Exploring the relationship between hypoplasia and odontometric asymmetry in Isola Sacra, an imperial roman necropolis

Abstract

Anthropological studies reporting odontometric asymmetry values or dental enamel hypoplasia frequencies use these markers as a record of physiological perturbations occurring during dental development. While both markers indirectly suggest the amount of relative stress a population might have experienced, a relationship between the two has been explored only recently in the literature. In this study, we address the possibility of such a relationship in two ways. First, Kendall's tau B correlations test the degree of relationship on the level of the individual between hypoplasia presence/absence (P/A) and severity of hypoplasia appearance (PS) data for the anterior dentition and directional (DA) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) data for concurrently developing molars pairs. Second, an F-test explores between-group (ranked hypoplastic individuals and non-hypoplastic individuals) variance about the mean, expecting the hypoplastic individuals to be more variable. The sample consists of 72 individuals from the Isola Sacra necropolis, which is associated with Portus, the port city of ancient Rome. Results indicated only a very weak predictive relationship between some variables and few significant differences in variation. However, variance follows trends in published literature. Possible explanations for the lack of interaction on the level of the individual include both etiological and genetic susceptibility factors that are significant in and of themselves as they suggest a more complex reading of the hard tissue evidence for stress in archaeological populations.

Water‐related occupations and diet in two Roman coastal communities (Italy, first to third century AD): Correlation between stable carbon and nitrogen isotope values and auricular exostosis prevalence

“…The necropolis at Isola Sacra (SCR) yielded in total around 2,000 skeletons from single and collective inhumations (Sperduti, 1995). There are 1,000 individual skeletons that have been catalogued and extensively analyzed (Bondioli et al, 1995;Geusa et al, 1999;Macchiarelli and Bondioli, 1999;Rossi et al, 1999;Saunders et al, 2000;Weaver et al, 2000;Prowse et al, 2004Prowse et al, , 2005Prowse et al, , 2006Hoover et al, 2005).…”

Stable isotopic evidence for diet at the Imperial Roman coastal site of Velia (1st and 2nd Centuries AD) in Southern Italy

“…Direct anthropological data are particularly important to complement historical sources, which often provide accounts of only the rich and noble, and evidence of food remains, which are subject to taphonomic, preservational, and recovery biases. In Italy, human remains from several Imperial Roman necropoleis have been studied in some detail to look at diseases related to dietary deficiencies, for example in Rome itself (Catalano et al, 2001), its suburbium (Cucina et al, 2006), and at Isola Sacra the necropolis of Portus Romae (Rossi et al, 1997;Fitzgerald et al, 1999;Geusa et al, 1999;Macchiarelli and Bondioli, 1999;Saunders et al, 2000;Weaver et al, 2000;Hoover et al, 2005;Fitzgerald et al, 2006). At Isola Sacra, a large stable isotope study has also been undertaken (Prowse et al, 2004(Prowse et al, , 2005(Prowse et al, , 2006(Prowse et al, , 2008.…”

Analysis of interaction between nutritional and developmental instability in mediaeval population in Wrocław

“…(Polak 2003;Rasmuson 2002;Żądzińska 2003;2004;Hoover et al 2005 andMatsumura 2008). The level of asymmetry depends not only on the type, duration and intensity of stressors acting during intra-uterine life, but also on the individual's ability to stabilise development in adverse conditions (Gawlikowska et al 2007a, b;Gray and Marlowe 2002;Hershkovitz et al 1990;1992;Livshits and Kobyliansky 1991;Møller and Swaddle 1997and Palmer and Strobeck 1992.…”

“…Metabolic disturbances affect a tooth only during its formation so the location of the defect on the tooth crown enables us to asseses an individual's age during defect formation (Krenz 1994;Krenz and Piontek 1996). The analysis of hypoplasia and other stress indictors such as cribra orbitalia and Harris lines provides information about living condition in past populations (Henneberg and Henneberg 1989;Rose 1991, Haduch 2002;Krenz and Piontek 1996;Krenz-Niedbała 1999;Krenz-Niedbała 2000;Hoover et al 2005;Hoover and Matsumura 2008;Krenz-Niedbała and Kozłowski 2011;Palubeckaité and Jankauskas 2001;Piontek 1992 andTomczyk et al 2012). Our research highlighted linear and pit hypoplasia in 36% of females and 44 % of males.…”

“…A high level of caries indicates a high percentage of carbohydrates in the diet, and in historic populations this has been associated with high socio-economic status (Hillson 1996;Kwiatkowska 2005;Larsen 1998;Staniowski et al 2011), but only a few reports have analyzed the correlation between these factors. Although previous international studies have indicated a weak correlation between increased odontometric fluctuating asymmetry and hypoplasia presence (Corrucini et al 2005;Hoover et al 2005;Hoover and Matsumura 2008), nothing has currently been established in this regard from Polish excavated material. The international researchers suggest that individuals with greater fluctuating asymmetry are less developmentally stable, less buffered and thus more prone to additional stress.…”