IDENTITIES · Integrative Approaches to Dental Wear: Non-Masticatory Tooth-Use Across the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition Among Iberian Foraging and Farming Societies

Integrative Approaches to Dental Wear: Non-Masticatory Tooth-Use Across the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition Among Iberian Foraging and Farming Societies

During the IDENTITIES project, our research team investigated human dental wear related to the habitual use of teeth for non-dietary behaviors – what is often referred to as using the “teeth-as-tools” – among prehistoric peoples from the Iberian Peninsula. A lifetime of using one’s teeth for manipulative tasks leaves distinct wear traces on their surfaces, and these distinct patterns of wear can be used to interpret what types of behaviors prehistoric peoples engaged in. The information on behavior that is interpreted through dental wear informs us about the social identities of the individuals we studied when we consider additional factors like sex, age, occupation, or status of individuals. The archaeological human remains studied in the IDENTITIES Project were from sites located in the Iberian Peninsula. The chronological coverage included Mesolithic hunting and gathering peoples, Neolithic food producing peoples that relied on domesticated plants and animals, and later Chalcolithic and Bronze Age peoples that exhibit archaeological evidence for greater specialization in craftwork and food production. The wide range of social, economic, and technological practices these groups engaged in provided ideal case studies for examining variation in tooth-using behaviors and social identities in the prehistoric peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. While a primary objective of the project was to use dental wear as a proxy for exploring the habitual behaviors and social identities of prehistoric peoples from the Iberian Peninsula, another objective was to advance the methodologies used to study dental wear. To accomplish this, we took an interdisciplinary approach that brought together experts in microscopy, experimental methods, bioarchaeology, prehistoric archaeology, and paleoanthropology. We used a variety of methodologies that allowed us to examine dental wear from macroscopic and microscopic perspectives as well as in two- and three-dimensions. Our integrative methodology allowed us to refine interpretations of dental wear signals obtained using specific technology, but also allowed us to suggest alternative methods when specific technologies are not available to all researchers. Thus, the IDENTITIES Project not only provided new insights into prehistoric human behavior that are of general interest to the public, but also provided specific suggestions for how meaningful results can be obtained when specific equipment is unavailable.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз