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Dental disease evidence for agricultural intensification in the Nubian C‐Group
Author(s) -
Beckett Sean,
Lovell Nancy C.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/oa.1390040307
Subject(s) - subsistence agriculture , context (archaeology) , dentistry , osteology , grinding , archaeology , agriculture , pastoralism , tooth wear , ethnoarchaeology , group (periodic table) , geography , medicine , metallurgy , livestock , chemistry , materials science , forestry , organic chemistry
The results of this study reveal significantly greater frequencies of caries, periapical abscesses and ante‐mortem tooth loss in the Lower Nubian C‐Group (ca. 2000–1500 BC) compared with the preceding Classic/Terminal A‐Group (ca. 3100–2500 BC). More severe tooth wear in the C‐Group, which traditionally would be interpreted as consistent with a hunting‐gathering subsistence base, can instead be attributed to grit in the diet resulting from the processing of agricultural produce with sandstone and quartzite mortars and grinding stones, and perhaps also to the intentional addition of grit to grain in order to facilitate grinding. The results of this study, when evaluated in the context of complementary archaeological and osteological evidence, indicate that both groups practised a mixed economy but that the C‐Group relied more heavily on cereal cultivation.