Estudio comparativo de la calidad de vida en la Edad Media, en poblaciones musulmanas y cristianas de la Península Ibérica, a través de la Antropología Dental

Abstract

Dental pathologies and tooth wear represent an indirect but valuable source of information regarding the diet, lifestyle and social status of past populations because of their good preservation under unfavourable burial conditions. In addition, they provide information about alimentary deficiencies during life as well as the mother’s health and childhood conditions. Due to the structure and composition, teeth have a higher resistence to taphonomic, mechanical, chemical or thermal alterations, allowing their preservation over longer periods of time. On the other hand, the inability of the enamel to be remodeled when dental development is complete, creates a reliable record of all those metabolic disturbances suffered during childhood. Food satisfies a primary biological need of the human being, influenced not only by its physiology, but also, as a direct consequence of culture. The contrasts between both religions were notable at this time due to the different types of food consumed in each territory and socio-economic status, but also, for the relationship between people with food. Thus, the aim of this study is to evaluate the most frequent oral pathologies (caries, dental calculus, enamel hypoplasia, periodontal disease and abscesses), and dental wear, of Muslim and Christian populations, urban and rural, from the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages, in order to determinate possible differences between both cultures. The analyzed sample consists of 340 individuals, 238 adults, 99 sub-adults and 3 of indeterminate age, from the Muslim necropolis of Sahl ben Malik and La Torrecilla and from the Christian necropolis of San Lorenzo, San Nicolás, Villanueva de Soportilla, El Castillo, San Baudelio de Berlanga and Monasterio de Suso. The results show differences between dental pathologies found in both groups. Christians populations have higher frequencies of dental calculus, periodontal disease and tooth wear, possibly as a result of a higher consumption of animal protein. On the XX contrary, in Muslims populations is more common to observe dental caries. Dental calculus and dental wear are prevalent in men and caries and abscesses are the most common pathologies in women. There are also similarities, since in both groups there is a greater presence of oral pathologies in individuals of rural origin. The age of hypoplasia formation was similar in the samples; the majority of stress markes were observed between 2 and 5 years with a peak age at stress of 2.5 years. The results obtained in the present research demostrate the applicability of Dental Anthropology and the analysis of oral pathologies in studies of diet, hygiene habits and modes of subsistence of past populations.