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    Caries prevalence in ancient Egyptians and Nubians

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    Author
    Triambelas, Konstantine
    Chair
    Irish, Joel
    Committee
    Hoover, Kara
    Clark, Jamie
    Metadata
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    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11122/4510
    Abstract
    This thesis presents an expanded bioarchaeological perspective to quantitative analyses of dental caries in the remains of 1842 ancient Egyptians and Nubians. The skeletal samples from 17 Egyptian and 15 Nubian cemeteries are represented by both sexes, and span a period from 14000 BCE-1450 CE. Considering that a skeletal population of this size has never been previously evaluated for dental caries, this thesis can make a considerable contribution to a better understanding of the variability encountered in dental caries patterns over time, as these are manifested within the bio/cultural/ecological context of the Nile Valley. Dental caries are the decomposition of tooth enamel resulting from the chemical breakdown of dietary carbohydrates by oral bacteria. In archaeological populations, increasing rates of dental caries have been positively correlated with consumption of agriculturally-based cereals such as wheat and barley. Dental caries rates thus provide a reliable indicator of human biocultural transitions to agriculture, as well as information on diet, general oral health, and social organization of the group. In the context of ancient Egypt and Nubia, dental caries frequencies have been previously used to evaluate regional variability in dietary practices, as well differential access to resources based on sex and social class/status. This thesis reevaluates much of the above information using a larger and more statistically-representative sample. Quantitative analyses based on both non-parametric and parametric statistical techniques were used to assess intra- and inter-sample differences in mean tooth caries, mean individual caries, and mean ante mortem tooth loss (AMTL). These variables were compared across samples by region, time period, economic organization, sex, and social status. Results for Egypt were in agreement with previous research showing overall low caries prevalence increasing through time. Significant regional and inter-cemetery differences existed between Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, as well as between late Dynastic samples and earlier ones. In Nubia, significant differences according to region and sex were shown to exist in the prehistoric/preagricultural component of the study. In contrast with previous findings, Nubian dental caries were higher in the earlier phases and declined during the agriculturally-intensive periods of later Nubian history. The exception to this last finding was the Christian period when both dental caries and AMTL experienced considerable increases.
    Description
    Thesis (M.A.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014
    Table of Contents
    Chapter 1. Prolegomenon -- Introduction -- Research Questions -- Significance -- Chapter 2. The land, climate, and people -- Climate and Cultural Change -- Archaeology and Cultural History -- The Paleolithic -- The Neolithic -- The Neolithic in the Western Desert (9000-4700 BCE) -- The Neolithic of Lower Egypt -- The Neolithic of Badari (Upper Egypt) -- The Naqada Period (or Predynastic, 4200-3200 BCE) -- The Neolithic in Nubia and Sudan -- Egypt and Nubia in historical times -- Chapter 3. Dental caries -- Introduction -- Dental caries pathology -- Histology of human teeth -- Dental caries etiology -- Carbohydrates and dental caries -- Dental caries in archaeological populations -- Sex and dental caries -- Dental caries in Egypt and Nubia -- Conclusion -- Chapter 4. Materials -- Preagricultural/Prehistoric cemeteries -- Predynastic cemeteries -- Dynastic cemeteries -- Late Dynastic and Greco-Roman cemeteries -- Nubian cemeteries -- Early Nubian cemeteries (3400-1450 BCE) -- Classic Nubian cemeteries (1750 BCE-550 CE) -- Late Nubian cemeteries (100 BCE-1350 CE) -- Chapter 5. Methods -- Economy, Period, Region, Country, Sex, Age, Status -- Dental representation and prevalence in the archaeological record -- Dental caries methods -- Statistical methods -- The independent variables -- Statistical tests -- Parametric assumptions -- Chapter 6. Results -- Dental caries per Country -- Dental caries per Region -- Dental caries per Economy -- Dental caries per Period -- Dental caries and Sex -- Dental caries and (Social) Status -- Chapter 7. Egypt and Nubia -- Egypt -- The relationship between dental caries and dental wear -- Regional and temporal dental caries comparisons in Egypt -- AMTL in Egypt -- Nubia -- Chapter 8. Summary and conclusions -- Future research -- References -- Appendices.
    Date
    2014-08
    Type
    Thesis
    Collections
    Anthropology

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