Cultural Changes in Funeral Rites During the Neolithic in the Northeast of the Iberian Peninsula? The Cave of Pantà de Foix (Barcelona)

Abstract

During the third millennia bc, there is a change in the funerary patterns of the populations in Catalonia. This novelty usually has been usually related to a change in the economical source of the human groups that become less sedentary as the stockbreeding becomes more important. In the present study, we analyse this change, reflected in the mortuary practices, by the study of diet and health markers such as caries, dental calculus or enamel hypoplasias and of biological affinities based on dental non‐metric traits. It has been included a total amount of 317 permanent teeth from Cova del Pantà de Foix sites, a sepulchral cave found at the south‐west of the city of Barcelona and dates from the third millennia bc. The 74.2% of them present dental calculus deposits, which are usually related to a high protein intake. Nevertheless, the high prevalence of carious lesions (15.3% of the teeth) suggests that the main dietary contribution comes from carbohydrates. Furthermore, when this group is compared with one from the Middle Neolithic Age, which presents a lower calculus prevalence, no biological differences are observed. This lack of differences among these groups denote that the origin of the high amount of calculus deposit is environmental, which is consistent with the elevated observation of hypoplasias of the crown enamel. The absence of dietary, biological and economical differences indicates that the population substrate during the Neolithic in Catalonia is the same and that the transition in the funerary rite is related to a substantial change only regarding to mortuary practices. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A Community in Life and Death: The Late Neolithic Megalithic Tomb at Alto de Reinoso (Burgos, Spain)

“…If compared to the contemporary sites at San Juan ante Portam Latinam [ 62 ] and Cova del Pantá de Foix [ 63 ], the caries intensity of only the permanent dentition at Alto de Reinoso, which was accounted for 14.3% (including antemortem tooth loss), fits in well with 13.2% at San Juan Portam Latinam and 15.3% at Cova del Pantá de Foix, although it is unclear whether antemortem tooth loss was taken into account for Cova del Pantá de Foix or not.…”

Who lived on the Swiss Plateau around 3300 BCE? Analyses of commingled human skeletal remains from the dolmen of Oberbipp

“…The presence of oral pathologies such as carious lesions is often used as a proxy for the state of health and the nutrition of a population, especially the amount of carbohydrates in the diet (Subirà, López‐Onaindia, & Yll, ). For the Neolithic period, a correlation between the increased carbohydrate intake and an increase in carious lesions can be observed (Eshed, Gopher, & Hershkovitz, ; Richards, ).…”

“…Based on the evaluation of the teeth from Oberbipp and a comparison with other Neolithic sites, it can be claimed that the Swiss series seem to have an increased caries intensity compared with populations from Central Europe (Table ; Bock & Bruchhaus, ; Meyer & Alt, ; Nicklisch et al, ). Explanations could be a greater amount of carbohydrates in the diet, a different way of processing food, and a genetic predisposition for caries infections as discussed by Meyer and Alt () and Subirà et al (). This might be further discussed when associated aDNA and stable isotope results are available.…”

La Cova de l’Avi (Vallirana, Barcelona) y el inicio del Neolítico final en el Nordeste de la Península Ibérica. Inhumaciones colectivas y nuevas redes de intercambio

“…De las 262 piezas analizadas un 2,6% tienen caries, una frecuencia inferior a la mayoría de las series neolíticas de nordeste peninsular (Subirà et al 2014). Uno de los individuos presenta enfermedad periodontal con un retroceso alveolar provocado por la inflamación de la encía.…”

“…Como enfermedades osteoarticulares se ha detectado artrosis en las vértebras lumbares y también en las articulaciones inferiores de dos individuos masculinos. De etiología metabólica se han identificado bandas de hipoplasia en el 7,7% de las piezas dentarias, frecuencia inferior a la de otros contextos contemporáneos (Subirà et al 2014). Al menos 4 individuos de la población sufrieron estos episodios entre el primer y el segundo año de vida (Goodman y Rose 1990), posiblemente, provocados por deficiencias nutricionales causadas por el destete.…”