Fungal spores located in 18th century human dental calculi in the church “La Concepción” (Tenerife, Canary Islands)

Abstract

We present the results of our study of fungal spores found in two samples of mineralized dental calculi or “tartar” identified during the analysis of plant microfossils (phytoliths and starch granules), taken from individuals from the late 18th century, buried in graves in the church “La Concepción” (Santa Cruz de Tenerife). The identification of palynomorphs motivated the application of a specific methodology to investigate the nature of their presence in the dental tartar, seeking to discover whether this was the result of archaeological sediment contamination or of particles trapped within it. Comparative analysis of the palynomorphs found in the calculi, using reference material from the Palynotheque in the Department of Plant Biology, University of La Laguna, and analysis of the archaeological sediment, allowed us to confirm that the fungal spores were exclusively located inside the matrix of the calculi and did not originate from a contaminant source. Morphometric study of the spores, reference material and bibliographic descriptions allow us to propose that these are spores of Ustilago maydis (D.C) Corda, a parasitic corn (Zea mays L.) fungus. These results confirm, on the one hand, the historical consumption of corn as opposed to cereals produced locally until that time, such as barley and wheat, and, on the other hand, consumption of some shipments of maize contaminated by the so-called “corn smut” (U. maydis).