Paleopathology and Dental Disease from Point San Jose

Summary

Traditional studies of health and stress in archaeological samples use several categories of skeletal alterations: linear enamel hypoplasias (LEH), adult stature, scars of anemia, dental disease, osteoarthritis, trauma, and infection. Skeletal remains from a late 19th century military hospital at Point San Jose (PSJ), San Francisco, represent a commingled assemblage, complicating paleopathological observations on the bones. Unlike bony changes, dental pathologies are often studied by individual teeth. Consequently, observations of the PSJ dental remains are best interpreted using tooth counts. Dental disease and oral stress at PSJ include dental caries, dental wear, dental calculus, and LEH. Frequency data show that 32/165 teeth (19.4%) exhibit LEH. Most teeth display multiple defects, suggesting repeated early childhood stresses. Additionally, 19/160 teeth (11.9%) show carious lesions. Comparisons of PSJ with other historic samples indicate a similar caries prevalence as the Snake Hill Site (1812-1814) and Indian Wars sample (1870-1899), but a much lower rate than historic British, St. Peter’s, Fort Laurens, and Civil War samples. The conclusions drawn from the PSJ dental remains are better indicators of the overall health of the individuals than studies based on bony changes.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 83rd Annual Meeting, Washington, DC (2018)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 21906