Human tooth and diet from a bioarcheological perspective

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2021.0057

Abstract

Abstract:

Diet plays an important role in the origin and evolution of human culture. As the main carrier of dietary information, teeth provide the possibility to reconstruct the dietary lineage of ancient human from different perspectives. As a direct reflection of human chewing behavior, dietary structure and living pattern, the physical anthropological analysis of oral diseases and microscopic traces on the surface of teeth is particularly important. The detection of trace elements and stable isotopes in teeth plays an immeasurable role in revealing the migration and flow of ancient human beings, the feeding behavior and nutritional status in different stages of life, and the origin and development of agriculture. In this paper, based on the review of the importance of human teeth unearthed from archaeological sites and the diversity of research methods, combined with the characteristics of tooth growth and development, we draw the human age map of the dentin growth sequence matched by different dentin positions. Based on this map, we proposed a new method of dentin continuous section sampling. This paper proposes that from the angle of physical anthropology and stable isotope analysis of carbon and nitrogen, using continuous sections of dentin, limb bones, ribs and other human tissues as related materials, on the basis of exploring the individual life history of ancient human beings, the research of “intergenerational archaeology” is prospected.

Key words: Tooth, Stable isotope analysis, Food structure recovery, Intergenerational archaeological

CLC Number:

Q981.1

LEI Shuai, GUO Yi. Human tooth and diet from a bioarcheological perspective[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2022, 41(03): 501-513.

Figures/Tables 6

Tab.1 Age of human tooth growth and development

牙齿 Tooth	开始矿化 Began to mineralization (a)	齿冠形成 Crown complete(a)	完全萌出 Completely eruption (a)	完全发育 Develop complete (a)
UI1	0.5±0.125	4.5	8	9.5
UI2	0.9±0.125	5.5	9	10.5
UC	0.6±0.125	5.5	12	14.5
UP1	2.5	6.5	10	13.5
UP2	3.5	6.5	12	14.5
UM1	0.3±0.125	3.5	6	9.5
UM2	2.5	8.5	12	15.5
UM3	8.5	14.5	18+	21-23
LI1	0.6±0.125	3.5	6	8.5
LI2	0.6±0.125	3.5	7	8.5
LC	0.9±0.125	5.5	9	13.0
LP1	2.5	6.5	10	13.5
LP2	2.5	6.5	12	14.5
LM1	0.3±0.125	3.5	6	10.0
LM2	2.5	8.5	12	15.5
LM3	8.5	14.5	18+	22-23
DI1	-0.3±0.042	0.25±0.042	0.5	2.5
DI2	-0.3±0.042	0.3±0.042	0.6	2.5
DC	-0.2±0.042	0.6±0.042	1.3	3.5
DM1	-0.2±0.042	0.9±0.042	1	3.5
DM2	-0.2±0.042	0.9±0.042	1.6-2.5	3.5

Fig.1 The human tooth growth and development age map Adapted from the references [32], [33], [34], [37] : 1) Referring to the data in Table 1, the above figure plots the specific ages corresponding to each tooth position of human permanent deciduous teeth in the important growth stages such as the initiation of mineralized crown formation, emergence and full development. 2)There is no significant time difference between upper and lower teeth in the growth and development of deciduous teeth

Fig.2 Longitudinal anatomydiagram of human tooth

Fig.3 Schematic diagram of continuous section sampling of crown, root and apex of mandibular first molar

Tab.2 Correlation between continuous section of mandibular first molar and individual age

部位Position	切片Section (mm)	年龄Section age(a)	最终年龄End age(a)
齿冠Crown	18-17	0-0.7	0.7
	17-16	0.7-1.4	1.4
	16-15	1.4-2.1	2.1
	15-14	2.1-2.8	2.8
	14-13	2.8-3.5	3.5
齿根Root	13-12	3.5-4	4
	12-10	4-5	5
	10-8	5-6	6
	8-6	6-7	7
	6-4	7-8	8
	4-2	8-9	9
根尖Root tip	2-0	9-10	10

Fig.4 Stable isotope analysis of teeth and bones tracing diets at different stages of human life Adapted from the referenc [46]: Stable isotopic analysis of deciduous teeth, permanent teeth, limb bones, and ribs is depicted in the figure, which can be used to characterize the diet years of different human life stages. The deciduous teeth can be characterized from around perinatal period to 2.5~3.5 years after birth. Permanent teeth can represent 21~23 years after birth. The limb bones can be characterized 10~20 years before death. The ribs may represent 2~5 years prior to death

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