ORAL HEALTH AND DIET IN POPULATIONS OF CENTRAL ARGENTINA DURING LATE HOLOCENE: BIOARCHAEOLOGICAL AND ISOTOPIC EVIDENCE

FABRA MARIANA; GONZALEZ, CLAUDINA

LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY

SOCIETY FOR AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Año: 2019 p. 818 - 835

1045-6635

The aim of this paper is to study the temporal and spatialvariation of diet and oral health of human populations that inhabited thecentral region of Argentina during the Late Holocene (4000-300 years BP),evaluating isotopic data (δ13Ccol, δ15N), physiological stress indicators(tooth wear) and infectious dental diseases (caries). The sample corresponds toa total of 49 individuals recovered from archaeological sites located in theProvince of Córdoba, dated by AMS on collagen, in a range of 4058 ± 89 years BPand 370 ± 15 14C years BP. Prevalence of caries and average of dental wear werecalculated and comparisons were made considering the regional origin (CentralHighlands and Eastern Lowlands), temporal assignation (earlier Late Holocene,later Late Holocene) and sex (female and male) of the samples. We applied MannWhitney U test to assess statistical significance of the observed differences.The results of prevalence of oral diseases as well as isotopic data suggest aclear regional and temporal differentiation, which could be interpreted asresulting from differential use of plant resources among regions, and a slightdeterioration in oral health in the Late Holocene. Stable isotope analysisindicates food consumption of C3 and C4 resources. However, temporal variationsin the isotopic values are observed, which may indicate the introduction of C4resources in later Late Holocene, mainly in the mountainous region.