Deciduous enamel 3D microwear texture analysis as an indicator of childhood diet in medieval Canterbury, England
| Autor: | Patrick Mahoney, Christopher W. Schmidt, Pia Nystrom, Sarah E. Johns, Justyna J. Miszkiewicz, Philip Slavin, Chris Deter, Ashley Remy |
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| Rok vydání: | 2016 |
| Předmět: |
Archeology
060101 anthropology 060102 archaeology Enamel paint 06 humanities and the arts Texture (geology) Archaeology medicine.anatomical_structure Geography Deciduous Age groups visual_art visual_art.visual_art_medium Deciduous teeth medicine Weaning 0601 history and archaeology Texture complexity Demography |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Archaeological Science. 66:128-136 |
| ISSN: | 0305-4403 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.jas.2016.01.007 |
| Popis: | This study conducted the first three dimensional microwear texture analysis of human deciduous teeth to reconstruct the physical properties of medieval childhood diet (age 1–8yrs) at St Gregory's Priory and Cemetery (11th to 16th century AD) in Canterbury, England. Occlusal texture complexity surfaces of maxillary molars from juvenile skeletons (n = 44) were examined to assess dietary hardness. Anisotropy values were calculated to reconstruct dietary toughness, as well as jaw movements during chewing. Evidence of weaning was sought, and variation in the physical properties of food was assessed against age and socio-economic status. Results indicate that weaning had already commenced in the youngest children. Diet became tougher from four years of age, and harder from age six. Variation in microwear texture surfaces was related to historical textual evidence that refers to lifestyle developments for these age groups. Diet did not vary with socio-economic status, which differs to previously reported patterns for adults. We conclude, microwear texture analyses can provide a non-destructive tool for revealing subtle aspects of childhood diet in the past. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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