Dental caries and stable isotopes analyses in the reconstruction of diet in Mesolithic (6815–5900 BC) individuals from Northeastern Poland

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess carious lesions in Mesolithic individuals from Northeastern Poland and interpret them in the context of the paleo-diet, using physicochemical analyses. The dental material came from two Mesolithic sites in Northeastern Poland, Pierkunowo-Giżycko and Woźna Wieś. The study focused on four individuals from the Mesolithic period (two adults and two children) with a total of 34 teeth (16 deciduous, 18 permanent teeth). The relationship between the results of the dental caries study and the paleo-diet was examined using stable carbon and nitrogen isotopic analysis.Superficial dental caries was found on only five teeth (from three individuals): four permanent and one deciduous molar. In all cases, the dental caries was located on the occlusal surface. The nitrogen isotopic ratios (δ15N) of the individuals were on average 8‰ higher than the values obtained for local herbivorous animals. Increased values of isotopic nitrogen ratios were probably associated with the consumption of organisms from higher trophic levels, such as predatory freshwater fish. It should be noted that the δ15N of fish from the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods (from 12 to 13‰) was similar to that obtained for the studied individuals.It can be concluded that the paleo-diet of the test individuals was probably based largely on freshwater fish. This kind of diet, even with the participation of other cariogenic products, could have significantly slowed down the development of caries in the examined individuals.