Dental paleopathology and agricultural intensification in South Asia: New evidence from Bronze Age Harappa

Patterns of dental disease among Bronze Age people of the Indus Valley Civilization are currently based on early and incomplete reports by non‐specialists. This deficiency precludes accurate diachronic analysis of dental disease and its relationship with increasing agriculturalism in the Indian subc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physical anthropology 1992-02, Vol.87 (2), p.133-150
Main Author: Lukacs, John R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural intensification
Agriculture
Asia
Bronze Age
Caries
Dental Caries - epidemiology
Dental Caries - history
Dental pathology
Female
History of medicine
History, Ancient
Humans
India
Intensive farming
Male
Pakistan
Paleodontology
Paleopathology
Prevalence
Sex Factors
South Asia
Tooth Diseases - epidemiology
Tooth Diseases - history
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Summary:Patterns of dental disease among Bronze Age people of the Indus Valley Civilization are currently based on early and incomplete reports by non‐specialists. This deficiency precludes accurate diachronic analysis of dental disease and its relationship with increasing agriculturalism in the Indian subcontinent. The objective of this paper is to document prevalence of dental disease at Harappa (2500–2000 B.C.), Punjab Province, Pakistan, comparatively evaluate the Harappan dental pathology profile, and use these data to assess theories regarding the dental health consequences of increasingly intensive agricultural dependence. Pathological conditions of the dentition included in the study are abscesses, ante‐mortem tooth loss (AMTL), calculus, caries, hypoplasia, hypercementosis, pulp chamber exposure, and alveolar resorption. The Harappan dentition exhibits a dental pathology profile typical of a population whose subsistence base is agriculture. Dental caries at Harappa are present in 6.8% (n = 751) of the teeth and 43.6% (n = 39) of the more completely preserved dental specimens. The use of a caries correction factor is recommended to permit an estimate of caries induced AMTL in calculating the caries prevalence. All dental lesions are present at higher rates in this Harappan study sample than were reported in previous investigations, and important differences in prevalence of dental disease occur between the genders. Prevalence of dental disease increases in the greater Indus Valley as subsistence becomes more intensive and as food preparation and storage technology becomes more efficient.
ISSN:0002-9483
1096-8644
2692-7691
DOI:10.1002/ajpa.1330870202