Dental and alveolar pathologies of the Early Iron Age population of the Upper Ob region based on the materials of the Bystrovka-3 burial ground)

Abstract

The study is focused on the analysis of distribution of the dentoalveolar pathologies (caries, calculus, periodontitis, dental fluorosis, antemortem enamel chips, alveolar abscess, antemortem loss of teeth), which are generally used for revealing the diet component composition of ancient groups and as the markers of the stress episodes (enamel hypoplasia, child dental caries). In addition, several anomalies in the structure of the dentition (dystopia, crowding, hypo- and hyperdentia) are considered. The study is based on the anthropological materials of the Bolsherechenskaya culture of the Bystrovka-3 burial ground, dated to the second half of the 1st millennium BC. The series consist of 130 skulls: 46 male, 34 female, 26 infants and 24 individuals whose gender could not be determined. The frequencies of the pathologies of the Bystrovka-3 sample were compared with those of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages populations of Western Siberia. The results of the study reveals that diet of the Bystrovka-3 people included both animal and plant products. The presence of endemic fluorosis on the teeth of four people (two female and two infants) may indicate the migration of a small group of people from outer regions with high fluoride content in soil and water to the Bolsherechye area. It was also found that the representatives of the study group experienced significant stress caused by adverse environment event. In addition, in the main group several rather rare dentoalveolar anomalies were identified, which, according to some researchers, are hereditary. Comparative analysis of frequencies of dentoalveolar pathology of the study group and the Neolithic-Bronze Age population of the south of Western Siberia revealed that the component composition of the diet of Bolsherechye people had significant differences from that of the Bronze Age pastoralists and is more similar to the Neolithic and pre-Andronovo bronze populations of Baraba forest-steppe, which had similar economy structure based on fishing, gathering and hunting.