A new correction procedure for calibrating dental caries frequency

The incisors and canines and the premolars and molars show differential resistance to cariogenic factors. The anterior teeth have a lower caries frequency than the posterior teeth. However, these tooth classes are lost differentially in postmortem stages due to their anatomical structures. This differential postmortem tooth loss distorts proportions between the anterior and posterior tooth classes. The disproportionality can affect the calculation of total caries prevalence. In this paper, we propose a new calibration procedure which removes this disproportionality and call it the proportional correction factor. For this procedure, the caries rates of anterior and posterior teeth are corrected by multiplying the anterior teeth by three-eighths and the posterior teeth by five-eighths. These fractions are derived from the human dental formula which contains three anterior and five posterior teeth by side. The correction factor is more effective if the proportion of anterior to the posterior teeth is extremely distorted. When this procedure is used with the caries correction factor, it provides a useful way to approach to an almost true caries prevalence. Am J Phys Anthropol 108:237–240, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Dental effects of diet and coca-leaf chewing on two prehistoric cultures of northern Chile

Two ancient cultures of northern Chile, the Chinchorro (9000-3500 BP) and the Maitas Chiribaya (850-700 BP) were examined for dental pathology in search of possible correlations between dental health, diet, and the cultural practice of coca-leaf chewing. The Chinchorro occupied the river mouth of the Azapa valley, subsisting almost exclusively on a maritime economy. The Maitas Chiribaya, descendants of migrant highlanders, had a rather well-developed agricultural subsistence base. The Chinchorro demonstrated extreme attrition rates and a correspondingly high frequency of periapical abscesses. They were essentially caries-free and enjoyed a moderate antemortem tooth loss frequency. The Maitas Chiribaya suffered light attrition, a high caries frequency, especially at the cementoenamel junction of crown and root, and a remarkably high antemortem tooth loss frequency. The cultural practice of coca-leaf chewing is implicated in the excessive posterior edentulism of the Maitas Chiribaya. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Oral health of the Paleoamericans of Lagoa Santa,central Brazil

The peopling, origins, and early prehistory of the Americas are topics of intense debate. However, few studies have used human remains to document and interpret patterns of health and lifestyle of Paleoamericans. This study provides the first investigation to characterize oral health in a series of early Holocene skeletal remains from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, a locality containing the remains of some of the earliest inhabitants of South America (10,000–7,000 BP). The sample is composed of 949 teeth and 1925 alveoli from an estimated 113 individuals excavated from 17 archaeological sites located in the State of Minas Gerais. We compare dental caries and abscess prevalence at Lagoa Santa to a large sample of human skeletons from the Western Hemisphere Project (WHP) database using both individual and tooth/alveolus count methods. In addition, antemortem tooth loss and tooth wear were analyzed in Lagoa Santa by sex and age. The results show that Lagoa Santa dental caries and abscess prevalence are significantly higher than observed among other hunter–gatherers included in the WHP database, except when abscess prevalence is considered by individual count. Adult females have less tooth wear coupled with higher prevalence of dental caries and antemortem tooth loss than adult males. These results point to an unexpected record of poor oral health at Lagoa Santa, especially among females. A diet based on a highly cariogenic combination of wild tubers and fruits is suggested as an explanation for the elevated rate, characterizing an early adaptation to a tropical environment in South America. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:11–26, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

湖北郧县青龙泉新石器时代居民牙齿磨耗及健康状况

位于湖北省郧县境内的青龙泉遗址出土有仰韶、屈家岭和石家河等不同文化类型遗存, 被认为是中国新石器时代南、北文化交流的过渡地带。有关学者通过考古发现和同位素测试分析认为, 生活在青龙泉遗址的新石器时代居民已经具有发达的农业、家畜饲养业和渔猎,稻粟农业和肉类对居民的食物构成都有贡献, 但并不确定农业或渔猎是否占主导地位。本文通过对87例个体1075枚青龙泉新石器时代居民牙齿的磨耗、龋齿病、牙齿生前脱落、颌骨粗壮程度的观察、分析和对比, 试图从另一个侧面提供当时居民食物构成和经济模式的信息。本研究发现, 相比于其他中国新石器时代人类, 青龙泉居民的牙齿磨耗程度总体偏轻、臼齿磨耗角度多呈倾斜状、龋齿病出现率高、与生活状态相关的牙齿生前脱落出现率低、颌骨粗壮程度不明显。这些发现提示居民的食物较精细,加工程度高, 富含碳水化合物。基于本文发现, 作者认为农业经济在距今5000年左右的长江中游地区已经比较发达, 在居民食物构成中居主导地位,居民可能已经具有较高的食物制作加工技术。     

Dental caries in nineteenth century Upper Canada

This study examines the presence of dental caries in a large sample of adult skeletons from the 19th century cemetery of St. Thomas' Anglican Church in Belleville, Ontario. The cemetery was used from 1821 to 1874. Caries prevalence and frequencies of diseased and missing teeth were calculated both by observing summary statistics of individual rates and by the total sample of teeth. Postmortem tooth loss is low in this sample and antemortem tooth loss is highest in first mandibular molars, all other molars and then premolars. Age at death, but not sex, was found to be significantly related to the overall Caries Rate while both age and sex were significantly associated with the Diseased-Missing Index. The increase in diseased and missing teeth in older individuals is expected while the sex difference is not explained by simple dietary factors. When compared to reports on British and American samples, caries and antemortem tooth loss in the St. Thomas' sample is most similar to a pre-1850 British group and higher than American samples. Although there is undoubtedly a complex of factors contributing to caries prevalence in this sample, more data are required from large historic samples, particularly from the American northeast and late 19th century Britain, to have a clearer understanding of the influence of diet, cultural, and environmental factors affecting caries rates in historic populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 104:71–87, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Tooth wear and dental pathology of the Bronze-Iron Age people in Xinjiang, Northwest China: Implications for their diet and lifestyle

Tooth wear and dental pathology related to diet and lifestyle were investigated in the human dental remains unearthed from three archaeological sites of Bronze Age and Iron Age in Xinjiang of northwest China, and in comparative samples from two Neolithic sites in Henan and Shanxi in central China along the Yellow River.Our results indicate that the average tooth wear on most tooth types in the three Xinjiang sites was close to those of the Neolithic samples from central China. The variation within the Xinjiang samples was also explored. Some special wear patterns such as severe wear on the first molar and relatively heavy wear of anterior teeth were observed on the specimens from the Xinjiang sites. Obvious differences in caries and antemortem tooth loss were found between Xinjiang and comparative samples with higher frequencies of caries observed in samples from central China and higher antemortem tooth loss in samples from the Xinjiang sites. Strongly developed exostoses (tori) were also identified on mandibles and maxillae of the specimens from Xinjiang.The authors believe that the differences in tooth wear and dental pathology between Xinjiang and central China were caused by differences in diet and lifestyle. Food of a harder texture was consumed by the people who lived in Xinjiang than by the people in Henan and Shanxi of central China. The higher occurrence of heavily worn anterior teeth and some other special wear patterns, antemortem tooth loss and presence of exostoses on jaw bones in Xinjiang suggest that the people in Xinjiang lived in a relatively harsh environment, frequently gnawing hard objects, or using teeth as some kind of tools. All these activities put masticatory organs under a heavy load. The differences in caries frequencies between the frontier and central areas of China indicate that food richer in carbohydrates was consumed by the people in the central areas.It is proposed that about 3000-2000 years BP in many areas of frontier Xinjiang, people mainly relied on the type of hunter-gatherer economy with agriculture playing a smaller role in their lifestyle.     

Food habits and dental disease in an iron-age population.

Tooth diseases and wear record valuable information on diet and methods of food preparation in past human populations. In this paper the teeth of an Iron-Age population (Monte Bibele, Bologna) are analyzed to reconstruct their nutritional situation. The analysis of caries frequency and distribution indicates a level of carbohydrate consumption which is consistent with an agricultural way of life. The presence of calculus indicates that proteins were present in the diet of the Monte Bibele population. The frequency of antemortem tooth loss and of dental abscesses is in harmony with the results of the analysis of caries and calculus. The examination of dental wear suggests the presence of a substantial vegetable component in the diet. From the analysis of the dental characteristics one can conclude that the population of Monte Bibele had a prevalent agricultural economy. The presence of some diachronic variations in the distribution of the examined characters suggest changes in the diet in the course of time.     

A comparison of antemortem tooth loss in human hunter‐gatherers and non‐human catarrhines: Implications for the identification of behavioral evolution in the human fossil record

Middle and Late Pleistocene fossil hominin specimens with severe antemortem tooth loss are often regarded as evidence for the precocious evolution of human‐like behaviors, such as conspecific care or cooking, in ancient hominin species. The goal of this project was to ask whether the theoretical association between antemortem tooth loss and uniquely human behaviors is supported empirically in a large skeletal sample of human hunter‐gatherers, chimpanzees, orangutans, and baboons. Binomial regression modeling in a Bayesian framework allows for the investigation of the effects of tooth class, genus, age, and sex on the likelihood of tooth loss. The results strongly suggest that modern humans experience more antemortem tooth loss than non‐human primates and identify age in years as an important predictor. Once age is accounted for, the difference between the humans and the closest non‐human genus (chimpanzees) is less pronounced; humans are still more likely on average to experience antemortem tooth loss though 95% uncertainty envelopes around the average prediction for each genus show some overlap. These analyses support theoretical links between antemortem tooth loss and modern human characteristics; humans' significantly longer life history and a positive correlation between age and antemortem tooth loss explain, in part, the reason why humans are more likely to experience tooth loss than non‐human primates, but the results do not exclude behavioral differences as a contributing factor. Am J Phys Anthropol 151:252–264, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

甘肃西山遗址早期秦人的饮食与口腔健康

本文以甘肃礼县西山遗址早期秦人的遗骸资料作为主要研究对象,以牙齿磨耗、龋病、生前牙齿脱落、上下颌骨表面骨质隆起等指标作为主要观察内容,与国内外相关样本组作对比分析;与此同时,结合食谱分析结果,西山先民饮食状况较为复杂多样,总体上以肉食居多,植物性食物也占一定比例;推测早期秦人的经济模式应为农牧兼营的混合经济模式.     

Tooth wear and dental pathology at the advent of agriculture: new evidence from the Levant

Differences in patterns of diet and subsistence through the analysis of dental pathology and tooth wear were studied in skeletal populations of Natufian hunter-gatherers (10,500-8300 BC) and Neolithic populations (8300-5500 BC, noncalibrated) from the southern Levant. 1,160 Natufians and 804 Neolithic teeth were examined for rate of attrition, caries, antemortem tooth loss, calculus, periapical lesions, and periodontal processes. While the Natufian people manifest a higher rate of dental attrition and periodontal disease (36.4% vs. 19%), Neolithic people show a higher rate of calculus. Both populations manifested low and similar rates of caries (6.4% in the Natufian vs. 6.7% in the Neolithic), periapical lesions (not over 1.5%), and antemortem tooth loss (3.7% vs. 4.5%, respectively). Molar wear pattern in the Neolithic is different than in the Natufian. The current study shows that the dental picture obtained from the two populations is multifactorial in nature, and not exclusively of dietary origin, i.e., the higher rate and unique pattern of attrition seen in the Natufian could result from a greater consumption of fibrous plants, the use of pestles and mortars (which introduce large quantities of stone-dust to the food), and/or the use of teeth as a "third hand." The two major conclusions of this study are: 1) The transition from hunting and gathering to a food-producing economy in the Levant did not promote changes in dental health, as previously believed. This generally indicates that the Natufians and Neolithic people of the Levant may have differed in their ecosystem management (i.e., gathering vs. growing grains), but not in the type of food consumed. 2) Changes in food-preparation techniques and nondietary usage of the teeth explain much of the variation in tooth condition in populations before and after the agricultural revolution.     

Socio-cultural factors in dental diseases in the Medieval and early Modern Age of northern Spain

The aim of this study is to present, discuss and compare the results of pathological conditions in teeth from skeletal remains found in the northern part of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) in four Medieval cemeteries (late 15th century) and three cemeteries from the Modern Age (late 18th century). The final objective was to evaluate the impact of socioeconomic and cultural changes that took place during the early Modern Age in Spain, on oral health. Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss were considered as indicators of dental disease. A significant increase of both dental caries and antemortem tooth loss occurred in Modern Age individuals when compared to Medieval values, as reported for other regions. Increased trade with other continents may explain this deterioration of dental health, as food exchanges (mainly with America) contributed to diet changes for the overall population, including higher carbohydrate consumption (introduction of potatoes) at the expense of other vegetables. A sex-specific increase of dental disease with age, and a significantly higher prevalence of carious lesions in Modern Age females than in males, were also found. These changes can be explained by women having had limited access to dental care after the Middle-Modern Age transition, as a consequence of socio-cultural and political changes. In these changes, an increasing influence of the Catholic Church in Spanish society has to be noted, as it can contribute to the explanation of the unequal dental health of men and women. Women were socially excluded from dental care by regulations inspired by religious precepts.     

Role of wild plant foods among late Holocene hunter-gatherers from Central and North Patagonia (South America): an approach from dental evidence

This study evaluates the role of plant foods in the subsistence of hunter-gatherers that inhabited the Central East, Northwest, and Northeast Patagonia (Argentina) during the late Holocene (ca. 3,000-500 years BP). The goal of the present study is to assess the temporal variation of dental caries ratio and wear rate in skeletal samples to ascertain if the biological information supports the dietary shift toward greater consumption of wild plant foods around 1,500 years BP, suggested by other types of evidence. The authors registered caries, antemortem and postmortem tooth loss, and tooth wear from eight samples belonging to hunter-gatherers from Patagonia for which chronological sequences from early late Holocene (ca. 3,000-1,500 years BP) up to final late Holocene (ca. 1,500-500 years BP) are available. The results indicate that caries percentages in Patagonian samples fall within the range established for hunter-gatherers but there are significant geographical differences. In addition, caries ratio does not change significantly through time, so the amount of carbohydrates consumed seems to have remained fairly constant since 3,000 years BP. In contrast, there is a marked temporal trend toward the reduction of wear rates in the three areas, suggesting a faster rate in early late Holocene than in final late Holocene. These results would reflect a change to less hard and/or abrasive diets in the final late Holocene, probably owing to differences in food processing methods employed.     

Dental caries in a Portuguese identified skeletal sample from the late 19th and early 20th centuries

Dental caries was investigated in 600 adult dentitions belonging to the identified osteological collections of the Museum of Anthropology, University of Coimbra, Portugal (late 19th/early 20th centuries). The main advantage of this sample compared to an archaeological source is the presence of known demographic parameters such as age, sex, and occupation. The aim of this study is to investigate the issues involved in comparing caries data derived from archaeological death assemblages with statistics compiled from clinical studies of the living. When only the upper dentition was considered, higher rates were observed in females than in males. No differences were found between sexes for lower teeth. In both sexes, both the percentage of carious teeth and the severity of lesions were found to increase with age, demonstrating that caries activity continued throughout life. The slight decrease observed for the age group 70–79 years is probably due to the increased antemortem tooth loss in the elderly. Caries was most common at contact areas (32.9%) and rarest at smooth crown surfaces (6.5%). Root surface caries was graphed in relation to the exposure of roots, and it was confirmed that the degree of root exposure was not strongly related to the frequency of carious lesions on the exposed root surface, although both increased with age. Molars were attacked more frequently by caries as a whole than premolars, canines or incisors. The results are similar to studies of recent living populations with a limited access to professional dental care. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The neolithic demographic transition and oral health: The Southeast Asian experience

The purpose of this article is to present new oral health data from Neolithic An Son, southern Vietnam, in the context of (1) a reassessment of published data on other Neolithic, Bronze, and Iron Age Southeast Asian dental series, and (2) predictions of the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT). To this end, frequencies for three oral conditions (caries, antemortem tooth loss, and alveolar lesions) were investigated for seven Southeast Asian adult dental series from Thailand and Vietnam with respect to time period, age‐at‐death and sex. A clear pattern of elevated rates for oral disease in the Neolithic followed by a marked improvement in oral health during the Bronze and Iron Ages was observed. Moreover, rates of caries and antemortem tooth loss for females were almost without exception higher than that for males in all samples. The consensus view among Southeast Asian bioarchaeologists that oral health did not decline with the adoption/intensification of agriculture in Southeast Asia, can no longer be supported. In light of evidence for (1) the low cariogenicity of rice; (2) the physiological predisposition of females (particularly when pregnant) to poorer oral health; and (3) health predictions of the NDT model with respect to elevated levels of fertility, the most plausible chief explanation for the observed patterns in oral health in Southeast Asia is increased levels of fertility during the Neolithic, followed by a decline in fertility during the subsequent Bronze and Iron Ages. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:197–208, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The usefulness of caries frequency,depth, and location in determining cariogenicity and past subsistence: A test on early and later agriculturalists from the Peruvian coast

Dental markers have been used to unravel particularities of paleodiet, subsistence, social structure, and health. This article aims to compare oral pathology among four pre‐Columbian groups with different degrees of agricultural and socio‐cultural development but comparable ecological conditions who lived on the coastal desert of Peru. Three of these groups are assigned to distinct phases of the Formative Period (2500–1 BC), a time critical for our understanding of the development of agriculture and social complexity. The fourth group corresponds to the Late Intermediate Period (1000–1470 AD), when agriculture had its apogee and society was highly stratified. In this study we test whether there is an increase (1) in the frequency of carious lesions and (2) in caries depth, and (3) if there is a shift from occlusal to extra‐occlusal caries locations with the development of agriculture. Therefore, we analyze the frequencies of carious lesions and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), the caries distributions by age, sex, and type of tooth, as well as the tissues affected by, and the location of the carious lesions. Since there are no significant differences in the frequencies of carious lesions and AMTL between the groups, we reject hypothesis 1. In contrast, caries depth does increase, and caries location changes from occlusal to extra‐occlusal sites with agricultural development. However, we can only corroborate hypothesis 2 and 3 when taking into consideration dental wear. Thus, we recommend that caries depth and locations should be used with evaluations of dental wear to reconstruct subsistence in ancient populations. Am J Phys Anthropol 143:75–91, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Age,sex, and antemortem loss of teeth in prehistoric Eskimo samples from point hope and Kodiak Island,Alaska

The incidence of teeth lost antemortem was investigated in 244 archeologically derived dried skeletal specimens from the Ipiutak and Tigara burials at Point Hope, Alaska, and 83 Koniag Eskimo specimens excavated at Jones Point, Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Ipiutak skeletal remains date from approximately 1500 years B.P. and the Tigara remains from 300–400 years B.P. The Kodiak Island sample is undated. Specimens were sexed and aged in five-year groupings using standard techniques. Teeth lost antermortem were identified as having occupied tooth sockets which showed healing of alveolar bone following exfoliation. Numbers of lost teeth were calculated as percentages of total number of tooth sites of each tooth classification for each age, sex, and site subgrouping. Tooth loss was very low in the Kodiak Island sample, with little difference between sexes and no identifiable age trends. The Tigara ramains displayed moderate tooth loss, with strong correlations to increasing age and little differentiation between the sexes. The Ipiutak specimens lost the most teeth antemortem, with notable between-sex differences and strong correlations with increasing age. In all groups loss of anterior teeth was probably due to accident or heavy wear, while loss of posterior teeth was due to heavy wear, periodontal disease, or agenesis.     

Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss in the Northern Peten area,Mexico: a biocultural perspective on social status differences among the Classic Maya

Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) are investigated in a Classic Maya sample obtained from the sites of Calakmul, Dzibanché, and Kohunlich (Mexico). This study aims at assessing the effect that sex and social status had on the prevalence of oral pathologies. The lack of a direct relationship between caries, AMTL, and age-at-death led us to interpret the results in terms of the biological, socioeconomic, and behavioral conditions prevailing in these ancient Maya settlements. Benefits related to sex and social status are evident in the frequency of carious lesions, which appear less frequently in elite males than in low-status individuals of both sexes and in elite females. Individuals from problematic mortuary contexts and isolated bone assemblages, who could not be ascribed to any status group, showed the highest rates of caries. Sex discrimination in dietary preferences appears in the elite sample, while the homogeneity encountered between sexes in the low-status segment suggests a more uniform access to resources. Tooth loss clearly distinguishes elite individuals from commoners, regardless of sex, with the former bearing a much higher rate of loss. In individuals from the undefined mortuary assemblages and sacrificial contexts, it was even more pronounced than in the other groups, although its interpretation is problematic due to a lack of associated funerary data. The overall evidence from oral pathologies is interpreted to be the result of deficient oral hygiene coupled with a softer and more refined diet in the high-status population, particularly males. Whereas elite males' subsistence was apparently based more on animal proteins and relatively soft and refined foods, a diet relying on carbohydrates may account for the observed rate of oral pathologies in elite females and commoners.     

The role of occlusal stress and gingival infection in the formation of exostoses on mandible and maxilla from Neolithic China

Exostoses on the mandible and maxilla is a frequently observed bone growth of controversial aetiology. The aim of this study is to analyse environmental factors that may stimulate the formation of exostoses on different regions of the maxilla and mandible. Sixty-six well-preserved crania from Neolithic China were studied for the presence of buccal exostoses on the maxilla (BE) and lingual exostoses on the mandible (LME). Other oral health indicators, such as occlusal wear on molars, pathology of temporomandibular joint (TMJ), carious lesions, calculus accretion, periodontal disease, and antemortem tooth loss were recorded. Buccal maxillary exostosis was unusually common on the Neolithic skulls from China, which thus resemble the Sinantropus crania described by Weidenreich (1943). We report a significant Spearman correlation between BE and LME (rho = 0.54, P < 0.00001), suggesting a partially shared aetiology of these two types of exostoses. The highest correlations between either form of exostoses and any oral indicator of stress were found for pathology at TMJ (rho = 0.46, P < 0.0001 for both types of exostoses). Smaller but significant correlations were observed between LME and the age adjusted wear rate on lower molars, as well as between BE and indicators of oral/dental pathology, e.g. caries, calculus, periodontoses, and antemortem tooth loss. Both types of exostoses tended to increase in frequency with age, although a significant trend was observed only for BE. We conclude that formation of exostoses is a complex process that can be invoked by any agent causing damage and inflammation of gingival tissue. However, severe occlusal stress, which is often manifested in TMJ disorder, is the main environmental factor leading to exostosis development in genetically pre-disposed individuals.     

Dental health of elderly confederate veterans: evidence from the Texas State Cemetery

Analysis of the skeletal remains of 50 Confederate veterans provided a unique opportunity to explore the dental health of a geriatric sample. These men, who died between 1907-1932, had an average age at death of 76.7 years. Ninety percent were institutionalized at the Confederate Home for Men (Austin, TX) prior to their deaths. This elderly sample was assessed in terms of caries, antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), abscesses, and linear enamel hypoplasias. On a per tooth basis, the AMTL rate was 57.2%. Of 39 dentate men, 33 (84.6%) had dental caries, and 24.4% (121 of 496) of teeth were carious. Ten (25.0%) of the dentate men had hypoplastic teeth. At least one abscess was seen in 14 (28%) of 50 individuals. Results from this geriatric institutionalized sample are compared to contemporaneous historical samples. Disparities in dental health among these groups may be due to differences in average age at death, and these comparisons allow a better understanding of dental changes that occur with age. The sample is also compared to modern elderly samples: modern groups have higher caries rates, possibly because they retained more teeth. This finding may be due in part to diets in the United States becoming increasingly cariogenic over time. In addition, dental care has moved from the reactive practices seen in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (such as tooth extractions) to modern proactive solutions dedicated to preserving and restoring teeth (such as tooth brushing, fluoride treatments, and dental fillings).     

Dento-alveolar lesions and nutritional habits of a Roman Imperial age population (1st–4th c. AD): Quadrella (Molise, Italy)

The study of teeth is very important in archaeoanthropology for reconstruction of the nutritional habits and living conditions of past populations. We have analysed dental lesions of pathological (caries, abscesses and ante mortem tooth loss) and non-pathological origin (calculus), linear enamel hypoplasia and tooth wear in 67 adults from the Roman Imperial age necropolis (1st-4th c. AD) of Quadrella (Molise, Italy). The high frequency of caries (likely giving rise to the abscesses and ante mortem tooth loss), the abundant calculus and the low frequency of heavy wear are probably due to a limited use of hard fibrous foods and a high consumption of carbohydrates. The high frequency of linear enamel hypoplasia suggests metabolic problems during growth. Comparison of these data with those for two coeval Italian necropoleis near Rome (Latium), Isola Sacra and Lucus Feroniae, indicates poorer living conditions in the Quadrella population.