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Making sense of medieval mouths: Investigating sex differences of dental pathological lesions in a late medieval Italian community
Author(s) -
Trombley Trent M.,
Agarwal Sabrina C.,
Beauchesne Patrick D.,
Goodson Caroline,
Candilio Francesca,
Coppa Alfredo,
Rubini Mauro
Publication year - 2019
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/ajpa.23821
Subject(s) - pathological , context (archaeology) , tooth loss , dentistry , demography , periodontitis , gingival inflammation , tooth wear , medicine , oral health , archaeology , gingivitis , geography , pathology , sociology
Abstract Objectives Bioarchaeological investigations of sex‐based differences in the prevalence of dental pathological lesions, particularly caries, have drawn considerable attention, and out of this work, two dominant models have emerged. Traditionally, the first model interprets sex‐related patterns in caries as a product of gendered differences in diet. A more recent model interprets a generally higher propensity for caries prevalence in females in light of reproductive ecology. To test the hypothesis that females have higher risk of caries in accordance with reproductive ecology, we examined and analyzed caries prevalence and other potentially synergistic oral pathological lesions in a late medieval (A.D. 1300–1500) Italian archaeological sample. Materials and methods We examined sex‐ and age‐related prevalence in caries and other oral pathological lesions in a late medieval Italian skeletal assemblage excavated from Villamagna consisting of 38 females and 37 males ( n = 1,534 teeth). We examined age‐ and sex‐related patterns in six dental traits: antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, periapical inflammation, tooth wear, and periodontitis. Results Significant age‐related increases in antemortem tooth loss, caries, calculus, and tooth wear were observed in both males and females. However, there was a lack of expected sex differences in oral pathological lesions, with instead older males exhibiting significantly more antemortem tooth loss and corrected caries than females. Discussion Results are discussed in relation to the ethnohistoric context of medieval rural dietary practices as well as biomedical salivary literature, which suggest that dietary changes throughout the life course may have facilitated trade‐offs that buffered females from higher rates of dental pathological lesions.