Journal ArticleDOI
Biological changes in human populations with agriculture
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TLDR
Findings indicate that the shift from food collection to agriculture involved an overall decline in oral and general health, and changes in food composition and preparation technology contributed to craniofacial and dental alterations.Abstract:
Agriculture has long been regarded as an improvement in the human condition: Once Homo sapiens made the transition from foraging to farming in the Neolithic, health and nutrition improved, longevity increased, and work load declined. Recent study of archaeological human remains worldwide by biological anthropologists has shown this characterization of the shift from hunting and gathering to agriculture to be incorrect. Contrary to earlier models, the adoption of agriculture involved an overall decline in oral and general health. This decline is indicated by elevated prevalence of various skeletal and dental pathological conditions and alterations in skeletal and dental growth patterns in prehistoric farmers compared with foragers. In addition, changes in food composition and preparation technology contributed to craniofacial and dental alterations, and activity levels and mobility decline resulted in a general decrease in skeletal robusticity. These findings indicate that the shift from food collection to...read more
Citations
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Strontium Isotopes from the Earth to the Archaeological Skeleton: A Review
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Book
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Explaining sex differences in dental caries prevalence: saliva, hormones, and "life-history" etiologies.
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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Patterns of molar wear in hunter–gatherers and agriculturalists
TL;DR: Samples of modern and prehistoric hunger-gatherers and agriculturalists are used to test the hypothesis that there are systematic differences in patterns of tooth wear related to major differences in subsistence and food preparation.
Journal ArticleDOI
Postcranial robusticity in Homo. I: Temporal trends and mechanical interpretation.
TL;DR: The environmental (behavioral) factors that brought about the decline in postcranial robusticity in Homo are ultimately linked to increases in brain size and cultural-technological advances, although changes in robusticity lag behind changes in cognitive capabilities.
Book ChapterDOI
The Evolution of Hunting
TL;DR: The archeological evidence for the importance of the hunting way of life in producing man is best shown by the length of time hunting has dominated human history as discussed by the authors, and the inability to cope with water is shown in the archeological record by the absence of remains offish, shellfish or any object that required going deeply into water or using boats.
Journal ArticleDOI
Dental anthropological indications of agriculture among the Jomon people of central Japan. X. Peopling of the Pacific
TL;DR: The high rate of crown caries (8.6%; 119/1,377 teeth) and other oral pathologies in 101 central Japan Middle to Late Jomon Period (ca. 1000 B.C.) crania indicate a level of carbohydrate consumption consistent with an agriculture hypothesis.