Oral health and its implications on male-female dietary differences: A study from the Roman Province of Macedonia

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Roman Macedonia has been largely neglected by bioarcheological research. As a result, little is known about the imprint of living conditions of that time on the skeletons of its inhabitants, especially those of the lower classes. This paper presents the paleopathological study conducted on a Roman period (1st-4th c. CE) skeletal assemblage from Pontokomi-Vrysi, a site in the semi-mountainous region of Eordaea in Upper Macedonia (now in Kozani Prefecture, Greece). The aim is to investigate differences in the frequency of multiple paleopathological conditions in the buried population and to assess whether these are linked to sex-or age-related differences. The study examines cribra orbitalia (CO), porotic hyperostosis (PH), enamel hypoplasia (EH), osteoarthritis (OA), vertebral osteoarthritis (VOA), intervertebral disk disease (IDD), Schmorl's nodes (SNs), trauma (Tr), and lower limb periostitis/periostosis (PO).The results show higher frequencies of OA, IDD, PO, and Tr among males compared with those among females. These results suggest increased male physical hardship, pointing to a possible gender division of labor with the men of the community being mostly responsible for the physically demanding agricultural and animal husbandry activities. Additionally, comparisons of the CO, PH, and EH patterns in adults and nonadults support that, in general, the Pontokomi-Vrysi community was resilient enough to overcome stress. Overall, these findings make an important contribution to both the bioarcheology and social history of Roman Macedonia and stress the need for more studies that combine historical, archeological (cultural), and bioarcheological data.

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 93%

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 73%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…EH in the adult sample was examined in an earlier study (Vergidou et al, 2021). Here, we present the results for nonadults and summarize the published adult data.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

A bioarcheological contribution to the social history of Roman Macedonia: The Pontokomi‐Vrysi site in Kozani Prefecture, Greece

Vergidou

Karamitrou-Mentessidi²,

Voutsaki

et al. 2022

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Dental disease reflects differential diets and changes in consumption over time at Knossos

Moles

2023

Knossos was an important city on Crete and within Mediterranean networks during the Hellenistic, Roman, and Late Antique periods. However, there were significant social, cultural, and economic shifts that appear to have caused changes to daily lifeways, including diet. This paper sets out to explore dietary changes across these time periods by looking at dental caries, with reference also to antemortem tooth loss, calculus, and stable isotope data. This study also looks to contextualize these results using archaeological and textual information relating to diet. It presents a thorough methodological approach to the investigation and interpretation of caries and discusses some of the shortcomings of using a fragmentary and commingled skeletal assemblage. The Roman diet was more cariogenic than in the Hellenistic or Late Antique periods. The caries-zone analysis of the teeth suggests that there may have been a greater addition of sugars to the diet in the Roman period, though the increased caries could also be due to improved preparation techniques and technologies producing a more refined and sticky carbohydrate diet. Such changes could be due to either increased connectivity making certain foods more readily available, the cultural changes in food consumption or dental hygiene due to the influx of merchants, colonists, migrants, and other newcomers to the Colonia Iulia Nobilis Cnosus that was Roman Knossos, or increased prosperity at the site in this period. There was a significant difference detected between females and males for caries indicating differential dietary practices between the sexes, which was most notable for the Roman period.

Dental disease and dietary patterns in coastal Phoenicia during the Roman period

Mardini

Badawi

Zaven

et al. 2023

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The current paper presents one of the first bioarchaeological studies on dental disease and dietary patterns in coastal Phoenicia during the Roman period, focusing on the dentition of 145 adults from the contemporary and geographically proximal sites of Byblos, Beirut, and Tyre. Pathological conditions of the oral cavity and dental wear were used to assess intra‐assemblage and inter‐assemblage differences. Byblos in almost all instances exhibited higher levels of dental diseases and wear than Beirut and Tyre, suggesting a greater consumption of carbohydrates but also poorer oral hygiene and greater mechanical stress (dental wear) in this community. This difference between Beirut/Tyre and Byblos may be explained by the politico‐economic status of these cities as textual sources highlight the economic and political prowess of Beirut and Tyre due to their status as colonia. In addition, within each assemblage females generally exhibited higher caries (and associated periapical cavities and ante‐mortem tooth loss) than males. Although dental caries may be linked to nondietary factors, these patterns may support a more cariogenic diet for females in agreement with literary accounts reciting gender‐based divisions in Roman society, at least to the extent that these would manifest in dietary patterns. The findings from this study offer important insights into major and understudied communities along the Phoenician coast. Yet, further research is required, employing complementary methods (e.g., isotopic analysis and dental calculus microdebris) and including larger datasets of Roman Phoenician assemblages.