Dental caries prevalence as evidence for agriculture and subsistence variation during the Yayoi period in prehistoric Japan: Biocultural interpretations of an economy in transition

Abstract

The Yayoi period represents the earliest point of agricultural dependence in Japan, dating from approximately 2500 BP to AD 300. Yayoi period people consumed wet-rice as a primary subsistence base. This article uses dental caries prevalence to interpret the biocultural implications of agriculture among these people by testing the following hypotheses: 1) Yayoi period agriculturalists had greater frequencies of carious teeth than Jomon period foragers, 2) regional variation in carious tooth frequencies will be observed among Yayoi period agriculturalists, while 3) variation in carious tooth frequencies will be observed between male and female agriculturalists. Statistically significant differences in carious teeth were observed between the agriculturalists from Southern Honshu and all other samples. These differences suggest greater reliance on cariogenic plants among farmers from Southern Honshu and are consistent with an agricultural economy. The people of the Yayoi period from Tanegashima Island and Northern Kyushu did not have significantly different carious tooth frequencies compared to Jomon period foragers. This suggests that rice alone was not a more cariogenic dietary substance than those consumed by Jomon period foragers but a cariogenic food nonetheless. Dietary heterogeneity between the prehistoric people of the Yayoi period from Southern Honshu and those from Northern Kyushu and Tanegashima Island is also inferred from these differences. Significantly greater frequencies of carious teeth among older aged Yayoi period females compared with males suggest dietary differences between the sexes.

Variations in the oral health of millet agriculturalists in the northern ‘Great Wall’ region of China from the Middle Neolithic to the Sixteen Kingdoms period

“…AMTL was defined as a completely closed alveolar socket with reduced alveolar height to a nearly closed alveolar socket with active bone formation (Lukacs, 1989;Pechenkina, personal communication). Carious lesions were identified based on enamel demineralization in stages that ranged from complete destruction of a tooth crown to pinprick sized lesions (Lukacs, 1989;Hillson, 1996;Temple and Larsen, 2007). Carious lesions were classified as: (1) occlusal surface, (2) interproximal surfaces, (3) smooth surfaces, (4) cervical, (5) root, and (6) large carious lesions (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994).…”

“…Oral pathology is a method utilized by biological anthropologists worldwide to assess diet and food-preparation techniques in past societies because these activities are strongly related to subsistence patterns (Turner, 1979;Powell, 1985;Lukacs, 1989;Walker and Erlandson, 1986;Walker and Hewlett, 1990;Larsen, 1997;Temple and Larsen, 2007;Oyamada et al, 2010). Lukacs (1989) proposed a 'dental pathology profile' (DPP) to standardize the recording and reporting of dental pathological conditions for comparative research.…”

Sex difference in oral disease of millet agriculturalists from the Take-vatan lineage of the recent Bunun tribe of Taiwan

“…AMTL was defined as a completely closed alveolar socket with reduced alveolar height to a nearly closed alveolar socket with active bone formation (Lukacs, 1989;Pechenkina, personal communication). Carious lesions were identified based on enamel demineralization in stages that ranged from complete destruction of a tooth crown to pinprick-sized lesions (Lukacs, 1989;Hillson, 1996;Temple and Larsen, 2007). Carious lesions were classified into (1) occlusal surface, (2) interproximal surfaces, (3) smooth surfaces, (4) cervical, (5) root, and (6) large carious lesions (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994).…”

“…Turner, 1979;Powell, 1985;Lukacs, 1989;Walker and Erlandson, 1986;Walker and Hewlett, 1990;Larsen, 1997;Pechenkina et al, 2002;Temple and Larsen, 2007;Oyamada et al, 2010), the relatively high degree of dental caries prevalence among the Bunun assemblage is parallel to the expectation based on their subsistence pattern, which is focused on foxtail millet (Miyamoto, 1985;Governor-General of Taiwan, 1986;Lu, 1990). There are two cultivars of foxtail millet: non-glutinous millet (uruchi-awa) and glutinous millet (mochi-awa).…”

“…Turner, 1979;Powell, 1985;Lukacs, 1989;Walker and Erlandson, 1986;Walker and Hewlett, 1990;Larsen, 1997;Pechenkina et al, 2002;Temple and Larsen, 2007;Oyamada et al, 2010). Calculations by Turner (1979) concerning average dental caries prevalence on the basis of a worldwide population study show a 1.3% rate of caries in a foraging economy, a 4.8% rate in a mixed economy, and a 10.4% rate in an agricultural economy.…”