Alveolar bone loss and dentoalveolar remodelling in pre-Columbian human remains from northern Chile

Bibliographic Data

ID24233264
AuthorsJ Ipinza-Hofmann (0000-0002-1241-7618), J Basualdo (0000-0003-2369-2882), E Fernández (0000-0002-0746-2123)
Year2026
Volume76
Pages106119
Publication date2026-12-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Archaeological Science Reports (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2352-409X • E-ISSN: 2352-4103
PublisherElsevier BV (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1016/j.jasrep.2026.106119
OpenAlexW7220936612
LanguageEN
References cited16

Alveolar bone loss in archaeological human remains is a composite skeletal outcome influenced by biological ageing, occlusal function, compensatory eruption, antemortem tooth loss, and inflammatory destruction. Accordingly, cementoenamel junction–alveolar crest (CEJ–AC) distance should not be interpreted as a stand-alone diagnosis of periodontitis. This study reanalysed the recoverable individual-level raw repository records for 96 crania from pre-Columbian northern Chile. The reconstructed dataset contained 4,076 numeric CEJ–AC measurements from distal, vestibular, and mesial positions. The individual was treated as the inferential unit. Individual mean CEJ–AC, maximum CEJ–AC, the worst individual CEJ–AC band, and the presence of any site ≥4 mm were derived directly from the raw records. In models adjusted for sex and the number of numeric sites available, higher ordered age category was associated with a more severe worst-site CEJ–AC band (OR 2.07, 95 % CI 1.14–3.77; p = 0.018) and with a small increase in individual mean CEJ–AC (β = 0.092 mm per age category, 95 % CI 0.004–0.181; p = 0.041), whereas no independent sex effect was detected. A structured photographic audit of the same 96 unique individuals provided contextual outcomes for basal cortical porosity, wear, tooth loss, caries-compatible lesions, fracture-compatible changes, and pitting. These findings support a cautious multiparametric interpretation in which metric alveolar reduction, localized defect morphology, dental condition, and generalized cortical morphology are treated as related but non-equivalent lines of osteological evidence.

alveolar bone loss · Andean archaeology · dental pathology · northern Chile · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access