This study examines dental calculus, extramasticatory wear, and chronic maxillary sinusitis in 13 individuals from San Genesio, central Italy, dating to the second half of the 6th and 7th centuries CE. Microdebris in calculus revealed wheat, barley, millet, fish, fibres, wood, charcoal, and fungi. The patterns of LSAMAT and chipping suggest fibre and wood processing using teeth as a third hand. In three individuals, chronic maxillary sinusitis coincided with fibre and wood inclusions, highlighting occupational and environmental risks. The results highlight the biocultural interplay of subsistence, work, and the environment during the Late Antique Little Ice Age in post-Classical Tuscany.
Dental calculus, extramasticatory tooth wear, and chronic maxillary sinusitis in individuals from San Genesio (6th-7th centuries CE), Tuscany, Italy / Casa, B., Gentile, I., Riccomi, G., Cantini, F., Cristiani, E., Giuffra, V.. - In: POST-CLASSICAL ARCHAEOLOGIES. - ISSN 2039-7895. - 15:(2025), pp. 147-178. [10.69106/pca2025.07]
Dental calculus, extramasticatory tooth wear, and chronic maxillary sinusitis in individuals from San Genesio (6th-7th centuries CE), Tuscany, Italy
Cristiani E.;Giuffra V.
2025
Abstract
This study examines dental calculus, extramasticatory wear, and chronic maxillary sinusitis in 13 individuals from San Genesio, central Italy, dating to the second half of the 6th and 7th centuries CE. Microdebris in calculus revealed wheat, barley, millet, fish, fibres, wood, charcoal, and fungi. The patterns of LSAMAT and chipping suggest fibre and wood processing using teeth as a third hand. In three individuals, chronic maxillary sinusitis coincided with fibre and wood inclusions, highlighting occupational and environmental risks. The results highlight the biocultural interplay of subsistence, work, and the environment during the Late Antique Little Ice Age in post-Classical Tuscany.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
