A new system for computing dentition-based age profiles in Sus scrofa

Abstract

Reconstructing demographic profiles is valuable for revealing animal exploitation strategies at archaeological sites. For pig (Sus scrofa), the method presented by Grant (1982) demonstrates a promising technique for estimating age through dental wear pattern analysis. Grant's study is, however, limited as it requires complete or nearly complete mandibles, exclusively uses mandibular teeth, and offers only a relative scale for aging. While some work has been done to establish useful age classes based on tooth eruption and wear patterns in S. scrofa, a systematic study producing a standardized and comprehensive methodology for using tooth wear to age pigs remains to be conducted.The study presented here is part of ongoing research aimed at developing new methods for the construction of S. scrofa demographic profiles based on both dentition and long bone fusion. In this paper, we present the results of a study of eruption and wear patterns in a large modern assemblage of wild boar which provides the basis for a new method for constructing pig harvest profiles and addresses some of the most serious limitations of Grant's earlier study. The utility of this method in detecting subtle differences in pig prey/harvest profiles is demonstrated through its application to three Near Eastern archaeological assemblages from three distinct time periods: Bronze Age Tell Leilan, Halafian Banahilk, and Epipaleolithic Hallan Çemi, where residents likely employed widely different pig exploitation strategies. The results of these case studies demonstrate the ability of this method to reliably reconstruct age demography and distinguish age profiles between sites with different animal procurement strategies. This method provides a standardized means of collecting accurate and reliable age data crucial in examining patterns of past pig exploitation.