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Human skeletal and dental remains are an invaluable source of information for interpreting the way of life of past people and also provide the only direct evidence of non-living populations’ health status. This research paper discusses the sex-related health differences observed in two skeletal populations from Greece, an ancient and a modern, by employing multiple health indicators, and aims at determining the biological and possible social factors that contribute to this variation. Particular emphasis is given to the importance of hypotheses-driven, population-based studies of human remains as the most effective means of reconstructing life in the past. The results showed that fracture (ancient: females 0.08%, males 0.12%; modern: females 0.38%, males 0.19%) and osteoarthritis (ancient: females 0.7%, males: 3.0%; modern: females 4.4%, males 3.2%) frequencies were higher for male individuals than females in the ancient population, which can be explained by greater engagement in strenuous and risky activity. Dental caries (ancient: females 1.2%, males 1.8%; modern: females 23.6%, males 17.4%) and ante-mortem tooth loss (ancient: females 12.3%, males 7.7%; modern: females 69.5%, males 49.5%) rates were higher for females than males (with the exception of the almost equal caries rates for the ancient population), most likely due to hormonal fluctuations, saliva content and flow, because female teeth erupt earlier and also perhaps as a result of differences in dietary habits. Periodontitis levels were more elevated in males (ancient: females 9.6%, males 30.1%; modern: females 29.1%, males 38.3%), possibly due to poor oral hygiene practices and excessive masticatory loading. Dental enamel defects rates showed that in the ancient population, males had more chances of surviving childhood stress than females (females 19.5%, males 20.0%), whereas, in the modern population, the exact opposite was the case (females 6.1%, males 22.7%)
Human skeletal and dental remains are an invaluable source of information for interpreting the way of life of past people and also provide the only direct evidence of non-living populations’ health status. This research paper discusses the sex-related health differences observed in two skeletal populations from Greece, an ancient and a modern, by employing multiple health indicators, and aims at determining the biological and possible social factors that contribute to this variation. Particular emphasis is given to the importance of hypotheses-driven, population-based studies of human remains as the most effective means of reconstructing life in the past. The results showed that fracture (ancient: females 0.08%, males 0.12%; modern: females 0.38%, males 0.19%) and osteoarthritis (ancient: females 0.7%, males: 3.0%; modern: females 4.4%, males 3.2%) frequencies were higher for male individuals than females in the ancient population, which can be explained by greater engagement in strenuous and risky activity. Dental caries (ancient: females 1.2%, males 1.8%; modern: females 23.6%, males 17.4%) and ante-mortem tooth loss (ancient: females 12.3%, males 7.7%; modern: females 69.5%, males 49.5%) rates were higher for females than males (with the exception of the almost equal caries rates for the ancient population), most likely due to hormonal fluctuations, saliva content and flow, because female teeth erupt earlier and also perhaps as a result of differences in dietary habits. Periodontitis levels were more elevated in males (ancient: females 9.6%, males 30.1%; modern: females 29.1%, males 38.3%), possibly due to poor oral hygiene practices and excessive masticatory loading. Dental enamel defects rates showed that in the ancient population, males had more chances of surviving childhood stress than females (females 19.5%, males 20.0%), whereas, in the modern population, the exact opposite was the case (females 6.1%, males 22.7%)
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