The Bronze Age burials from Cova Dels Blaus (Vall d′Uixó, Castelló, Spain): An approach to palaeodietary reconstruction through dental pathology, occlusal wear and buccal microwear patterns

Abstract

This paper reports a palaeodietary investigation of the human remains found in the collective Bronze Age burial cave from Vall d′Uixó (Castelló, Spain). Dental pathology, tooth wear as well as buccal dental microwear were analysed. Percentages of dental pathologies were compared with Chalcolithic and Bronze Age sites from the same territory. Dental caries, ante-mortem tooth loss, periodontal disease and abscess frequencies indicate a diet rich in carbohydrate foods. However, dental calculus percentages and macroscopic wear patterns suggest a diet not exclusively relying on agricultural resources. In addition, buccal dental microwear density and length by orientation recorded on micrographs using a scanning electron microscope showed inter-group differences with regard to carnivorous hunter-gatherers and farming populations related to the amount of abrasives in the diet that could correspond to a different dependence on agricultural resources or food preparation technology.