Multidisciplinary perspectives on the study of ancient diet and oral health. A case study from the Central Region of Argentina

ALDANA TAVARONE; DARIO RAMIREZ; CLAUDINA, GONZALEZ; RODRIGO NORES; MILAGROS COLOBIG; FABRA , MARIANA

Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences

Springer

Año: 2020

1866-9565

his study represents the first comprehensive analysis of the oral cavity of a late initialHolocene period individual from the Central Highlands of Córdoba, Argentina. Weemployed an innovative, multidisciplinary suite of methods that combine macroscopicdental analysis, Cone Beam computed tomography, vegetable microremains, andgenetic data to the study of the oral health and diet of the past populations from theCentral Highlands. Results indicate that this individual presented severe dental wear, ahigh amount of dental tartar, periapical lesions and caries. Silicophytoliths and starchgrains were identified, demonstrating the consumption and/or manipulation of wildplants. Finally, by applying paleogenetic techniques, we could confirm the presence ofthe bacterium Streptococcus mutans in this individual, and therefore more broadly, inancient samples from Argentina. We additionally identified the presence of a secondbacterium, Fusobacterium nucleatum