Temporal trends in frequency of dental caries in biocultural context from the prehistoric Georgia bight

Along the Georgia coast from the Middle Woodland to the Mississippian period (AD 1 – AD 1500), habitation sites increase in frequency and become denser and more clustered. In addition, it appears that the general pattern is for the site locations to shift towards coastal margins. This study explores the nature of change in the frequency of dental caries, linking trends with shifts in population density and the adoption of maize agriculture. The data set includes counts of carious lesions from a large series of skeletal remains from the Georgia bight. Using comparative statistical analyses including regression models, the data set is examined in order to determine relationships between the frequency of dental caries, settlement, and subsistence shifts in this setting of the American Southeast. This research has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of the effects of shifts in subsistence and settlement patterns and for drawing inferences about biocultural adaptation in coastal environments.The Georgia Coastal Ecosystems Long Term Ecological Research project as supported by the National Science Foundation grant OCE-0620959Grants to Clark Spencer Larsen as supported by the National Science FoundationThe Social and Behavioral Sciences grant as supported by The Ohio State UniversityThe Arts and Sciences Scholarship as supported by The Ohio State UniversityA five-year embargo was granted for this item.Academic Major: Anthropological Science