Dental diseases of human skeletal remains from the early-modern period of Kumejima Island, Okinawa, Japan

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  • IREI KIWAMU
    Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus
  • DOI NAOMI
    Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus
  • FUKUMINE TADAHIKO
    Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus
  • NISHIME AKIRA
    Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education
  • HANIHARA TSUNEHIKO
    Department of Anatomy and Biological Anthropology, Saga Medical School
  • YONEDA MINORU
    Department of Integrated Biosciences, Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, The University of Tokyo
  • ISHIDA HAJIME
    Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus

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  • Dental diseases of human skeletal remains from the early-modern period of Kumejima Island, Okinawa

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Abstract

Human skeletal remains from the early-modern period (17th–19th centuries AD) of Kumejima Island, the Ryukyu Islands, were examined for dental disease, including dental caries, linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH), antemortem tooth loss (AMTL), and dental calculus. The materials used in this study consisted of 386 adult individuals, 105 male, 89 female, and 192 of unknown sex. The highest rate of dental caries occurred in the adult females. Female physiological events, such as pregnancy and menopause, as well as differences in food preference may have led to this sex difference, as suggested by isotopic analysis. The high incidence of AMTL in the older females indicate that the actual rate of dental caries must have been even higher. There were no significant differences in the rate of dental caries between prehistoric foraging and early-modern farming Ryukyu Islanders, probably because of similar dietary composition of C3 plant and fish. Adult females tended to be more affected by LEH, indicating that they experienced greater physiological stress during early childhood.<br>

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