TY - JOUR
T1 - Oral health and its implications on male-female dietary differences
T2 - A study from the Roman Province of Macedonia
AU - Vergidou, Chryssa
AU - Karamitrou-Mentessidi, Georgia
AU - Voutsaki, Sofia
AU - Nikita, Efthymia
N1 - Funding Information:
This study is based on research conducted at the Archaeological Museum of Aiani in Kozani Prefecture, Greece. We thank the director, Dr. Areti Chondrogianni-Metoki, and all the colleagues working at the Museum for supporting and encouraging this work. We also thank Dr. Kristin-Soraya Batmanghelichi for the English language editing. Finally, we are grateful to Dr. Paraskevi Tritsaroli and two anonymous reviewers for their very constructive comments. This study was financially supported by Groningen University and The Cyprus Institute.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Elsevier Ltd
PY - 2021/2
Y1 - 2021/2
N2 - This paper examines the permanent dentition of sixty-one individuals from the Pontokomi-Vrysi Roman rural population of the Provincia Macedonia (1st-4th c. CE) aiming to explore differences in the oral health between males and females of the assemblage. All teeth were macroscopically examined for dental pathologies and dental wear, and observations were compared at an intra-assemblage level, between males and females, as well as against published data from two Roman-Italian and two Graeco-Roman sites. Results show a homogenous pattern in the oral health of the Pontokomi-Vrysi population, pointing to a rather undifferentiated diet between the two sexes, characterized mainly by the consumption of carbohydrates and to a lesser extent by the supplementary intake of protein-deriving food sources. Comparison of the results with those from the other Greek and Italian sites reveals complex oral health and dietary profiles for these populations. This paper suggests caution when universal oral health and dietary patterns for the inhabitants of the Roman Empire are sought.
AB - This paper examines the permanent dentition of sixty-one individuals from the Pontokomi-Vrysi Roman rural population of the Provincia Macedonia (1st-4th c. CE) aiming to explore differences in the oral health between males and females of the assemblage. All teeth were macroscopically examined for dental pathologies and dental wear, and observations were compared at an intra-assemblage level, between males and females, as well as against published data from two Roman-Italian and two Graeco-Roman sites. Results show a homogenous pattern in the oral health of the Pontokomi-Vrysi population, pointing to a rather undifferentiated diet between the two sexes, characterized mainly by the consumption of carbohydrates and to a lesser extent by the supplementary intake of protein-deriving food sources. Comparison of the results with those from the other Greek and Italian sites reveals complex oral health and dietary profiles for these populations. This paper suggests caution when universal oral health and dietary patterns for the inhabitants of the Roman Empire are sought.
KW - Ancient Macedonia
KW - Dental disease
KW - Dental wear
KW - Roman Empire
KW - Sex-related dietary differences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099861367&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102784
DO - 10.1016/j.jasrep.2020.102784
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85099861367
SN - 2352-409X
VL - 35
JO - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
JF - Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
M1 - 102784
ER -