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.
Description
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...
References
Armelagos, G. J., Van Gerven, D. P., Martin, D. L., & Huss-Ashmore, R. (1984). Effects of nutritional change on the skeletal biology of northeast African (Sudanese Nubian) populations. In J. D. Clark & S. A. Brandt (Eds.), From hunters to farmers: The causes and consequences of food production in Africa (pp. 132–146). Los Angeles: University of California Press.
Aufderheide, A. C., Rodriguez-Martin, C., & Langsjoen, O. (1998). The Cambridge encyclopedia of human paleopathology. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press.
Belcastro, G., Rastelli, E., Mariotti, V., Consiglio, C., Facchini, F., & Bonfiglioli, B. (2007). Continuity or discontinuity of the life-style in central Italy during the Roman imperial age-early Middle Ages transition: Diet, health, and behavior. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 132(3), 381–394. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.20530.
Brothwell, D. R. (1963). Digging up bones; the excavation, treatment and study of human skeletal remains. London: British Museum (Natural History).
Brothwell, D. R. (1987). Desenterrando huesos. La excavación, tratamiento y estudio de restos del esqueleto humano. México City: Fondo de Cultura Económica.
Buikstra, J. E., & Ubelaker, D. H. (1994). Standards for data collection from human skeletal remains: Proceedings of a seminar at the field museum of natural history. Fayetteville: Arkansas Archeological Survey.
Cardoso, H. F. V., & Saunders, S. R. (2008). Two arch criteria of the ilium for sex determination of immature skeletal remains: A test of their accuracy and an assessment of intra- and inter-observer error. Forensic Science International, 178(1), 24–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forsciint.2008.01.012.
Del Valle, A., & Romero, M. (2006). Cervantes: Father of Don Quixote and son of a dentist. Journal of Dental Research, 85(8), 701–704.
Goodman, A. H., & Rose, J. C. (1991). Dental enamel hypoplasias as indicators of nutritional status. In M. A. Kelley & C. S. Larsen (Eds.), Advances in dental anthropology. New York: Wiley-Liss.
Hillson, S. (1996). Dental anthropology. Cambridge, UK/New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hillson, S. (2005). Teeth (2nd ed.). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Hobkirk, J. A. (2005). Prosthodontics: A past with a future? Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 71(5), 326.
King, T., Humphrey, L. T., & Hillson, S. (2005). Linear enamel hypoplasias as indicators of systemic physiological stress: Evidence from two known age-at-death and sex populations from postmedieval London. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 128(3), 547–559.
Larsen, C. S., Crosby, A. W., Griffin, M. C., Hutchinson, D. L., Ruff, C. B., Russell, K. F., et al. (2002). A biohistory of health and behavior in the Georgia bight. 1. The agricultural transition and the impact of europeancontact. In J. C. Rose & R. H. Steckel (Eds.), The backbone of history: Health and nutrition in the western hemisphere (pp. 406–439). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
López, B., García-Vázquez, E., & Dopico, E. (2011). Dental indicators suggest health improvement associated with increased food diversity in modern age Spain. Human Ecology, 39, 527–534. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-011-9406-y.
Lukacs, J. R., & Largaespada, L. L. (2006). Explaining sex differences in dental caries prevalence: Saliva, hormones, and “life-history” etiologies. American Journal of Human Biology, 18(4), 540–555. https://doi.org/10.1002/ajhb.20530.
Pindborg, J. J. (1970). Pathology of the dental hard tissues. Copenhagen: Munksgaard.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
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
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17299-1_4138
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-17298-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-17299-1
eBook Packages: Social SciencesReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences