doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.01.036
Get rights and content
Abstract
Corresponding author. Johanna-Mestorf-Strasse 2-6, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
Volume 348, 20 October 2014, Pages 130–146
The
Bridging Eurasia Research Initiative: Modes of mobility and
sustainability in the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological archives
from Eurasia
doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2014.01.036
Get rights and content
Abstract
Corresponding author. Johanna-Mestorf-Strasse 2-6, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
Get rights and content
Abstract
Corresponding author. Johanna-Mestorf-Strasse 2-6, 24118 Kiel, Germany.
Volume 348, 20 October 2014, Pages 130–146
The
Bridging Eurasia Research Initiative: Modes of mobility and
sustainability in the palaeoenvironmental and archaeological archives
from Eurasia
Comparative
analyses of human health and diet are often undertaken for consecutive
periods of time which exhibit different social formations or material
culture. The aim of this research was to test the link between social
transformations and corollary shifts in health or diet. Therefore, oral
health and dietary intake were examined in successive Bronze Age periods
in central Eurasia with very different patterns of settlement and
scales of interaction. Researchers have posited that these periods are
evidence of an economic shift from agro-pastoral to pastoral patterns of
subsistence. Populations from two sites in northern Kazakhstan
(52°10′N, 64°32′E; 52°32′N, 62°23′E) were investigated in terms of
dental caries, calculus, abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss and
periodontal disease. The results of this study indicate that the types
of dental pathological conditions present stayed relatively uniform over
time, suggesting similarities in dietary intake for populations at the
sites of Bestamak (2032–1639 cal BC) and Lisakovsk (1860–1680 cal BC).
The dietary intake of these communities is indicative of a noncariogenic
diet with a high protein content and lack of carbohydrates. These
findings conform to general patterns for pastoral societies and are
consistent with stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data. While they
types of pathological conditions were similar, the severity of these
lesions decreased in the later period. Comparatively more pronounced
frequencies of pathological conditions during the earlier period are
attributed to multiple etiologies including different patterns of
consumption, dental cleaning behaviors, or stress. While the
archaeological record indicates broad shifts in settlement patterns,
demography, and mortuary rituals from the Middle to Late Bronze Ages,
there was only a slight shift in dental health.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
Comparative
analyses of human health and diet are often undertaken for consecutive
periods of time which exhibit different social formations or material
culture. The aim of this research was to test the link between social
transformations and corollary shifts in health or diet. Therefore, oral
health and dietary intake were examined in successive Bronze Age periods
in central Eurasia with very different patterns of settlement and
scales of interaction. Researchers have posited that these periods are
evidence of an economic shift from agro-pastoral to pastoral patterns of
subsistence. Populations from two sites in northern Kazakhstan
(52°10′N, 64°32′E; 52°32′N, 62°23′E) were investigated in terms of
dental caries, calculus, abscesses, ante-mortem tooth loss and
periodontal disease. The results of this study indicate that the types
of dental pathological conditions present stayed relatively uniform over
time, suggesting similarities in dietary intake for populations at the
sites of Bestamak (2032–1639 cal BC) and Lisakovsk (1860–1680 cal BC).
The dietary intake of these communities is indicative of a noncariogenic
diet with a high protein content and lack of carbohydrates. These
findings conform to general patterns for pastoral societies and are
consistent with stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic data. While they
types of pathological conditions were similar, the severity of these
lesions decreased in the later period. Comparatively more pronounced
frequencies of pathological conditions during the earlier period are
attributed to multiple etiologies including different patterns of
consumption, dental cleaning behaviors, or stress. While the
archaeological record indicates broad shifts in settlement patterns,
demography, and mortuary rituals from the Middle to Late Bronze Ages,
there was only a slight shift in dental health.
Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.
