Microbotanical analyses of dental calculus and caries occurrence at Neolithic Tepecik-Çiftlik, Türkiye: insights into diet and oral health

• DOI: 10.1007/s12520-024-02140-z
• Publication Date: 2024-12-23T13:27:40Z
• Authors: Carlos G. Santiag...; Ali Metin Büyükka...; Ezgi Küçükel; Jaroslav Řídký
• Keywords: Dental health

Abstract The transition to agriculture-based economies and sedentary lifeways during the Neolithic brought significant changes in oral health diet. Despite influence of physiological cultural factors, frequency dental pathologies, such as caries calculus, is a common consequence carbohydrate-rich diets. Caries result from bacterial activity that transforms carbohydrates into lactic acid, leading demineralisation tooth enamel. In contrast, calculus can trap preserve biomolecules microremains—such phytoliths starch grains—making it valuable resource for investigating past diets lifeways. Although microbotanical analyses occurrence are archaeology, these methods rarely applied together same case study. This paper presents results remains, grains, retrieved well 11 individuals Tepecik-Çiftlik, settlement southwestern Cappadocia, Turkey. prevalence aligns with previous studies highlighting poor Tepecik-Çiftlik community suggests high reliance on Microbotanical remains showed contrasting results, indicating presence cereals but an absence grains cereal origin. lack could point towards culinary foodway practices preservation variables often overlooked study ancient These findings contribute our understanding while drawing attention how foodways may or bias archaeological record.