Dental Indicators of Health in Early Neolithic and Iron Age Skeletons from Taiwan

Abstract

This study introduces, for the first time, data recorded in some of the oldest Neolithic skeletons from Taiwan and investigates biocultural implications of changes in subsistence in the earliest Neolithic and later Iron Age Taiwan. Human skeletons from two archaeological sites in Taiwan are included. The first skeletal series is from the Nankuanli East (NKLE) site (n=23 individuals) located in the Tainan Science park, Tainan City in southwestern Taiwan. The NKLE skeletons are associated with the Tapenkeng culture (ca. 5000 years BP), the earliest Neolithic cultural sequence in Taiwan. The second skeletal series from Taiwan is from the Shisanhang (SSH) site (n=23 individuals), an Iron Age site (ca. 1800-500 years BP) located in northwestern Taiwan. The main objectives of this stud are to 1) document selected indicators of oral/dental (antemortem tooth loss-AMTL, dental caries, alveolar resorption, alveolar defects, dental calculus, and dental attrition) and physiological (linear enamel hypoplasia-LEH) health in the NKLE skeletons, 2) examine differences between male and female NKLE skeletons, 3) compare health in the early Neolithic and Iron Age Taiwan, and 4) place the prehistoric skeletons from Taiwan in a broader regional perspective. A relatively high frequency of LEH (51.3%), an indicator of infant and childhood health, was observed in the NKLE adult anterior teeth, indicating there was significant childhood stress experienced by the earliest Neolithic inhabitants of Taiwan. Relatively low frequencies of AMTL (0.3%), dental caries (1.9%), and alveolar defects (1.0%), and moderate levels of alveolar resorption (8.8%) and dental calculus (8.3%) were observed in the NKLE skeletons. Contrary to expectations, no significant sex differences were observed for most of the indicators of health in the NKLE series. However, compared to adult females, the frequency of advanced attrition was significantly higher in adult males, a difference that is likely related to age, diet, and subsistence practices. Overall, the dental health of the NKLE skeletons was good. Also contrary to expectations, the frequencies of childhood stress (LEH), dental caries, AMTL and alveolar defects are similar in the NKLE and SSH series. Significantly higher .frequencies of dental calculus and alveolar resorption are noted in the SSH series, consistent with the transition to advanced food processing techniques. The frequency of advanced dental attrition (7.9%) in the NKLE skeletons was higher than in SSH skeletons suggesting use of teeth as tools in the early Neolithic and an increased reliance on softer more processed foods and the use of metal tools in the Iron Age. Although not statistically significant, the higher frequency of LEH (51.3%) observed in the NKLE skeletons compared to those .from the SSH site (37.1%) suggests improvement in childhood health in the Iron Age. Overshadowing the mostly minor differences, many of which may be attributed to differences in diet, hygiene, and cultural practices, are the overwhelming similarities in dental health between the early Neolithic and later Iron Age skeletons. The evidence presented in this study confirms archaeological evidence that the prehistoric inhabitants of both sites shared a similar subsistence economy broadly based on farming, fishing and the hunting and gathering of marine and terrestrial resources. Regional comparisons of dental health indicators suggest the earliest Neolithic inhabitants of Taiwan, experienced more childhood physiological stress (LEH) than that observed in other series. Overall, the .frequencies of several indicators of oral infection (e.g., AMTL, dental caries, and alveolar defects) in the NKLE and SSH skeletons are among the lowest reported, indicating good dental health for Taiwan's prehistoric inhabitants, a finding that may also reflect a non-agricultural subsistence economy or diets low in starch and sugars and/or the cariostatic nature of marine diets. Given the small samples used in this study these conclusions must be viewed with caution. Future research, involving additional skeletons from the Nankuanli East site as well as other sites from Taiwan, will expand on the research reported in this study.

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