Short Research Description
The Upper Paleolithic transition continues to be debated in paleoanthropology, and a new study of differential morbidity between Neandertals and early modern humans provides an additional perspective on this cultural and demographic shift. Oral pathology is a strong indicator of morbidity, yet a comprehensive survey of oral health in the Late Pleistocene has not been conducted. This project rectifies this by gathering data on caries, periodontal disease, periapical lesions, and antemortem tooth loss using both macroscopic and radiographic techniques to score pathology severity in the oral fossil remains of Neandertals and early modern humans of western Eurasia, plus three Holocene hunter-gatherer samples. Questions about prevalence, pathology covariance, and morbidity change over time were assessed and contribute to our understanding of health and survival in the last 100,000 years.
Field Work
I traveled to Spain, France, Italy, Romania, Croatia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Belgium, England, Israel, and the United States from March 2012 to January 2013 visiting museums and universities to examine relevant fossil material for my dissertation project. Every specimen was measured, photographed and radiographed. The data collected and radiographic images will be made available at the conclusion of my research to the anthropology community and beyond.
Dissertation Abstract
Systematic paleopathology research focused on the Late Pleistocene can provide a new perspective on the health, demographics and lifestyle of Paleolithic peoples; however oral pathologies, which can reveal both health and diet, had rarely been discussed beyond individual diagnoses. This research sought to broadly sample Late Pleistocene humans from across Western Eurasia and gather data on their dental and alveolar health, focusing on caries, periapical lesions, periodontal disease, and antemortem tooth loss. The results of this research present a number of new findings as well as reaffirming patterns identified through other research lines (e.g., developmental stress and trauma), suggesting Early Upper Paleolithic peoples were healthier than the preceding Neandertals, but health declined around the Last Glacial Maximum in response to environmental degradation.
Caries prevalences are higher than any previous publication had estimated and reached an individual prevalence of over a quarter of the sample by the Late Upper Paleolithic; however, severe carious lesions and multiple affected teeth in one individual remained rare. Caries also pattern latitudinally with more caries along the Mediterranean, though this cline eases over time. This suggests that subsistence patterns varied regionally, but also shifted over time with the introduction of increased dietary carbohydrates in advance of agriculture. Periapical lesions increased with age, but did not pattern over time or geography.
Periodontal disease was extensive in the Late Pleistocene. Early Upper Paleolithic modern humans have a slight decrease in disease severity relative to Neandertals, but the overall pattern of the Late Pleistocene is one of high morbidity. Periodontal disease also increases through the aging process, with all elderly individuals exhibiting at least mild alveolar resorption.
Neandertals have more tooth loss than Early Upper Paleolithic humans, suggesting comparisons between Neandertals and recent humans for this trait have produced dichotomies unrepresentative of the Upper Paleolithic transition. Tooth loss than increased again in the Late Upper Paleolithic, though this may represent a relaxing of tooth-loss related mortality.
All the pathologies except caries are correlated with one another suggesting age as approximated by dental wear and periodontal disease produce more tooth loss than caries. Subsistence shifts that occurred in response to cultural and environmental change produced differential health for Late Pleistocene groups, and oral disease was more common than previously thought.
Citation: Lacy, S.A., (Ph.D. Dissertation) 2014. Oral Health and its Implications in Late Pleistocene Western Eurasian Humans. Washington University, Proquest/UMIDissertation Publishing.
Caries prevalences are higher than any previous publication had estimated and reached an individual prevalence of over a quarter of the sample by the Late Upper Paleolithic; however, severe carious lesions and multiple affected teeth in one individual remained rare. Caries also pattern latitudinally with more caries along the Mediterranean, though this cline eases over time. This suggests that subsistence patterns varied regionally, but also shifted over time with the introduction of increased dietary carbohydrates in advance of agriculture. Periapical lesions increased with age, but did not pattern over time or geography.
Periodontal disease was extensive in the Late Pleistocene. Early Upper Paleolithic modern humans have a slight decrease in disease severity relative to Neandertals, but the overall pattern of the Late Pleistocene is one of high morbidity. Periodontal disease also increases through the aging process, with all elderly individuals exhibiting at least mild alveolar resorption.
Neandertals have more tooth loss than Early Upper Paleolithic humans, suggesting comparisons between Neandertals and recent humans for this trait have produced dichotomies unrepresentative of the Upper Paleolithic transition. Tooth loss than increased again in the Late Upper Paleolithic, though this may represent a relaxing of tooth-loss related mortality.
All the pathologies except caries are correlated with one another suggesting age as approximated by dental wear and periodontal disease produce more tooth loss than caries. Subsistence shifts that occurred in response to cultural and environmental change produced differential health for Late Pleistocene groups, and oral disease was more common than previously thought.
Citation: Lacy, S.A., (Ph.D. Dissertation) 2014. Oral Health and its Implications in Late Pleistocene Western Eurasian Humans. Washington University, Proquest/UMIDissertation Publishing.
