Beyond food

The multiple pathways for inclusion of materials into ancient dental calculus

Bibliographic Data

ID24288209
AuthorsAnita Radini (0000-0002-2099-2639, BioArCh University of York York UK), Efthymia Nikita (Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Centre, The Cyprus Institute Nicosia Cyprus), Stephen Buckley (0000-0002-1026-6975, BioArCh University of York York UK), Les Copeland (School of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Sydney NSW 2006 Australia), Karen Hardy (ICREA, Pg. Lluís Companys 23. 08010 Barcelona)
Year2017
Volume162
IssueS63
Pages71-83
Publication date2017-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.23147
PMID28105717
OpenAlexW2573374671
LanguageEN
Citations received60
References cited124

Dental calculus (mineralized dental plaque) was first recognised as a potentially useful archaeological deposit in the 1970s, though interest in human dental calculus as a resource material has increased sharply in the past few years. The majority of recent research has focused on the retrieval of plant microfossils embedded in its matrix and interpretation of these finds as largely the result of deliberate consumption of plant‐derived food. However, while most of the material described in published works does represent food, dental calculus is in fact a “depositional environment” as material can enter the mouth from a range of sources. In this respect, it therefore represents an archaeological deposit that can also contain extensive non‐dietary debris. This can comprise a wide variety of cultural and environmental material which reaches the mouth and can become embedded in dental calculus through alternative pathways. Here, we explore the human behaviors and activities besides eating that can generate a flux of particles into the human mouth, the broad range of additional cultural and environmental information that can be obtained through the analysis and contextualisation of this material, and the implications of the additional pathways by which material can become embedded in dental calculus.

archaeological deposits · dental calculus · depositional environment · dietary intake · plant microfossils · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases