USING DENTAL CARIES AS A NUTRITIONAL INDICATOR, IN ORDER TO EXPLORE POTENTIAL DIETARY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN SEXES IN AN ANCIENT GREEK POPULATION

Abstract

Dental caries is commonly used to provide information about the diet of populations, both archaeological and modern. A skeletal sample of 32 adults from the site of Almyros in Corfu, dating from the late Archaic (7th century B.C.) to the 2nd century A.D., was studied for caries and ante-mortem tooth loss (AMTL) with a special interest in sex differences. According to archaeological information the population of Almyros had a poor economy with a minimal consumption of proteins and vegetables. Literary sources suggest sex discrimination in ancient Greek diet but no such difference was known until now in the population of Almyros. Therefore, the goal of this study is to explore possible dietary differences between sexes in the Corfu population using caries frequency, locations and degree as nutritional factors. According to our results females present a higher percentage of caries than males (13.6% females, 4.3% males) and a difference is noted on location and degree as well. However, the same difference is not noted in AMTL where males present slightly higher frequency than females. This study provides valuable data for the population of Almyros and highlights the significance of caries degree and caries locations in reconstructing diets of ancient populations.