On the applicability of the assessment of dental tooth wear for the study of collective prehistoric burials

Teeth are a very important resource in Biological Anthropology. One of their many uses is the evaluation of dental wear, which can document both masticatory and non-masticatory behavior. The objectives of this work are to 1) present a protocol for scoring evidence of non-masticatory activity applica...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Marado, Luís Miguel (author)
Other Authors: Cunha, Cláudia (author), Scott, G. Richard (author), Tomé, Tiago (author), Machado, Hugo (author), Silva, Ana Maria (author)
Format: bookPart
Language:eng
Published: 2018
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10451/35231
Country:Portugal
Oai:oai:repositorio.ul.pt:10451/35231
Description
Summary:Teeth are a very important resource in Biological Anthropology. One of their many uses is the evaluation of dental wear, which can document both masticatory and non-masticatory behavior. The objectives of this work are to 1) present a protocol for scoring evidence of non-masticatory activity applicable to all kinds of contexts (including commingled collective burials), 2) suggest interpretation tools, and 3) use simple, time-saving and accessible procedures. Procedures addressing oral alterations, a new trait – cingular continuous lesions (CCL) – and statistical analysis are described. This method will complement archaeological knowledge on past populations’ cultural, ritual or work-related tooth uses.