Dentition of a prehistoric population from Roonka Flat, South Australia

Smith, Patricia; Prokopec, M; Pretty, Graeme Lloyd

doi:10.1002/j.1834-4453.1988.tb00181.x

Cited by 21 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…The presence of dental caries at Swanport at a time well before European dietary influence supports previous research indicating limited incidence of caries in prehistoric Aboriginal populations (Smith et al 1988;Molnar and Molnar 1990;Pretty and Kricun 1989;Webb 1991:2). Although there is a significant increase in the incidence of dental caries associated with agricultural and later diets with greater proportions of refined and processed carbohydrates, there is extensive evidence for the presence of caries in pre-agricultural populations (Cohen and Armelagos 1984;Reinhard et al 1989;Larsen 1995Larsen , 1997.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

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AMS radiocarbon dating of bone collagen: Establishing a chronology for the Swanport Aboriginal burial ground, South Australia

Pate

Owen

Lawson

2003

Australian Archaeology

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The Swanport Aboriginal skeletal population has played a significant role in physical anthropological research in Australia. This paper provides the first chronometric dates for this important burial population. AMS radiocarbon determinations on bone collagen from six individuals showed a calibrated 2σ range from 1027 BC to 1521 AD. On the basis of this sample, the Swanport population appears to pre-date all European contact in Australia. These dates contradict previous assumptions that associated the Swanport burial population with a recent protohistoric period or a discrete period of time related to historic smallpox epidemics in the 19th century. The current chronometric range of approximately 2500 years for inhumations at Swanport indicates the use of the site as a burial ground over an extended period of time during the late Holocene.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 85%

“…The sixth sample was taken from a single cranium (South Australian Museum number A54) exhibiting dental caries; suggesting a diet including simple carbohydrates, possibly associated with post European contact. Cranium A54 was one of four examples of dental caries among individuals in the Swanport collection (Smith et al 1988).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

AMS radiocarbon dating of bone collagen: Establishing a chronology for the Swanport Aboriginal burial ground, South Australia

Pate

Owen

Lawson

2003

Australian Archaeology

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“…The lack of caries in the teeth of the prehistoric Aboriginal population in general has been well established and it was not until dietary changes occurred following occupation by the Europeans, that caries developed (Smith et al 1988). …”

Section: Nutritional Statusmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The remains of 216 individuals were recovered at Roonka (Prokopec 1979;Smith et al 1988). These emerged from three out of the six sites investigated by trenching.…”

Section: Roonka Prehistory and Populationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric health status of the Roonka population

Pretty

Kricun

1989

World Archaeology

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“…Angas (1847) included a drawing of different Aboriginal mouths in his collection of drawings from Southern Australia, while newspaper articles also touched on the subject (Taplin, 1879 II:109). Research in the 20th century focused upon the development of wear in relation to tooth development and age (Richards and Miller, 1991), non-masticatory use of teeth (Barrett, 1977;Brown and Molnar, 1990) and regional variation in dental wear and its possible relationship to dietary variation (Brown, 1978;Richards, 1984;Smith et al, 1988;Molnar et al, 1989;Elvery et al, 1998).…”

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confidence: 99%

Hunter‐gatherer variability: Dental wear in South Australia

Littleton

Scott

McFarlane

et al. 2013

American J Phys Anthropol

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Often it is assumed that hunter-gatherer dentitions are dominated by heavy attrition. Recent analyses, however, have shown unexpected variability in the pattern of wear between groups. It had been previously noted that wear differed between neighboring groups on the Murray River, Australia. This analysis extends that geographic scope as well as focusing on wear across the dentition, including the premolars. The samples came from coastal and riverine regions of southern Australia. The analysis used records from the Yorke Peninsula, Adelaide Plains (Gillman site), and Euston regions. These were compared with previously published work from the Adelaide Plains and four locations on the Murray River. The results confirm the overall severity of wear but reveal systematic differences between the samples in terms of the pattern of wear. Heavy wear on the incisors and canines is observed among males from the Euston, Kaurna, Middle A, Murray Mouth, and Yorke Peninsula samples but with marked intra-individual variability. Extensive premolar wear is noted among females from Kaurna and Middle B samples as well as among males and females from Euston. It is argued that these patterns relate to gendered non-masticatory use of teeth and reliance upon bulrush (Typha spp.) and related species for both food and fiber among some groups. We argue that analyzing the degree of variability within samples and across all teeth provides a more nuanced understanding of dental wear among hunter-gatherers.

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Dentition of a prehistoric population from Roonka Flat, South Australia

Cited by 21 publications

References 11 publications

AMS radiocarbon dating of bone collagen: Establishing a chronology for the Swanport Aboriginal burial ground, South Australia

AMS radiocarbon dating of bone collagen: Establishing a chronology for the Swanport Aboriginal burial ground, South Australia

Prehistoric health status of the Roonka population

Hunter‐gatherer variability: Dental wear in South Australia

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