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      Dental caries at Lapa do Santo, central-eastern Brazil: An Early Holocene archaeological site

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          Abstract

          ABSTRACT The origin and dispersion of the first Americans have been extensively investigated from morphological and genetic perspectives, but few studies have focused on their health and lifestyle. The archaeological site of Lapa do Santo, central-eastern Brazil, has exceptionally preserved Early Holocene human skeletons, providing 19 individuals with 327 permanent and 122 deciduous teeth dated to 9,250 to 7,500 years BP. In this study, we test whether the inhabitants of Lapa do Santo had high prevalence of dental caries as previous studies of Lagoa Santa collection have indicated, using individual and tooth as units of analyses. The results show a high prevalence of dental caries in the permanent dentition (5.50%, n=327 teeth; 69.23%, n=13 individuals) compared to other samples of hunter-gatherers worldwide. In addition, dental caries in deciduous teeth start occurring as early as 3 to 4 years old, suggesting an early start to caries. Compared with other samples from Lagoa Santa, Lapa do Santo shows statistically similar prevalence of overall caries but different caries location pattern. We believe that a subsistence adaptation to a tropical environment rich in sources of carbohydrates, such as fruits, is the best explanation for the overall caries prevalence.

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          Age estimation from the auricular surface of the ilium: a revised method.

          A revised method for estimating adult age at death using the auricular surface of the ilium has been developed. It is based on the existing auricular surface aging method of Lovejoy et al. ([1985] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 68:15-28), but the revised technique is easier to apply, and has low levels of inter- and intraobserver error. The new method records age-related stages for different features of the auricular surface, which are then combined to provide a composite score from which an estimate of age at death is obtained. Blind tests of the method were carried out on a known-age skeletal collection from Christ Church, Spitalfields, London. These tests showed that the dispersion of age at death for a given morphological stage was large, particularly after the first decade of adult life. Statistical analysis showed that the age-related changes in auricular surface are not significantly different for males and females. The scores from the revised method have a slightly higher correlation with age than do the Suchey-Brooks pubic symphysis stages. Considering the higher survival rates of the auricular surface compared with the pubic symphysis, this method promises to be useful for biological anthropology and forensic science. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
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            Recording dental caries in archaeological human remains

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              Cranial morphology of early Americans from Lagoa Santa, Brazil: implications for the settlement of the New World.

              Comparative morphological studies of the earliest human skeletons of the New World have shown that, whereas late prehistoric, recent, and present Native Americans tend to exhibit a cranial morphology similar to late and modern Northern Asians (short and wide neurocrania; high, orthognatic and broad faces; and relatively high and narrow orbits and noses), the earliest South Americans tend to be more similar to present Australians, Melanesians, and Sub-Saharan Africans (narrow and long neurocrania; prognatic, low faces; and relatively low and broad orbits and noses). However, most of the previous studies of early American human remains were based on small cranial samples. Herein we compare the largest sample of early American skulls ever studied (81 skulls of the Lagoa Santa region) with worldwide data sets representing global morphological variation in humans, through three different multivariate analyses. The results obtained from all multivariate analyses confirm a close morphological affinity between South-American Paleoindians and extant Australo-Melanesians groups, supporting the hypothesis that two distinct biological populations could have colonized the New World in the Pleistocene/Holocene transition.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                Role: ND
                Role: ND
                Role: ND
                Journal
                aabc
                Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências
                An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.
                Academia Brasileira de Ciências (Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil )
                0001-3765
                1678-2690
                March 2017
                : 89
                : 1
                : 307-316
                Affiliations
                [2] São Paulo São Paulo orgnameUniversidade de São Paulo orgdiv1Faculdade de Odontologia orgdiv2Departamento de Estomatologia Brazil
                [1] São Paulo São Paulo orgnameUniversidade de São Paulo orgdiv1Departamento de Genética e Biologia Evolutiva orgdiv2Instituto de Biociências Brazil
                Article
                S0001-37652017000100307
                10.1590/0001-3765201620160297
                a8fd44a0-ddf1-437f-b92d-8f7f3685c825

                This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 20 September 2016
                : 18 May 2016
                Page count
                Figures: 0, Tables: 0, Equations: 0, References: 40, Pages: 10
                Product

                SciELO Brazil


                bioarchaeology,Brazilian prehistory,dental pathologies,Lagoa Santa,oral health,paleoamericans

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