Palaeopathology in late Pleistocene and early Holocene Central Plains bison: dental enamel hypoplasia, fluoride toxicosis and the archaeological record

Abstract

Multiple formative agents are cited for dental enamel hypoplasia (DEH) in modern and fossil mammals. Here, four late Pleistocene-early Holocene bison assemblages from the Central Great Plains are analyzed for DEH and other bone pathologies to investigate the possible influence of chronic fluoride toxicosis, a condition that may have presented a long-term source of duress for prehistoric bison and devalued them as nutritional resources to human hunters. Although DEH is present in all the analyzed assemblages, the lack of corroborating dental and post-cranial anomalies consistent with chronic fluoride toxicosis speaks against it as a primary factor of DEH formation or general ill health in these bison. Rather, maternal nutritional stress, weaning, and seasonal forage condition are invoked as probable promoters of DEH formation. Other identified abnormalities are discussed in reference to their contribution to reduced feeding efficiency and lameness, as are their roles in developing palaeoecological models applicable to archaeological questions about ancient human lifeways.