Age, Sex, and Antemortem Loss of Teeth in Prehistoric Eskimo Samples From Point Hope and Kodiak Island, Alaska, Costa 1980

8/10/2019 Age, Sex, and Antemortem Loss of Teeth in Prehistoric Eskimo Samples From Point Hope and Kodiak Island, Alask

1/9

AMERICAN JOURNAL

OF

PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY

53:579-587 (1980)

Age Sex and Antemortem

Loss

of Teeth in

Prehistoric Eskimo Samples From Point

Hope and Kodiak Island Alaska

RAYMOND L. COSTA JR.

Department o Oral Anatomy, College o Dentistry, University o Illinois at the Medical

Center, Chicago, Illinois

6 68

KEY

WORDS Dentition, Eskimos, Antemortem tooth loss

ABSTRACT

The incidence of teeth lost antemortem was investigated in 244

archeologically derived dried skeletal specimens from the Ipiutak and Tigara

burials a t Point Hope, Alaska, and 83 Koniag Eskimo specimens excavated at

Jones Point, Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska. Ipiutak skeletal remains date

from approximately 1500 years B.P. and the Tigara remains from 300-400 years

B.P. The Kodiak Island sample is undated. Specimens were sexed and aged in

five-year groupings using standard techniques. Teeth lost antemortem were

identified as having occupied tooth sockets which showed healing of alveolar

bone following exfoliation. Numbers of lost teeth were calculated as percentages of

total number of tooth sites of each tooth classification for each age, sex, and site

subgrouping.

Tooth loss was very low in the Kodiak Island sample, with little difference be-

tween sexes and no identifiable age trends. The Tigara remains displayed

moderate tooth

loss,

with strong correlations t o increasing age and l itt le differen-

tiation between the sexes. The Ipiutak specimens lost the most teeth ante-

mortem, with notable between-sex differences and strong correlations with

increasing age. In all groups loss of anterior teeth was probably due to accident or

heavy wear, while loss of posterior teeth was due to heavy wear, periodontal dis-

ease, or agenesis.

Antemortem loss of teeth is of interest to

anthropologists, dentists, and public health in-

vestigators. Teeth are lost in living persons

because of trauma from accident or heavy

paramasticatory usage or because of the

disease processes of caries and peridontal dis-

ease. Teeth were sometimes removed in brand-

ing of slaves (Hrdlieka, 1940), or for cosmetic

reasons, such as ritual tooth ablation (Moort-

gat , 1959)or modern orthodonture. The causes

of tooth loss in the living can be determined rel-

atively easily and data concerning loss of teeth

are available for several modern societies

(Brekhus, 1929; Gould, 1965; Grewe et al.,

1966; Jackson, 1965; Krogh, 1958; MacGregor,

1972; Myers and Lee, 1974; Todd and Whit-

worth, 1974; Sheiham et al., 1969). Tooth loss

per se has rarely been recorded for archeolog-

ical skeletal samples (Curzon, 1978; Hrdlieka,

1940; Lennon, et al., 1974; Merbs, 1968), but

has often been included in larger works con-

cerning the dentitions of prehistoric people

(Hooton, 1930; Patterson, 1979; Snow, 1948).

Most interest in tooth loss concerns its

utility in quickly assessing

1

he dental health

of both archeological samples and living popu-

lations, 2 the success of modern dentistry in

preventing dental disease, and 3) geographical

areas where there is insufficient dental health

care. The purpose of this paper is to investi-

gate the frequencies of missing teeth in three

prehistoric Eskimo samples whose diets and

archeology are known, and to examine any

re-

lationships between diet, paramasticatory use,

dental disease, and tooth loss patterns.

S T U D Y S A M P L E S

During field seasons from 1939 to 1941 at

Point Hope, Alaska, two prehistoric grave-

yards were excavated by Larsen, Rainey, and

Shapiro. The skeletal remains recovered are

now housed in the American Museum of

Natural History, New York City, New York.

The Point Hope peninsula ju ts into the Chuk-

Received July 10, 1979;

accepted

April 29 1980.

0002-9483/80/5304-0579$02.00 1980 ALAN R. LISS, INC.


2/9

580

R.L.

COSTA, JR.

chi Sea 200 kilometers north of the Arctic

Circle. Excavations were carried out near the

modern settlement at the tip of the peninsula.

Three consecutive archological horizons were

identified, with which three large collections of

skeletal remains were associated. Forty-six

aged and sexed skeletons from the oldest Ipiu-

tak group were used in this study. Point Hope

is the type site of the Ipiutak culture, which is

dated at 1619 _ 210 years B.P. 1958 (P-98)

(Rainey and Ralph, 1959; Ralph and Acker-

man, 1961).This date can be corrected to 1659

210

years B.P. (Costa, 1980; Ralph et al. ,

1973). The Ipiutak culture is conspicuous in

the Alaskan littoral environment in an absence

of artifacts associated with whaling and in the

presence of caribou faunal remains, suggesting

that the Ipiutak people were caribou hunters

(Larsen and Rainey, 1948; Giddings, 1967).

One hundred ninety-eight aged and sexed

skeletons used in this study come from the

graveyard associated with the Tigara horizon.

The Tigara culture was similar to that prac-

ticed by modern Eskimos living a t Point

Hope. Debetz feels that both the Ipiutak and

Tigara peoples belonged to the North branch

of the Mongoloid stock. Due to minor, but sta-

tistically consistent, differences in cranial

measurements between the two groups,

Debetz feels they are genetically distinct and

that the Ipiutak people were not ancestral to

the Tigara people (Debetz, 1959). While this

point may be open to question, it is certain that

the two groups differed culturally and dietar-

ily. The Tigara graveyard is dated at roughly

300-400 years B.P.

The most recent group of skeletons from the

Point Hope peninsula is from Jabbertown

some 10 kilometers south of Tigara. This

skeletal series interdigitates with modern

times and diets, and was not used.

The diets of the Ipiutak and Tigara people

were substantially different. Fish and seal

were staples of both groups, but the Ipiutak

people hunted caribou while the Tigara people

were whalers. The Tigara diet was probably

similar to that of modern Point Hope Eskimos

eating a traditional diet. Bell and Heller (1978)

report that all necessary vitamins and min-

erals are present in the fat and protein com-

ponent of the modern Point Hope diet which is

obtained from traditional sources. While 46%

of the calories of the current diet (circa 1974)

come from imported carbohydrates, the tradi-

tional diet consisted mainly of fish, eaten fresh

or dried on open racks, and whale meat which

was eaten fresh or kept frozen underground as a

year-round staple (Giddings, 1967). Seal, an-

other staple, was often eaten raw a t the site of

the catch. There is uncertainty concerning the

amount of food preparation practiced by the

prehistoric Point Hope peoples. Driftwood

probably provided cooking fuel. Modern Es-

kimos cook with driftwood fires or on modern

stoves. Some food is still eaten raw: Seal fat

with skin attached is chewed for prolonged

periods of time and is not cooked (Balikci,

1970).

The third study sample was excavated by

HrdliEka during the 1930s at a site called

Jones Point, on Uyak Bay, Kodiak Island,

Alaska. The exact location of the site is not

known and Jones Point does not appear on

maps. The skeletal remains are now housed at

the Smithsonian Institution, Washington,

D.C. Hrdlieka excavated skeletal material all

over Kodiak Island, but only the Jones Point

series is large enough and complete enough to

yield a suitable sample. Eighty-three aged and

sexed individuals from the superficial levels of

the Jones Point site are used in this study.

Skeletal material from Hrdlizkas deep buri-

als have been deleted. No radiocarbon data

exists for this site, but it is pre-White contact

(Hrdlizka, 1944 .

The Jones Point site was not excavated with

care sufficient to recover faunal or detailed

dietary remains. The diet, while reflecting the

littoral environment, differed notably from

that consumed at Point Hope. Kodiak Island

enjoys a much warmer climate than Point

Hope, and is not near whale migration routes

or caribou herds. The diet of Jones Point

Koniag Eskimo was most likely similar to th at

of prehistoric Aleuts, consisting of seal, sea

lion, walrus, shell fish, and fish-notably cod

and salmon. The Koniag Eskimo were adept

whalers. The warm climate allowed fishing and

hunting year round (Laughlin, 1963). Like the

Point Hope peoples, the diet was predominant-

ly protein and fat, although the sources dif-

fered. Food was probably not preserved by

freezing, nor eaten frozen, but fish was prob-

ably dried or preserved in oil using methods

similar to northwest coast Indians (Boaz,

1966).

METHODS

Age

The pubic symphysis is a reasonably accur-

ate indicator of age (Brooks, 1955;McKern and

Stewart, 1957; Todd, 1920). Changes in the


3/9

TOOTH LOSS IN PREHISTORIC ESKIMOS

581

pubic symphysis alone can be used to establish

age at death from 18 to about

5

years within

five-year gradients. Each specimen was

checked and scored for 10 diagnostic pubic

symphysis characteristics and compared to a

master plot. The symphysis in best condition

was used if both innominates were present.

ex

Sex was determined by forehead shape and

relative size and gracility of the skull

(Krogman, 1962), he size and shape of the sci-

atic notch and birth canal and the angle of the

pubic symphysis in the pelvis. Skulls and

pelves were sexed independently. The Kodiak

Island remains had previously been sexed by

Hrdlieka and his assignments were also

recorded. Washburns Pubic index, Exm

where P length of the pubic bone from mid-

acetabulum to the inferior border, and I

length of the ischium from midacetabulum to

the pubic symphysis, was calculated (Wash-

burn, 1948).Final assignment to sex was based

on a consensus of pubic index values and anal-

yses of nonmetric traits for the skull and in-

nominate bones. If a specimen agreed on two of

three assessments, it was assigned a sex. Spec-

imens which could not be sexed were dropped

from the sample. Agreement between skull as-

sessments and pubic indices was 68%; agree-

ment between innominate assessments and

pubic indices was 90%.

I

DENTAL STATE

Antemortem tooth loss can be intentional or

can be the result of trauma or disease. Hrdlieka

concentrates on direct and indirect evidence to

identify intentional ablation of anterior teeth

(1940),as does Merbs (1968).The current study

concerns loss of anterior and posterior teeth.

Antemortem tooth loss was distinguished

from postmortem tooth loss by the presence of

a t least some remodeling of the alveolar bone

and tooth socket after tooth loss. The excellent

state of preservation of the Point Hope

skeletal material allowed precise identification

of such sockets. The Kodiak Island remains

were also well preserved, since Hrdlieka had

sorted skeletal material on-site and discarded

specimens in poor condition (Hrdlieka, 1940).

No attempt was made to identify the cause of

loss for individual teeth. Many apparent

examples of molar agenesis were observed in

the Tigara skeletal remains. Since radio-

graphic equipment was not available, an ab-

solute rate of third molar agenesis could not be

established, and third molars were therefore

considered as a separate dental group.

Tables 1,2 , and 3 contain data for individual

tooth types, but central and lateral incisors,

premolars, and first and second molars have

been combined for purposes of analysis. Ca-

nines and third molars were analyzed separate-

ly. Tooth type groups were arranged for both

sexes and all groups, and separate tables com-

piled for each study sample containing the

number of missing teeth and the percentage of

teeth lost in each subgroup. Statistical analy-

ses indicated that right and left sides and

upper and lower jaws could be combined in all

three s tudy samples. Linear regressions, where

X percent of teeth lost and Y age, were

performed for each tooth group, sex sub-

groups, and whole samples.

No

attempt to

combine either tooth groupings or sexes was

attempted, since some sexisiteiageltooth sub-

groups combined with a high degree ot stati sti-

cal certainty and others did not. Sufficient

data is contained in the tables to allow post hoc

statistical analyses.

RESULTS

Point

Hope,

Ipiutak

Table

1

Males are characterized by a very low loss

rate for incisors (5.3%), anines (1.0%), nd pre-

molars (4.3%).

No

linear regression can be per-

formed for the canines (sample size of one), bu t

loss of incisors and premolars is well correlated

to age. Firstisecond molars show a much high-

er loss rate: 54.2% lost in the 36-40 year, and

63.5% lost in the 41-45 year age groups and

20.2% lost overall. Thirty-nine and four-tenths

percent of third molars are lost overall. Molar

loss and age are well correlated. Both firsti

second and third molars are lost less frequent-

ly in the 46 age groups than in the 41-45 or

36-40 year groups.

Ipiutak females do not display the same loss

pat tern as males. Anterior tooth loss is much

higher: 19.4%

of

incisors, 8.8% of canines and

1.9% of premolars lost antemortem. Loss of in-

cisors is poorly correlated with age, while

canine loss is well correlated with age and pre-

molar loss very well correlated. Twenty and

six-tenths percent of firstisecond molars are

lost overall, with a maximim of 75.0% lost in

the 41-45 year group. Third molars have a

33.8% loss rate and a maximum of 100% ost in

the 41-45 year group. There is a decline in the

46 group, probably due to a sample size of

one: That individual lost only three teeth ante-

mortem.


4/9

582

R.L.

COSTA, J R .

TABLE I . Ante mortem tooth loss

Ipiutak

Age Correlation

16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 4 6 + Total coefficient

Male_ No.

of

individuals A.M. teeth

1 7 4 5 3 1 5 26 and age

I1

I2

C

P3

P4

M1

M2

M3

Total

emal e

~

I1

Number'

Percent2

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

1 2

4.4 10.0

1

6.3

1 1

6.3 5.0

1 4

6.3 20.0

4

20.0

2 7 10

7.1 43.8 50.0

0 3 10 21

1.3 7.8 13.1

1

8.3

1

8.3

5 2

41.6 50.0

8

3

66.7 75.0

6 4

50.0 100.0

21 9

21.9 29.1

6

30.0

2

10.0

1

5.0

2

10.0

2

10.0

6

30.0

9

45.0

12

60.0

40

25.0

6

5.8

5

4.8

1

1

o

4

3.8

5

4.8

18

17.3

24

23.1

4 1

39.4

104

12.5

,971

( I1 12

-

.706

(P3 P4)

,723

(M1 M2)

,775

,956

No.

of

Individuals

1 20

Percent 6.3 17.9 33.3 33.3 50.0 25.0 21.3

1 4 7 3 3 1

Number

1 4

4 2

1

17

.245

I2 Number

2

8 2 2 7 (I1 I21

Percent 7.1 66.7 16.7 50.0 8.8

C Number

Percent

P3 Number

Percent

P4 Number

Percent

M1 Number

Percent

M2 Number

Percent

M3 Number

Percent

Total Number

Percent

1 3 1 2

3.6 25.0 8.3 50.0

7

8.8

.754

1 3

3

2 9.

3.6 25.0 25.0

50.0 11.3

,973

1

3.6

3

25.0

4

33.3

2

50.0

10 (P3 P4)

12.5

3 2

6 2 13

10.7 16.7 50.0 50.0 16.3

.985

4 4 8 2 18 (M1 M2)

14.3 33.3 66.6 50.0 22.5

8 6 7 4 2 27 .559

28.6 50.0 58.3

100.0 50.0

33.8

0 1 25

33 35 20 3 117 ,463

0.8 11.2 34.4 36.5 62.5 9.4 18.3

Grand Number

0

4 34 54 56 29 43 221 .770

total Percent

1.1

9.7 21.1 29.2 45.3 22.4 15.0

>Number Number of ante mortem lost teeth per age groupitooth classification

'Percent Percent

of teeth IOSL

ante

mortern per

age groupitooth classificatmn.


5/9

TOOTH

LOSS I N

PREHISTORIC ESKIMOS

583

PointHope Tigara Table 2

Males from the Tigara skeletal sample lost

few anterior teeth. Reaching a maximum of

14.3 in the 41-45 year age group, an aver-

age of only

8.8

of incisors are lost. One and

sixth-tenths percent of canines are lost, with a

maximum loss of 10.0 in the 41-45 year

group. Neither incisor nor canine loss corre-

lates well with age. Premolars also have a low

loss rate: 7.0 with a high of 18.8 in the 41-

45 year age group. Premolar loss correlates

moderately well with age. Premolars, incisors,

and canines display virtually no loss until the

36-40 age group. Firstlsecond molars are char-

acterized by a steadily rising loss rate which

reaches a peak of 38.8 in the 41-45 year age

group and averages

13.9 .

Surprisingly,

molar

loss

is not well correlated with age, pos-

sibly because of a marked drop in antemortem

loss

in the 46 + year age group. Third molar

loss is consistently between 15 and 20 from

16 years of age into the middle of the fourth

decade, when the loss rate rises to a maximum

of

45

in the

41-45

year age group.

Tigara females lost incisors at a steady rate,

with a maximum of 47.2 in the 46+ age

group and an average loss of 16.4 . Canines

are also lost at an increasing rate well corre-

lated with age, with maximum and average

losses of

16.7 .

Premolars are lost a t a stead-

ily increasing rate star ting a t the beginning of

the fourth decade. Premolar loss averaged

7.7 , attaining a maximum of

25.0

lost in

the oldest age group. Firstlsecond molars have

a different pattern, showing negligible loss

until the 36-40 year age group;then the loss

rate jumps to

36.1

in the

41-45

year, and

43.1Y0 in the 4 6 f year age groups, for a loss

rate averaging 15.0 . Progressively more

third molars are lost with age, starting with no

loss in the 16-20 year group until a maximum

of

66.790

loss is reached in the

46+

year age

group. Tooth loss is very well correlated with

age in all female Tigara tooth types.

Kodiak Is land, Jones Point Table 3)

No tooth group from the Jones Point males

or females displays a good correlation between

loss and age except female incisors. All other

groups vary between being poorly correlated

to being mildly correlated negatively (male and

female canine loss) with age.

While sample sizes for the subgroups of

Jones Point males and females are larger than

the Ipiutak samples from Point Hope, loss

rates are very low and less predictable since

many individuals, regardless of age, display

very little or no tooth loss.

DISCUSSION

Hrdlieka believed intentional removal of an-

terior teeth to be a major cause of tooth loss in

arctic populations (Hrdlieka, 1940). One of his

study samples was from Kodiak Island, and it

is from this same assemblage that the sample

used in th is s tudy is drawn. Hrdlieka used 283

skulls of Koniag and pre-KoniagEskimos,

which were divided into males and females,

juveniles, and adults. He diagnosed traumatic

tooth loss of anterior teeth, regardless of loss

pattern, as intentional ablation. In a detailed

consideration of Hrdliekas ritual ablation hy-

pothesis for Eskimo tooth loss, Merbs states

that while Hrdliekas ability to diagnose a

tooth lost by trauma was probably adequate,

discrimination between accidental and inten-

tional trauma is not usually possible (Merbs,

1968). Most ethnological evidence for ritual

mutilation and ablation of teeth comes from

geographic areas outside the Arctic. Moortgat

notes that in other areas the pattern of tooth

loss is important in diagnosing ritual ablation:

The same tooth, or teeth, are generally missing

in all group members above a certain age

(Moortgat,1959). This was not the case in most

of the groups Hrdlizka studied, as pointed out

by Merbs (1968), and is clearly not the case in

the groups studied here.

Extrapolation of Hrdlitkas da ta shows that

adult Koniags lost about

1

and pre-Koniags

6,670

of their incisors. The

83

individuals used

in this s tudy for whom age and sex could be re-

liably ascertained had an incisor loss rate of

7.3 , not very different from Hrdlizkas re-

sults. Interestingly, the correlation between

age and tooth loss in the Jones Point samples

is very poor; the only tooth group in which loss

correlated with age is female incisors. If ritual

ablation of incisors was practiced, the expected

result would be a t least a minimum number of

incisors lost in each age group, not necessarily

correlated with age.

No

minimum number

of

lost teeth was found in any tooth category for

males or females from Jones Point. Males dis-

play fewer antemortem lost teeth than females.

No tooth category exhibits an identifiable dif-

ference in tooth loss, and no age trends were

noted.

Jones Point tooth loss figures are erratic

when compared to age, suggesting that ritual

ablation was not practiced and that no identifi-

able oral pathology was responsible for differ-

ential tooth

loss.

This concurs with data that

indicates the Jones Point people had a very low

caries rate and little periodontal disease

(Costa, 1977). The skeletal remains from Jones

Point do not represent a random sample. At


6/9

584

R.L. COSTA, J R .

TABLE

2.Ante mortem tooth loss: Tigara

Male

Age Correlation

16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46 Total coefficient

A.M. teetho. of individuals

8

17 21 7 17 10 7 87 and age

I1

I2

C

P3

P4

M1

M2

M3

Total

F_emajg

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

I1 Number

Percent

12 Number

Percent

C Number

Percent

P3 Number

Percent

P4 Number

Percent

M1 Number

Percent

M2 Number

Percent

M3 Number

Percent

Total Number

Percent

Grand Number

total Percent

2 1 6 3 9

6.3 14.7 7.1 10.7 13.2

1 1 5 1 12

3.1 14.7 6 0 3.6 17.6

1 2 3

0.6 7.1 1.8

2 2 3

2.4 7.1 4.4

3 4 3 13

4.4 4.8 10.7 19.1

5

8

3 13

7.4 9.5 10.7 19.1

4 3 4 16

5.9 3.6 14.3 23.5

6 10

17 5

26

18.8 14.7 20.0

17.9 38.2

9 24 46 23 95

3.5 4.4 6.8 2.1 17.5

No.

of

Individuals

7

17.5

5

12.5

4

10.0

7

17.5

8

20.0

15

37.5

16

40.0

18

45.0

80

25.0

10

35.7

2

7.1

1

3.6

2

7.1

2

7.1

7

25.0

3

10.7

9

32.0

32

14.3

38

10.9

27

7.8

11

3.2

16

4.6

33

9.5

51

14.7

46

13.2

91

26.1

309

11.1

~~

12 21 23 8

20

18

9 111

1 4 9

25

27 19

85

1.2

4.3 28.1 31.3

37.5 59.4 19.1

3

1 14 18 15 61

3.6 3.3 3.1 17.5 25.0 46.9 13.7

1

6 12

5

24

3.1 7.5 16.7 13 .9 16.7

1 3 10

4 18

3.1

3.8 13.9 12.5 4.1

2 1

16

17 14 50

2.4 3.1 20.0 23.6 43.8 11.3

1

4 3 22 20

11 61

1.2 4.3 9.4 27.5 27.7

34.4 13.7

1 3 7 17 32 20

80

1.2 4.3 21.9

21.3 44.4 62.5 18.0

10 19 11

30 41 24 135

11.9 20.7 34.4

37.5 56.9 66.7 30.4

0 18 33 41 133 177

112 514

2.7 4.5 16.0 20.8 30.7

38.9 14.5

9 42 79 64 228 257

144 823

1.4 3.5 5.6 13.3 19.3 28.7 28.1 13.0

,359

(I1 12)

,363

,630

(P3 P4)

,379

(M1 M2)

,780

,756

,951

(I1 + 12)

,873

,950

(P3 P4)

,991

(M1 + M2)

,989

,989

,974

Number Number

of

ante mortem lo st tee th per age grou ptoo th classiflcation

Percent Percent

of

teeth

lost

ante

niortem

per age groupitooth classification.


7/9

TOOTH

LOSS

IN PREHISTORIC

ESKIMOS

585

TABLE

3. An te mortem tooth loss Jones Point,

Kodiak

Island

Male

Age Correlation

16-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46

Total coefficient

No. of individuals A.M. teeth

7 7

6

2 8

8

2 40 and age

I1

I2

C

P3

P4

M1

M2

M3

Total

Female

I1

I 2

C

P3

F4

M1

M2

M3

Total

Grand

total

Number'

Percent2

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

1

3.6

1

3.6

1

3.6

3

1.3

3

10.7

2

7.1

3

10.7

1

3.6

5

17.9

14

6.3

4

16.7

2

8.3

1

4.2

3

12.5

1

4.2

3

12.5

2

8.3

16

8.3

2

25.0

3

37.5

2

25.0

1

12.5

1

12.5

9

14.0

1

3.1

5

15.6

1

3.1

1

3.1

1

3.1

2

6.2

8

50.0

19

7.4

1

3.1

2

6.3

1

3.1

2

6.3

3

9.4

9

3.5

1

12.5

1

12.5

2

25.0

2

25.0

2

25.0

8

12.5

6

3.8

17 (I1 12)

.143

10.6

3 -1.0

1.9

2

1.3

12 (P3

P4)

7.5

7

4.4

,339

,296

9 (M1 +M 2)

5.6

22 ,437

13.8

78 .512

6.1

No. of Individuals

12 4 3 3 6 2 13 43

Number

2 2 1 4 6 15

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

Number

Percent

12.5 16.7

2 1

12.5 8.3

4.2

1

4.2

2

12.5

1 1

8.3 4.2

1 1

8.3 4.2

2 2

16.7 8.3

2 2 4

3

4.2 12.5 33.3

12.5

2 8 11 0 9

0.5 6.3 11.5 4.7

5 22 27

9 28

0.8 6.3 7.4 5.6 6.3

50.0 11.5

3 4

31.5 7.7

2

1

25.0 1.9

2 2

25.0 3.8

3 2

37.5 3.8

2

35.0

4 1

50.0 1.9

2

8

25.0 14.4

22 24

34.4 5.8

31 32

9.7 6.7

8.7

,766

11 (I1

12

6.4

5 -.142

2.9

4

2.3

,281

7 (P3 P4)

4.1

4

2.3

,099

9 (M1 M2)

5.2

21

I 12

12.2

76 ,452

5.5

154 ,687

5.8

humher Number

af

ante mortem lust teeth per age group,tooth classificalioii

'Pcrcent

-

Percent of twth Imt a n t e mortem

per

age group:tooth classification


8/9

586

R.L.

COSTA, JR .

the time of excavation skulls in good condition

were kept; the rest were not (Hrdlieka, 1944).

The results of this s tudy, and the results of

Hrdliekas original study, may therefore be

biased. They may not represent the tooth loss

situation tha t existed when these people were

living.

The Ipiutak tooth loss pattern differs in

males and females. Females lost teeth of all

types in an age-related pat tern , culminating in

the loss of approximately 50% of anterior teeth

and 75 to 100% of posterior teeth in the 41-45

year age group. Ipiutak males lost very few

anterior teeth throughout life but lost molar

teeth at very nearly the same rate as females.

Intentional ablation of anterior teeth can be

ruled out in males, who lost very few incisors

and virtually no canines antemortem. Anterior

teeth are lost too late in life in females to be

associated with puberty or initiation rites. In

later years females lost incisors and canines at

nearly the same rate as all other teeth. The

large number of missing posterior teeth in

males and females suggests a chronic patho-

logic condition. Caries was not a significant

problem for the Ipiutak people (Costa, 1977).

However, they experienced heavy occlusal

wear, sometimes countered by supereruption

and accompanied by deterioration of alveolar

bone. This condition was most pronounced in

posterior teeth (Costa, 1979) and may have

been the cause

of

the extensive antemortem

loss of molar teeth in Ipiutak males and

females of advanced age. The marked loss of

anterior teeth among Ipiutak females may be

the result of a sex-role-relatedparamasticatory

pattern. Such behavior patterns of prehistoric

peoples are a matter of conjecture, but

Es-

kimos are well known for using their teeth for a

wide range of strenuous functions besides mas-

tication (Birket-Smith, 1928; de Poncins, 194

1;

Gilder, 1881, Merbs, 1968).

The loss pattern in the Tigara skeletal

sample is different from either of the other two

groups. The best correlation between loss of

teeth and advancing age in any of the samples

studied was found in the Tigara females, sug-

gesting tha t the causes of tooth loss were pro-

gressive in effect. Incisors exhibit a sharp in-

crease in

loss

in the 25-30 year age group. If

this sharp increase took place in a younger age

group it might indicate ritual ablation, but ini-

tiation rites are rarely performed in the third

decade of life. Firstlsecond molars also display

a sudden rise in antemortem loss in the 36-40

year age group. Lost molars are usually due to

the effects of caries or periodontal disease,

which were not prevalent in these people. How-

ever, progressive heavy occlusal surface wear,

which was very common, could account for this

sudden loss of incisors and molars, since teeth

are usually lost when pulp chambers are

exposed. Tigara females began to expose the

pulp chambers in their teeth at this stage in

their lives (Costa, 1977).

Tigara males also show a progressive loss of

teeth, bu t the pat tern of loss differs from that

found in the females. The most striking differ-

ence is in the third molar loss rates. Males lost

a constant 15 to 20% of third molars from

16

to

36 years of age. This could be most easily

accounted for by third molar agenesis. The

much larger number of third molars lost vs.

first and second molars lost in females may

also be due to third molar agenesis. From the

middle of the third decade onwards, males lost

teeth progressively, with more loss evident in

the cheek tee th than in the anterior teeth. As in

females, this is most likely the result of heavy

occlusal surface wear.

All three samples studied here have been

previously shown to have suffered very little

from dental caries or periodontal disease. All

three ate diets high in proteins and fats and

low in carbohydrates, and all three displayed

different pat terns of antemortem tooth loss.

For an archeologic skeletal series where some

inferences can be made concerning diet,

patterns of tooth loss can give a general over-

view of the oral pathologies operating. Tooth

loss can also be used to identify sex-role-

related paramasticatory behavior. Counting

teeth lost antemortem and deriving loss pat-

terns can be a valuable tool in the analysis of

archeologic skeletal specimens.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Permission to use the Point Hope collections

was generously given by Harry Shapiro of the

American Museum of Natural History, New

York City, New York. The Kodiak Island col-

lection was graciously made available for

study by Lucille St . Hoyme of the U.S. Nation-

al Museum, Washington, D.C. Alan Mann

and Francis Johnston helped greatly during

the formative stages of this work. Phillip Con-

rad of the University of Illinois Medical Center

oversaw the proper usage of the English

language in this report.

LITERATURE CITED

Boaz, F

(1966)

Kwakiutl Ethnography. H Codere (ed)Chi-

Bell, RR and Heller, CA (1978)Nutrition Studies: An appra-

cago: University of Chicago.


9/9

TOOTH LOSS IN PREHISTORIC ESKIMOS

587

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SL

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Birket-Smith,

K

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Bob& and AS Jansen (eds):

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Boaz, F (1966)Kwakiutl Ethongraph. H Codere (ed)Chicago:

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S

(1955) Skeletal age at de at h The reliability of

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G

(1959)The Skeletal remains

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Giddings, J L (1967) Ancient Men of the Arctic. London:

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five years. Brit. Dent. J. 18:377.

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Hooten, EA (1930)The Indians

of

Pecos Pueblo. New Haven:

Yale University Press.

Hrdlizka, A (1940) Ritual ablation of front teeth in Siberia

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Documents

Age, Sex, and Antemortem Loss of Teeth in Prehistoric Eskimo Samples From Point Hope and Kodiak Island, Alaska, Costa 1980