Masters Theses

Date of Award

5-1999

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Major

Anthropology

Major Professor

Murray K. Marks

Committee Members

Watler E. Klippel, Lyle W. Konigsberg

Abstract

An examination of the permanent dentition of 304 individuals from the Averbuch (40DV60) skeletal series from Tennessee was undertaken to establish a profile of oral pathology in this Mississippian period population. The variables chosen for study include caries, enamel hypoplasia, alveolar resorption, and periapical and periodontal abscesses. These markers were chosen as a measure of adaptive efficiency because they are indicative of overall levels of health and disease. The results of the study revealed caries rates at Averbuch at high percentages, showing 77% of the individuals from this skeletal sample had one or more carious lesions, surpassing the 17% average frequency rate for Mississippian groups. Results of the analysis of hypoplasias in the permanent adult dentition of the Averbuch sample also reveal high frequencies for this defect, with a total of 87% of the individuals possessing one or more hypoplasias. Alveolar resorption is in evidence in 39% of the individuals, while periapical and periodontal abscesses are present in 19% of the sample. These results show that the population from Averbuch was adaptively disadvantaged, and the heavy biological stress loads are recorded on the dental and oral hard tissues.

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