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Changes in the pattern of tooth wear from prehistoric to recent periods in Japan
Author(s) -
Kaifu Yousuke
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199908)109:4<485::aid-ajpa5>3.0.co;2-k
Subject(s) - prehistory , tooth wear , dentition , anterior teeth , crown (dentistry) , posterior teeth , dentistry , tooth crown , orthodontics , subsistence agriculture , archaeology , geography , medicine , agriculture
Although a number of studies have been performed on interpopulational variation of tooth wear patterns in recent humans, the major interest in the study of tooth wear so far has been in reconstructing the subsistence and behavior of prehistoric populations, and hence research on wear pattern changes in historic times has been superficial. The present study investigated temporal change in the pattern of wear on the permanent dentition of the Japanese through comparison of the following five groups: prehistoric hunter‐gatherers, prehistoric agriculturists, medieval, premodern, and recent populations. The pattern of reduction of occlusal wear severity across thesechronological groups was not similar between the anterior and posterior portions of the dentition. Occlusal wear on the anterior teeth was noticeably lighter in the prehistoric agriculturists and later populations than in the prehistoric hunter‐gatherers, while clear reduction of occlusal wear on the posterior teeth occurred after medieval times. The temporal variations in the degree of mesiodistal crown diameter loss due to wear and its anterior‐posterior gradient within the dentition are generally consistent with those observed in the occlusal wear pattern. Possible causative factors of these temporal changes in the wear pattern are discussed. Am J Phys Anthropol 109:501–508, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.