Dentition of a Mesolithic Population from
Wadi Halfa, Sudan '
DAVID L. GREENEP GEORGE H. EWING3
GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
2 University of W y o m i n g , Laramie, W y o m i n g ; 3 University of Colorado,
Boulder, Colorado; University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah
AND
ABSTRACT
The dentition of a Mesolithic population (8,000-11,000 years old)
from Wadi Halfa, Sudan, can be characterized as morphologically complex, massive
and relatively free from pathology except that associated with extreme wear.
Maxillary incisors show shoveling. All of the maxillary molars show some development of the hypocone. Supernumerary cusps appear frequently. Almost one-half of
the second lower molars observed show distally located third cusps. Over one-half of
the maxillary third molars show a n extra cusp. A high percentage of mandibular
molars show six cusps.
Overall the teeth from this population compare favorably in size with those of an
Australian aborigine tribe and are slightly larger than the teeth of the Neanderthaloids
from Skuhl.
The teeth show wear of a degree greater than that found i n present day Eskimo or
Australian aborigine groups.
This data may be intcrpreted as indicating that this Mesolithic group was subjected
to rigorous selective pressures favoring large and/or morphologically complex teeth.
This pressure was apparently intensive wear, presumably caused by the inclusion of
large amounts of grit in the diet through the eating of vegetable food macerated on
coarse grinding stones.
During the 1963-1964 field season of
the University of Colorado's Nubian Expedition, a series of 39 permineralized fossil
skeletons were discovered by expedition
archaeologists and excavated by the expedition's three physical anthropologists
(George Armelagos, George Ewing and
David Greene) . Preliminary analysis by
the archaeologist directly responsible for
this site, Arthur Saxe ('66), indicates that
it has Mesolithic affinities and is at least
8,000-1 1,000 years old.
The site from which the skeletons were
uncovered, given the designation 6-B-36,
lies between 31 and 35 m above the mean
Nile level at Wadi Halfa. This is about
151 to 155 m above the mean sea level at
Alexandria and back 2.5 km from the Nile
into what is now desert. Lithic material
recovered from living areas on the site has
been included in the Wadi complex of
Wheat and Irwin ('65) and appears to be
similar to the Quadan complex described
by Shiner ('65) and Wendorf, Shiner and
Marks ('65).
Most of the 39 skeletons were deliberately buried as single and double interments and were oriented with their heads
AM. J. Pays. ANTHROP.,27: 41-56.
to the southeast. There was also a large
burial complex in which orientation of the
skulls varied from east to south. The
burials were usually flexed, lying on their
left side, except for one individual resting
on his back.
Preliminary descriptions of these skeletons have been made elsewhere (Hewes
et al., '64; Armelagos et al., '65). Important aspects of the skeletal morphology
with regard to the dentition as part of a
functioning morphological complex are
the existence of structures that indicate
heavy masticatory musculature. Temporal lines on the frontal bone are heavily
marked and most of the skulls show a
pronounced glabellar protrusion which
arches and diminishes laterally to a point
approximately above the supraorbital foramina. These cannot properly be called
tori but they probably bear a functional
relationship to masticatory stress by providing struts against lateral stresses in the
frontal bone (Ewing, '66). The mandibles
also show features related to heavy masIField work for this study was in part financed
through National Scienoe Foundation Grants GS-7,
GS-286, and GS-557. (Principle Investigator: Dr. C . W.
Hewes.)
41
42
DAVID L. G R E E N E , GEORGE H. E W I N G AND GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
Fig. 1 Typical individual from 643-36 showing marked temporaI lines, gIabelIar protrusion, gonial eversion and a massive mandible all indicative of heavy masticatory musculature.
ticatory musculature. Many show pronounced gOnid eversion and in general
are massive with heavy bodies and broad
ascending rami.
Morphology
The dentition from site 6-B-36can be
characterized as morphologically complex
and massive. Almost all individuals, where
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
the observation is possible, show some degree of lingual elaboration, or shoveling,
of the maxillary incisors. Because of postmortem loss and the high degree of dental
attrition present in this population, only
11 individuals have incisors on which this
trait can be observed. Four of these have
deciduous incisors; all have distinct labial
ridges and slight fossae which correspond
to what Hanihara ('61) calls semishoveled
deciduous teeth. Two of the individuals
with permanent teeth show no indication
of shoveling; five have what HrdliEka ('20)
called trace shoveling (distinct traces of
the enamel rim); one has a distinct enamel
rim plus a shallow fossa (semishoveled),
and one has a marked enamel rim and a
well developed fossa (shoveled). Most of
the maxillary incisors also have finger-like
projections running on the lingual surface
from the basal tubercle to the incisal edge
similar to those on teeth from Jarmo, described by Dahlberg ('60).
As would be expected (HrdliEka, ' 2 0 ) ,
shoveling is not as prominent in the mandibular incisors. Two out of eight individuals with permanent teeth show very
slight development of marginal ridges that
might be classed as trace shoveling.
Lingual elaboration or shoveling continues into the maxillary and mandibular
canines. This observation has been made
in other populations (Hanihara, '61 ). Generally, both upper and lower canines are
monocuspid teeth with noticeable mesial
and distal lingual marginal ridges which
produce the shoveled contour. Of the eight
individuals with maxillary teeth and a similar number with mandibular teeth, none
show noticeable development of cinguli.
Ten individuals have observable maxillary premolars. In both the first and second
premolar, the lingual and buccal cusps are
almost equally developed with the buccal
being only slightly larger. Most have well
marked mesial and distal marginal ridges
which are occasionally bisected by a central groove.
Mandibular first premolars are bicuspid
with a noticeable lingual cusp. Two individuals out of nine have lingual cusps approximating the size of their buccal cusps.
All have well marked mesial and distal
pits and those with larger lingual cusps
43
have well developed triangular ridges connecting with the buccal cusp.
All nine individuals observed with mandibular second premolars have well developed lingual cusps. Five of these exhibit
bilaterally a third distal lingual supernumerary cusp. I n general, these teeth have
mesial and distal pits, but the triangular
ridge is not as well developed as in the
first premolars.
Permanent molars are also morphologically complex. All ten of the individuals
observed have well developed hypocones on
their maxillary first molars. Second maxillary molars show more variation. Only one
individual has a well developed hypocone,
five show a slight reduction i n the size of
the hypocone and three show reduction of
the hypocone to a cuspule. Although third
molars show a wide range of morphological variation, (Dahlberg, '45) this sample
of 12 individuals is relatively homogeneous. Two individuals have molars with
only a slight reduction in the hypocone,
two show only a cuspule for a hypocone,
while one has no hypocone. Seven have
fifth cusps which were probably produced
by a splitting of the hypocone. In the three
cases where both right and left teeth were
present, this morphological variant was bilaterally expressed. I n a very large sample
from historic Nubian populations, this occurred bilaterally with a highly significant
association (0.012 P 2 0.001) between
left and right sides of the jaw (Greene,
'65). Such mirror imagery i n a bilateral
structure suggests that this split hypocone
variant has a genetic basis.
Some of the maxillary molars present
show elaboration of the lingual side of the
protocone in the form of cusps, pits and
grooves. Some dental anthropologists feel
that the pits and grooves that occur a t this
location are not part of the same morphological complex as the cusps. They restrict
the term Carabelli Trait or Carabelli Cusp
to the various gradations of cusps that may
occur (Weidenreich, '37; Hanihara, '63).
Other dental anthropologists (Korenhof,
'60; Kraus, '51) include cusps, pits and
grooves in the same complex. Carabelli
phenomena when iound are not restricted
to any particular maxillary molar. They
can occur on any of the maxillary molars including the second deciduous molar
,44
DAVID L.
GREENE,
GEORGE H. EWING AND GEORGE J . ARMELAGOS
Fig. 2 Mandible showing second premolar with a supernumerary third cusp located distally on its lingual surface. The right third molar, and possibly the second and first as well,
has six cusps.
(Dietz, '44; Tsuji, '58). In this sample, 4 five distinct cusps. Six of these individuals
out of 12 individuals with first maxillary have supernumerary sixth cusps located
molars display some elaboration of the lin- between the metaconid and hypoconulid.
gual side of the protocone (one pit; one Supernumerary cusps in this location have
slight cusp with groove; two medium been termed C6 (Nelson, '38). I n the three
cusps). Two individuals out of ten show cases where individuals retain both left
pits or grooves on their second molars. and right teeth, this variant is bilateral,
And 2 out of 12 have slight cusps on their Out of 11 individuals with second mandibular molars, five have at least five cusps
third molars.
Cusp number and fissure pattern in with two of these also having supernumandibular molars are probably indepen- merary C6 cusps. Out of ten individuals
dent morphological and genetic variables with third mandibular molars, five have
(J@rgenson, '55; Greene, '65); so their oc- five cusps with three of these also having
currence is listed separately. With regard C6 supernumerary cusps. The remaining
to the first mandibular molar, all 11 indi- five individuals have only four cusps on
viduals with relatively unworn cusps show their third mandibular molars.
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
45
Fig. 3 Maxilla showing incisor shoveling, slight canine shoveling, and left first molar
with a small Carabelli Cusp.
Fissure patterns on the mandibular molars can vary from a Y pattern (Dryopithecine) to a
(crucilorm) pattern (Hellman, '28). The Y pattern occurs in seven
out of nine individuals with first molars,
5 out of 11 with second molars, and none
out of six with third molars. All of the remainder show cruciform patterns.
Two individuals with maxillary third
molars and two each with mandibular
first, second, and third molars have wrinkled enamel comparable to that found in
the dentition of a Neanderthal child described by Carbonell ('65 j .
Two individuals show some evidence of
the protostylid. One has pits on the mesial
buccal surface of the protoconid of its second mandibular molars which are not in
contact with the buccal groove. The other
shows a medium-si7ed cusp on the left
third mandibular molar and a pit on the
right third mandibular molar.
Comparing the dental morphology of incisors and molars of the 6-B-36 population
with that of a later Meroitic population
from the same geographical area which
+
dates from 350 B.C. to 450 A.D. indicates
that the Mesolithic population displays a
higher frequency of supernumerary cusps
in both maxillary and mandibular molars,
a higher frequency of maxillary molars
with well developed or just slightly reduced hypocones, and a higher frequency
of shoveling in the maxillary incisors.
Odontornetry
Two basic measurements were taken on
individual teeth (following Moorrees, '57):
( 1 j Mesiodistal crown diameter: the
greatest mesiodistal diameter of the tooth
crown, measured parallel to the occlusal
and labial surfaces.
( 2 j Buccolingual or labiolingual crown
diameter: the greatest distance between
the labial and lingual surfaces at right
angles to the mesiodistal crown diameter.
Crown height was not measured since
the majority of teeth show extensive occlusal wear. Also, root length measurements were not obtained since most of the
teeth were still in alveoli. Measurements
were not taken in any case where wear
46
DAVID L. GREENE, GEORGE H. E W I N G AND GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
TABLE 1
Comparison of t h e morphological complexity of the dentition f r o m the Mesolithic population
(64-36) with t h a t f o u n d in a Meroitic population
Mandible
Maxilla
6-B-36
I
M'
Shoveled
Normal
4
4-
Meroitic
6-B-36
Meroitic
%
n
%
n
%
n
%
n
88
(9)
31
69
(22)
25
75
(2)
-
(6)
-
-
69
31
(33)
54
(6)
46
(5)
8
80
(3)
(29)
12
(4)
15
85
(7)
12
100
(2)
(10)
(48)
(15)
M2 4
Mi
Mz
43+
3
M3 43++
3+
3
Mt
6
5
4
6
18
5
4
2.7
(2)
(3)
55
(6)
6
5
4
30
20
(3)
3
(2)
50
(1)
(17)
50
(5)
47
(16)
(41)
n, the number of individuals with a specific trait.
4, maxillary molar with well developed hypocone.
4 -, maxillary molar with reduced hypocone.
3
maxillary molar with hypocone reduced to cuspule.
3 +I+,
maxillary molar with split hypocone.
6, manibular molar with six cusps.
5 manibular molar with five cusps.
4: mandibular molar with four cusps.
Shoveled, some trace of shoveling in the incisors.
Normal, no shoveling in the incisors.
The Meroitic data is from Green ('65) and this study did not include data on shoveling in the
mandibular incisors.
+
could have produced noticeable error. In
those measurements taken, the greatest
error is probably in the mesiodistal diameter of the incisors since occlusal wear of
any degree can change this dimension. It
should also be noted that, since the number of measurements in each class is very
small, no attempt is made to deal with
sample variance aside from listing the
range for each measurement. Only one
proportional index was computed - the
Crown Index obtained by dividing the
me siodistal diameter by the buccolingu al
and multiplying by 100 to give a measure
of the length-width relationships of the
tooth crowns.
Measurements were made on a vernier
sliding caliper accurate to 0.1 mm. All
measurements are entered in millimeters.
All measurements are from left teeth.
A comparison of the teeth from 6-B-36
with those of other populations gives an
indication of their relative size. The populations used in this comparison are Sinanthropus (Weidenreich, '37), Skuhl (Coon,
'62), Australian Aborigine (Campbell, '25),
Bantu (Shaw, '31), Pecos Indians and
American Whites (Nelson, '38). i n order
to approximate overall bulk, buccolingual and mesiodistal mean diameters are
summed for all teeth in a class (i.e., all
incisors, all premolars, all molars). No
distinction is made between the sexes
since none was made in several of the comparative studies. Since these samples vary
in number, ranging from 4 to over 100, it
is not practical to apply statistical tests of
significance to the differences observed.
The mean for the summed measurements of all tooth classes is 256.5 which
is close to the median populational value
of 256.8 represented by the Skuhl material.
Generally, if the samples are representative, the population from 6-B-36 with a
value of 262.5 has above average size teeth
when compared with the size variation
present from Middle Pleistocene (Sinanthropus) to modern populations. Teeth of
all classes in 6-B-36 are almost as massive
as those of the aboriginal Australian popu-
47
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
lation which has the largest teeth of the
recent populations considered. Overall, the
teeth from 6-B-36 are larger than those
from Skuhl. However, anterior teeth from
643-36 are smaller than Skuhl anterior
teeth, while its posterior teeth, especially
the mandibular premolars, mandibular molars and maxillary molars, are noticeably
larger.
Attrition
Wear was assessed using a scale developed by Brothwell ('63) for molars. This
was modified for the anterior teeth. Categories of wear in the premolars and possibly the canines are equivalent to those
in the molars because basically these are
cusped teeth. Wear for the incisors is more
difficult to assess, but a n approximation
was made which we believe to be adequate.
Individuals from 6-B-36 fall into three
dental age groups : those with deciduous
molars; those with all permanent teeth but
with unerupted third molars; and those
with all permanent teeth erupted. Chronological ages for these groups are estimated
following Scott and Symons ('64).
Three individuals have deciduous molars. Of these, one represented by the right
half of its mandible shows a completely
developed first permanent molar crown
still unerupted in its crypt, indicating an
age of from two and one-half to three
years of age. Its deciduous incisors and
canines were lost post mortem. Its deciduous molars show no indications of wear.
The other two individuals in this group
have permanent first molars, lateral and
medial incisors, as well as both deciduous
molars, and are somewhere between six
TABLE 2
iMasiElary huccolingual, mesiodistal diameters a n d crown indices f r o m t h e
Mesolithic population (6-B-36) in millimeters
33-L
n
10.3
9.7
9.8
1
2
5
71.1- 74.0
71.1- 78.6
6.9- 7.9
6.9- 8.1
8.1
7.6
7.6
1
3
5
89.0- 96.1
84.0- 96.1
84.0
90.8
90.1
2
2
4
7.2- 7.8
7.3- 8.0
7.2- 8.0
7.5
7.7
7.6
2
2
4
107.7-123.3
108.2,108.8
107.7-123.3
115.5
108.5
112.0
10.0
9.4
9.7
4
4
9
7.3- 8.3
7.4- 8.0
7.4- 8.3
7.7
7.7
7.6
4
4
9
118.2-143.8
108.0-132.4
108.0-143.8
130.5
122.9
127.1
9.0-10.9
9.1-10.6
9.0-10.9
10.2
9.8
10.0
4
4
8
7.1- 8.0
6.5- 7.5
6.5- 8.0
7.7
7.1
7.4
4
4
8
112.5-149.3
135.6-141.3
112.5-149.3
134.1
138.0
136.1
8
12.2-13.0
11.5-12.5
11.3-13.0
12.7
12.2
12.3
3
4
8
10.4-12.0
10.1-12.1
10.1-12.1
11.4
11.2
11.3
3
4
8
108.3-117.3
102.5-114.7
97.4-117.3
111.6
106.4
107.2
5
4
9
12.0-13.2
11.2-12.5
11.2-13.2
12.6
11.9
12.3
5
4
9
9.7-11.5
9.7-11.7
9.7-11.7
10.5
10.8
11.1
5
4
9
114.8-126.5
104.6-116.8
104.6-126.5
120.1
110.9
116.0
4
6
10
10.6-13.2
10.8-13.4
10.6-13.4
12.0
11.7
11.8
4
6
8.3-10.7
8.3-10.5
8.3-10.7
9.4
9.3
9.4
4
6
10
123.4-133.7
117.2-130.1
117.2-133.7
127.5
125.1
126.0
1
2
5
6.9- 7.1
5.5- 8.1
r
X
11
8.1
7.0
7.3
1
2
5
9.6- 9.7
7.2-10.3
5
6.5- 7.4
6.5- 7.4
6.8
6.9
6.8
1
3
5
male
female
all
2
2
4
8.4- 8.9
7.9- 8.7
7.9- 8.9
8.7
8.3
8.5
P3 male
female
all
4
9
9.1-10.9
8.1-10.1
8.1-10.9
P4 male
female
all
4
4
8
3
I'
male
female
all
I2 male
female
all
C'
M'
male
female
all
MZ male
female
all
M3 male
female
all
c-I
X
I
-
M-D
-
n
1
3
4
4
-
-
10
-
-
1
-
-
X
78.6
72.6
75.1
n, number of teeth measured.
r, range.
x, mean.
The all category contains at times more than the sum of the males and the females because in
some cases individual sex determination was not possible and these are included.
-
48
DAVID L. GREENE, GEORGE H. EWING AND GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
TABLE 3
andibular buccolingual, mesiodistal diameters and crown indices from the
Mesolithic population (6-B-36)i n millimeters
B-L
n
r
-
female
all
3
4
2
3
male
female
all
X
r
c-I
-
n
X
5.4- 5.9 5.6
5 . 4 6.0 5.7
6.1- 6.4 6.2
6.1- 6.4 6.2
3
4
2
3
6.9- 8.5
6.9- 8.5
7.7
7.1
7.4
2
1
4
r
-
X
6.7- 6.7
6.5- 6.7
6.7
6.6
3
4
2
3
2
1
4
8.3- 8.3
7.7- 8.3
8.3
7.7
2
1
8.1
4
Pa male
female
all
3
2
5
8.9- 9.5
8.3- 8.5
8.3- 9.5
9.3
8.4
8.9
3
2
5
7.3- 7.9
7.4- 7.5
7.3- 7.9
7.6
7.5
7.6
3 112.7-130.2 122.1
2 110.7-114.9 112.8
5 110.7-130.2 118.4
P4 male
3
9.6-10.2 9.8
8.0- 8.8 8.4
8.0-10.2 9.2
3
2
5
7.9- 8.1
6.7- 8.1
6.7- 8.1
8.0
7.3
7.7
3 118.5-125.9 121.9
2 111.4-119.4 115.4
2 111.4-125.9 119.3
11
male
female
all
Iz male
C1
female
MI
M2
Ma
all
2
5
male
female
5
6.2- 6.5
6.1- 6.5
-
6.3
6.3
M-D
n
-
106.8-120.4
101.7-120.4
104.7-109.8
104.7-109.8
112.6
109.9
107.2
107.0
97.6-120.3 108.9
108.5
97.6-120.3 109.7
all
9
12.7
10.1-12.5 11.7
10.1-12.7 11.5
1
12.5
5 10.9-13.2 12.1
9 10.9-13.2 12.1
1
5
9
101.6
92.7-100.0 96.2
89.2-101.6 95.3
male
female
all
4 11.2-13.2 12.0
4 9.5-11.7 11.0
8 9.5-13.2 11.5
4 11.1-13.4 12.2
4 9.9-12.2 11.2
8
9.9-13.4 11.8
4
4
8
95.8-100.1 99.0
95.8-100.9 98.0
95.8-100.9 98.5
male
female
4 10.7-12.4 11.7
2 10.9-11.6 11.2
6 10.7-12.4 11.5
4 10.9-13.5 12.1
2 11.2-11.3 11.2
6 10.9-13.5 11.8
4
2
6
89.6-113.8 97.3
96.5-104.6 100.5
89.6-113.8 98.3
all
1
n, number of teeth measured.
r, range.
x, mean.
The all category contains at times .more than the sum of the males a?d the females because in
some cases individual sex determinatlon was not possible and these are included.
-
TABLE 4
Ranked metric comparison o f the summed meun buccolingual and mesiodistal diameters
f r o m the Mesolithic population ( 6 - B 3 6 ) with those f r o m other selected populations
Population
White
Pecos
Bantu
Skiihl
6-B-36
Australian
Sinanthropus
Imax
28.4
29.5
29.6
32.2
31.5
31.3
34.7
Iman
23.7
23.6
23.9
26.0
24.8
25.6
27.1
Pmax
31.9
33.5
32.3
36.0
34.8
35.4
39.4
Pman
29.9
30.9
30.6
31.6
33.0
33.0
37.2
Mmax
61.9
63.4
63.3
65.7
68.2
70.5
68.4
Mman
62.8
65.8
64.3
65.3
70.2
71.4
72.3
Sum
238.6
246.7
244.0
256.8
262.5
267.8
279.1
Note: In this comparison sample sizes used in determining mean buccolingual and mean mesiodistal diameters for each todth vary for each population listed from 4 I1 (Sinanthropus) to 100 I1
(Pecos Indians). Approximately the same range in sample size exists for the other teeth. The
assumption is made in this paper that the means based upon these samples are representative of
the populational means.
and nine years of age. Both of these show
wear on their deciduous molars equal to
Brothwell's scale 4 with dentin exposed
and linking the cusps. None of their permanent teeth show wear.
Davies and Pedersen ('55) report that
Eskimo children subsisting on the native
diet of meat and fat show wear by the age
of eight to nine that only exposes dentin
on the tips of molar cusps in the decidu-
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
TABLE 5
Wear scale
1 - no wear
2 - enamel abraded
3 - dentin barely exposed on cusp tips (or
occlusal surface of incisors)
4 -dentin exposure links most of the cusps
(occlusal surface of incisors medium worn)
5 - Most of cusp area enamel worn away only
leaving enamel in deep fissures (occlusal
surface of incisors very worn)
6 - crown worn away
(Intermediate grades indicated by
+.)
ous dentition. The children from 6-B-36
apparently were subjected to greater degrees of attrition than the Eskimo children. I n several cases coarse grinding
stones were found associated wtih the
burials (Saxe, '66). It may be presumed
that they were used for macerating vegetable foods and as they were used they
produced grit which mixed with the food
and acting as a n abrasive wore away the
teeth.
Two individuals have all permanent
teeth but with unerupted third molars that
have completely developed crowns. This
indicates that they are between 12 and 16
years of age. One of these shows wear on
his maxillary and mandibular medial incisors equal to Brothwell's scale 2 with
abrasion of enamel surfaces. None of his
other teeth are worn. The other individual
shows greater wear. His canines, second
molars and premolars show wear equal to
scale 2 while his third molars and incisors
show wear equal to scale 3+ with dentin
moderately exposed on occlusal surfaces.
Beyron ('64), in analyzing dentitions of
the Walbiri tribe in Australia, found that
12 out of 24 individuals between the ages
of 15 and 24 showed n o enamel abrasions
(Broca's Stage I ) and that the other 12
showed at most some enamel abrasion but
no exposure of dentin (Broca's Stage 11).
Wear found in the 12- to 16-year-old individuals from 6-B-36 is greater than that
found in a somewhat older Australian
group.
The diet of the Walbiri tribe consists of
70 to 80% vegetable food of which most
consists of wild seeds. These seeds are
49
ground on stones to form a coarse meal
which is then consumed (Meggitt, '57).
This type of diet is likely to introduce a
certain amount of abrasive material (stone
particles) aside from hard seeds into mastication. The 6-B-36 diet must have contained a greater proportion of abrasive
material than the Australian one. Again a
possible source of this abrasive material
could be the very coarse grinding stones
found associated with some of the burials.
The third dental age group is much
larger than the first two. It consists of
all those individuals that have or had
their complete sets of permanent dentition
erupted. It includes individuals from 17
years of age and older. Ideally, this group
of adults should be analyzed for wear with
regard to age groups. Unfortunately nondental information for the assessment of
wear is not available for most of the specimens. Pubic symphyses are missing or
shattered. Stresses produced by soil overburden and geological action a t the site
have opened many cranial sutures. And,
the process of permineralization has in
some cases obscured the degree of cranial
suture fusion. Age could be assessed on
the basis of degree of tooth wear; but, if
these assessments were then used to assess the rate of wear, the analysis would
be circular. Consequently, the adults are
dealt with as a single group.
Since first permanent molars normally
erupt first and are thus exposed to forces
of attrition for the longest period of time,
the average degree of wear found on a n
individual's first molars is used to estimate
the maximum degree of attrition found in
his dentition. Out of 20 adults, 8 (40% )
show wear equal to Brothwell's scale 4-4+
on their first molars with dentin exposure
linking most of their cusps. Another six
(30% ) show wear even greater than this.
Summing, 14 out of 20 (70% ) show wear
which exposes a t least enough dentin to
link some cusps.
Beyron ('64) found i n a sample of nine
Australian aborigine adults between the
ages of 25 and 44 that four showed only
enamel abrasion and five (55% ) showed
wear exposing islands of dentin (Broca's
Stage 111). I n a sample of thirteen adults
aged 45 and over he found that one (8%)
showed only enamel abrasion (Broca's
50
DAVID L. CREENE, GEORGE H. E W I N G A N D GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
Fig. 4
Maxilla showing extreme wear and post-mortem tooth fractures.
Fig. 5 Maxilla showing extreme wear on first and second molars and an unworn left
third molar showing five cusps (3++).
51
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
Stage 11), eleven (84% ) showed some exposure of islands of dentin (Broca’s Stage
111) and only one (8% ) showed complete
exposure of the dentin (Broca’s Stage IV).
Comparing the wear found in 6-B-36
with that found in Beyron’s Australian
sample indicates that the lumped adult
sample from 6-B-36 has 3 greater proportion of individuals with wear at least exposing islands of dentin than Beyron’s 25to 44-year-old age group (70% vs. 55% ).
It is only when Beyron’s group of individuals over 45 is compared to the lumped
6-B-36 sample that the proportion of individuals with wear at least exposing some
islands of dentin is greater i n the Australian group (91 c/o vs. 70% ).
Assuming that the 6-B-36 sample is not
completely comprised of individuals over
45 years of age, which seems reasonable
since Vallois (’37) estimates from other
Mesolithic material that 95.5% of Mesolithic people were dead by the age of 40,
then the degree of wear found at 6-B-36
is similar to that found in Beyron’s Australian aborigine population.
Briggs (’55) found in his North African
Mesolithic series that 58.8% of his sample showed pronounced wear and 23.5%
showed medium wear throughout their
dentitions. Since Briggs’ standards of wear
assessment were not identical to those
used in this study a direct comparison
with the wear found in 6-B-36 should not
be made. However, Briggs data along with
that from 6-B-36 indicates that African
Mesolithic populations were subject to a
considerable amount of dental attrition.
Anderson (’65) has suggested that a n
analysis of the degree of wear and patterns
of attrition in dentitions can at times give
insights into specific cultural practices. He
noted erratic wear on thc teeth of the El
Riego and Coxcatlan phases at Tehuacan,
Mexico which produced oblique occlusal
surfaces set in different planes. He explained this as the result of pulling sand
covered plant material through the teeth
in order to strip off the more edible parts.
Most of the wear observed in 6-B-36 is
horizontal with little angulation. There is
little evidence that this population had
specialized cultural practices such as those
found at Tehuacan.
Different degrees of wear in different
portions of the dental arcade has at times
been used to infer cultural practices. For
example, some investigators (Brothwell,
’63) point out that the Eskimos show more
wear on their anterior teeth, incisors, than
on their posterior teeth, molars, and interpret this as being the result of the Eskimo practice of using their anterior teeth
extensively for chewing hides and biting
thongs.
In order to compare anterior wear with
posterior wear, individuals with one or
more incisor and one or more first permanent molar were examined. Permanent incisors erupt between seven and eight years
of age and first permanent molars erupt
around six years of age (Anderson, ’62).
On the average, the length of exposure
to forces of attrition will be similar for
incisors and molars from the same individual.
The distribution of degrees of wear is
similar with regard to incisors and molars.
This indicates that the individuals found
at 6-B-36 did not engage in cultural practices that produce differential wear between anterior and posterior portions of
the dentition.
Naturally, wear throughout the dentition is dependent upon the length of time
that an individual tooth is subjccted to
attrition. Anderson (’62) gives the following sequence of average ages of eruption
for the permanent teeth.
Age in Years
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
17-25
Tooth
First molars
Central incisors
Lateral incisors
First premolars
Second premolars
Canines
Second molars
Third molars
Those teeth that erupt earliest are exposed
to attrition for the longest period of time.
Grouping the teeth into three eruption
classes -- Class I : first molars, incisors,
first premolars; Class 11: second premolars, canines, second molars; and Class
111: third molars - gives the following
distribution of average wear in these
classes for the adult sample.
Wear on Class I teeth is extensive with
18 out of 2 3 individuals showing wear
averaging scale 4 or better. Wear is not as
52
DAVID L. GREENE, GEORGE H. E W I N G A N D GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
TABLE 6
Wear found i n individuals possessing permanent
incisors and first molars
1-1
2-2
3-3
Incisors
First molars
n
n
0
1
2
0
1
3
6
5
6
2
3
15
+
+
+
++
4 4
5-5
5+ $ 4
1
Total
15
n, number of occurrences of wear of a specific
degree out of a sample of 15 individuals.
TABLE 7
Wear found i n different eruption classes
Degrees
of wear
1-1
2-2
3-3
+
+
+
Class I
Class I1
n
n
0
1
5
2
3
5
8
3
4 4t
5-5 t
5 + +-6
10
4
4
Total
23
5
6
2
3
22
Class I11
n
4
0
0
20
n, number of individuals with wear in a particular
class and of a specific degree.
severe on Class I1 teeth; 11 individuals
show wear of less than 4 and 11 show
wear greater than 4. Class I11 teeth display
the least amount of wear; 16 out of 20
individuals show wear less than 4. Apparently the longer a tooth is exposed to
attrition forces, the greater the wear. Progressive wear such as this, related to increasing exposure to forces of attrition,
might be produced by grit created by
grinding vegetable food on coarse stones.
Grit evenly distributed in chewed food
could produce uniform wear on all teeth.
Wear analysis also indicates that most
of the individuals in this population had
an edge-to-edge bite. Out of a sample of
nine individuals with both maxillary and
mandibular incisors, eight show horizontal
wear on the occlusal surfaces of these
teeth while only one has any noticeable
wear on the lingual surface of the mandibular incisors indicating some degree of
overbite. Brace ('62) argues that in human evolution the overbite first appears
after a group reaches the Neolithic level
of cultural development which, with its dependence upon cultivated grain, puts more
masticatory stress on the molars changing
the occlusal relationship of mandible to
maxilla. If this is the case, then a Mesolithic population with dietary habits tending toward those found in a Neolithic
cultural level (the utilization of ground
vegetable food) might well show the transitional distribution of overbite and edgeto-edge bite found in 6-B-36.
Abscessing
Briggs ('55) and Poitrat-Targowla ('62)
suggest that the extreme wear observed in
African Mesolithic populations contributes
to a very high frequency of apical abscessing. Wear exposing the dental pulp opens
up a pathway for infection. Out of 29 individuals with permanent dentitions either
completely erupted or just lacking third
molars, eight show alveolar abscessing centered around one or more root apices. All
of these seem to be the result of a concentric spread of infection from the root
apices and would be classified as alveolar
abscesses by Weinmann and Sicher ('47).
Looking at teeth instead of individuals,
25 teeth out of 397 observed have apical
abscesses. All of these abscessed teeth
show wear equal to Brothwell's scale 5 or
better with most of the occlusal enamel
worn away. This indicates that, in this
population, teeth do not become abscessed
until they are severly worn, supporting
Briggs' and Poitrat-Targowla's contention.
However, other factors aside from wear
are also important in the genesis of apical
abscesses in this population since 55 other
teeth show wear of scale 5 or better but
they are not associated with abscesses. Individuals possessing these teeth may not
have had dental flora that initiate infection through the pulp.
Other Mesolithic populations from Africa
show as high or higher frequencies of alveolar abscessing. Briggs ('55) found that
64.5% of 39 individuals in his series had
one or more abscesses. Poitrat-Targowla
('62) found that 28.7% of sixty-six maxillae showed some abscessing.
Caries
Although the rate of abscessing is high
in this population, the incidence of caries
is quite low. Only four cases were found.
A premolar cavity is on a maxillary
right first premolar; it is very large and
53
DENTITION O F A MESOLITHIC POPULATION
TABLE 8
Summary of ca7ies incidence
No. of teeth
observed
No. with caries
Maxillary and mandibular incisors
0
Maxillary and mandibular premolars
3
42
Maxillary and mandibular canines
0
184
Maxillary and mandibular molars
3
61
110
Total
Type of tooth
397
apical i n nature, eroding away the mesial
half of the crown. The three cavities found
in molars are all interproximal in nature.
One is exceptionally large, eroding away
the mesial portion of the occlusal surface
of a left mandibular third molar.
Onlv 1% of all the teeth observed
show caries which is slightly lower than
that observed in other Mesolithic populations. Portuguese and other North African
Mesolithic populations show frequencies of
3.8% and 3.4% (Clement, '58). PoitratTargowla ('62) reports that the Taforalt
population had a caries frequency of 5.9%.
Above the Mesolithic level of cultural
development the frequency of caries increases (Brothwell, '60; Clement, '58).
New diets containing soft foods and new
bacterial variations probably introduced
with the domestication of plants and animals are alleged to have brought about
this rapid increase (Brothwell, '60).
PERIDONTAL DISEASE
Intensive tooth wear can expose some
of the soft tissues of the mouth to infection which may eventually involve alveolar bone (Brothwell, '63). This seems to
be borne out by the 6-B-36 dental pathology. Twenty-four out of 28 individuals
where the observation was possible show
some signs of alveolar recession that is
indicative of alveolar infection. Of these
with regard to a t least one tooth, seven
show recession past root bifurcations, five
show recession to the root bifurcation,
and 12 show recession just below the
gingival margin. If we assume that all of
these instances are evidence of peridontal
disease, then 85.7% of the population
were infected. If we exclude the 12 with
recession, the frequency is still 42.8%.
Other Mesolithic populations also show
high frequencies of peridontal diseases.
Briggs ('55) found a frequency of 66.7%
in his series while Poitrat-Targowla ('62)
found a frequency of 59% at Taforalt.
-
Crowdincr
Four individuals out of 29 with permanent dentitions show slight crowding. This
was most evident in the anterior portion of
the dentition, particularly with regard to
the incisors. One individual showed anterior crowding i n addition to compression in the mandibular molar row producing aberrant third molars. Briggs ('55)
found 12.5% (of 37 individuals) crowding which is similar to the 13.7% (of 29)
found in 6-B-36.
Resorption and evulsion
Actual resorption and restructuring of
the mandible and maxilla was extremely
rare, Only two such instances were noted.
One burial had its right mandibular first
molar alveolus completely resorbed. Another burial shows partial resorption in
connection with a large apical abscess of
the mandibular left first molar. This indicates that very few people lost teeth ante
mortem.
In this connection, i t is interesting to
note that there are no instances of evulsion of incisors. Cabot Briggs ('55) reports that incisor evulsion is common
among his North African Mesolithic series.
Ferembach ('62) also notes a high frequency of incisor evulsion i n the Taforalt
epipaleolithic people. It is apparent that
the Mesolithic people at Wadi Halfa differed from the other two groups with regard to a cultural trait -incisor evulsion.
54
DAVID L. GREENE, GEORGE H. EWING AND GEORGE J. ARMELAGOS
Rotated premolars
In 6-B-36, attrition pressures maintained
large teeth and apparently also favored
dentitions with complicated morphologies.
Shoveling is found in the anterior teeth
and numerous examples of supernumerary
cusps are found in the posterior teeth.
Three individuals show rotated second
premolars out of 110 premolar observations. One case shows a 45" rotation in
the buccal-mesial direction in a left lower
premolar. Another shows a 90" rotation in
the buccal-mesial direction in a left lower
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Third molars
Out of 27 reasonably intact sets of dentition, all have at least one third molar
either erupted or still in its crypt. Twelve
of these individuals have all four third
molars - 11 completely erupted and one
with all four unerupted. Three individuals
show one molar in the maxilla. In these
three cases, both mandibular molars are
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their third molars in crypts. Two individuals had one maxillary molar - one left
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molar. And two individuals had only mandibular left molars.
In all of the above instances, there was
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since the other third mular alveoli were
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incidence of third molar agenesis is quite
low if not zero since the occurrence of
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maxilla generally is quite high (Garn et
al., '63).
CONCLUSIONS
It is possible to interpret this data in the
following way. The Mesolithic population
from 6-B-36 was subjected to rigorous selective pressures favoring large and/or
morphologically complex teeth. This pressure was apparently intensive wear presumably caused by the inclusion of large
amounts of grit in the diet. Morphologically simple teeth that are large, or teeth
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