keene, 1986) 9.80 Peruvian Coast, Early Formative (Pezo & Eggers, 2010) 21.60 Farmers (Turner, 1979) 2.2 -26.9 Comparing peoples living in the same place at different times or groups living in different sites at the same time is more useful and informative than studying an isolated site or population. Statistical analyses, although necessary for the depuration of more important information, must not disregard qualitative analyses.…”

Comparative analysis of dentognathic pathologies in the Dmanisi mandibles

“…the inclusion of meat in the diet of early Homo (Lordkipanidze et al 2005;Lordkipanidze et al 2007;Braun et al 2010;Ungar 2012). Furthermore, various studies have established links between antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) and cultural behaviors (Costa 1980a;Lukacs 2007). The prevalence of AMTL increases from early to late Upper Paleolithic populations of Homo sapiens, a pattern that is typically interpreted as an effect of culturally mediated increase in lifespan (Oztunc et al 2006;Lacy 2014a), and also discussed in the context of "biology of care" (Lordkipanidze et al 2005;Tilley 2012).…”

“…The neolithic transition best documents culture-mediated shifts in DP patterns (Larsen 2002;Steckel et al 2002;Roberts and Manchester 2007;Lukacs 2008). Food preparation techniques such as the use of tools, cooking, paramasticatory activities, etc., have been shown to influence the mechanical properties of the food items and their interaction with the dentognathic system, and thus on the patterning of DPs (Barker 1975;Costa 1980a;Larsen 1995;Wrangham et al 1999;Pereira et al 2006). At the same time, cultural changes entail changes in the dietary spectrum, such as e.g.…”

Changing Patterns of Health and Disease Among the Aleuts

“…In northern indigenous populations, antemortem tooth loss has been attributed to heavy attrition, trauma, and periodontal disease (Costa 1980;Merbs 1968). Enamel hypoplasia, a deficiency in enamel thickness resulting from nutritional stress, infectious diseases, and other forms of stress (Larsen 1997), has been used to investigate health changes associated with changes in subsistence practices and other cultural transitions.…”