Dental Indicators, Health and Food Diversity in Spain

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Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research

Definition

The type and frequency of pathological conditions of teeth were compared between the Medieval Age (eleventh to fifteenth centuries) and the Modern era (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries), analyzing skeletal remains from ancient cemeteries of north Iberia (Spain). The aim of the investigation was to assess the health impact of the introduction of new food resources into the Spanish diet in the early Modern Age. The results suggest a positive influence of increased diversity of nutritional resources, mainly due to intercontinental (America-Europe) trade.

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Introduction

Dental remains are a valuable source of information about health and nutritional status of ancient populations (Armelagos et al. 1984; Larsen et al. 2002). They are also useful to evaluate how changes in life conditions in prehistoric and historical transitions have affected the inhabitants of a particular territory.

The transition from Middle (Medieval) to Modern Age was an important key point for...

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Correspondence to Belen Lopez or Eva Garcia-Vazquez .

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Lopez, B., Garcia-Vazquez, E., Dopico, E. (2023). Dental Indicators, Health and Food Diversity in Spain. In: Maggino, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Quality of Life and Well-Being Research. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_4138

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