Paläodontologische Untersuchungen an Skeletresten aus der Wüstung Drudewenshusen im südniedersächsischen Eichsfeld

Abstract

Paleopathology is the inter-disciplinary field of expertise of anthropologists, medical doctors and archeologists who research the diseases of bygone generations. In this context, teeth hold a special significance, as their enamel is the hardest form of body tissue, leaving them available for examination for a particularly long time. Teeth therefore allow us to obtain a wide range of information with regard to the lifestyle and dietary habits of our ancestors. The present thesis analyses the condition of the teeth and of the periodontal apparatus within the medieval population of the abandoned village Drudewenshusen (Lower Saxony), using standard paleopathological methods. To evaluate results, a new mathematical method to determine the prevalence of caries is employed. In total, 112 individuals were examined: approximately one third male, one third female and one third of indefinite sex, usually children. The condition of the teeth was determined with regard to existing, antemortem and postmortem toothloss, respectively. The teeth and the alveolar bone were examined for caries, periodontal disease, apical lesions, dental calculus, attrition and the existence of linear enamel hypoplasia. Caries occurred in about equal numbers of men and women, although more teeth were affected in female individuals than in males of the same age group. The molar region was shown to be the most frequently affected area for caries. The DMF-T-Index-based caries estimator proved to be practicable for archeological skeletal remains. Antemortem tooth losses show a course analogous to that of caries, which is considered their main cause. Other causes, such as extensive attrition or trauma, play a minor role. The frequency of intravital losses increases with age; women are more frequently affected than men. Periodontal disease and aveolar atrophy were widely prevalent in the adult population of Drudewenshusen. The occurrence of dental calculus can only be assessed within limits, because it is easily lost postmortem. Almost all adult individuals showed signs of calculus. Apical lesions could only be shown in adult individuals. Connections between the abscess cavity and adjacent sinus maxillares with signs of inflammation indicate a dispersal of usually localised inflammations. The inhabitants of Drudewenshusen showed an inter-individually different, but generally high, level of dental attrition, which increased with age. Only one third of the population showed transversal enamel hypoplasia. The changes were, predominantly, small. The overall impression that forms is of a rural society whose diet was mainly carbohydrate-based. Painful dental diseases, such as caries or dental abscesses affected all ages and sexes. A high child mortality rate evidences the difficult conditions of that time. The presence of malnutrition and of transversal enamel hypoplasia provide evidence for periods of food shortage. This thesis presents new findings with regard to dental diseases in a medieval abandoned village and provides new approaches for the interpretation of caries within paleopathological contexts, thus allowing far-ranging insights into the society and the daily life of the Middle Ages.