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Diet-related dental wear in archaeological human populations of Chalcolithic

and Bronze Age from North-Eastern Romania

Article in HOMO · October 2022

DOI: 10.1127/homo/2022/1534

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 Homo PrePub-Open Access Article
J. Comp. Hum. Biol.
Published online October 2022

Diet-related dental wear in archaeological human populations

of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age from North-Eastern Romania

Ozana-Maria Petraru1,2, Luminița Bejenaru1,2,*, Mariana Popovici1

1Romanian Academy – Iaşi Branch, “Olga Necrasov” Center of Anthropological Research, Iaşi, Romania
2Faculty of Biology, “Alexandru Ioan Cuza” University of Iaşi, Bd. Carol I, 20A, 700505, Iaşi, Romania
*Corresponding author: lumib@[Link]

With 7 figures, 5 tables and 1 supplementary table

Abstract: Dental macrowear is the non-pathological loss of hard tissues on the occlusal surface of the teeth. In archaeo-
logical contexts, the loss of tooth tissues is often correlated with lifestyles, habits, and with the physical properties of the
consumed food – including preparation techniques. We report the first semiquantitative and quantitative assessment on den-
tine exposure of permanent second molars (M2) using the scale scoring technique, image analysis, and regression analysis
on human teeth from Chalcolithic and Bronze Age archaeological populations discovered in North-Eastern Romania. We
show an increase of dentine exposure percent (PDE) with the age-ranges, but no evidence of wear by sex were observed.
In the linear regression analysis, the age and the dentine exposure percent, as variables, were correlated in 31% of the
mandibular M2 molars and 49% in the maxillary ones (p < 0.001). Moreover, the multiple regression analysis involving the
dentine exposure and the three variables that could influence the dental wear (i.e., age, occlusal area, and period) revealed
no differences in dental wear between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age, as well as between different cultures of Bronze Age
(i.e., Monteoru Culture and Noua Culture). Therefore, apart from age, occlusal area, and period, there may be other factors
including diet and food-processing techniques that could be also considered when discussing the loss of tooth tissues in
archaeological populations, especially farmers.

Keywords: dental macrowear; M2 teeth; Chalcolithic; Bronze Age; North-Eastern Romania

1 Introduction detecting information regarding diet and non-masticatory

activities (Galbany et al. 2014; Górka et al. 2016). Moreover,
Dental macrowear refers to the loss of dental hard tissues the dental wear is often correlated with the age, being an age-
(i.e., enamel, dentine) usually on the occlusal surfaces of dependent process (Romero et al. 2019); it is also influenced
teeth and it is not a result of dental pathologies or trauma by the environment through the ingestion of grit (Kaidonis
(Tomczyk & Zalewska 2016; Galbany et al. 2020). Different 2008; Meller et al. 2009), by cultural activities such as the
types of mechanical wear (abrasion, attrition) interact with use of teeth as “a third hand” (Molnar 2011), by the occlusal
chemical wear (erosion) causing the loss of hard dental tis- relationships and enamel quality (Watson 2008).
sues (Levrini et al. 2014). Attrition represents the loss of Several methods are now used for dental wear charac-
dental material on the occlusal surface or incisal edge and terization, such as the scoring scales (Scott 1979; Smith &
it is produced by tooth-to-tooth contact during chewing and Knight 1984), determining the cusp heights (Mays 2002),
clenching of the jaws (Levrini et al. 2014). Abrasion is caused quantifying the percentages of dentine exposure areas
by the contact between teeth and exogenous abrasive objects, (Romero et al. 2019; Jeon et al. 2020), the occlusal finger-
dust and intrinsic or extrinsic food grit particles (Galbany print analysis (Fiorenza et al. 2018; Kullmer et al. 2020),
et al. 2020). Abrasion and attrition are the main types of wear dental crown continuous metrics – geometric morphometrics
that can affect the occlusal and incisal loss of dental tissues and topographic shape descriptors (Cuesta-Torralvo et al.
leading to well-defined and polished surfaces (Fiorenza et al. 2021). The macrowear analysis can be used to reconstruct
2019; Galbany et al. 2020). Dental macrowear is the result of the chewing behavior and acquiring information concerning
a cumulative and a multifactored process which takes place diet in fossil species (Fiorenza 2015; Fiorenza et al. 2019),
over an individual’s life (Fiorenza et al. 2018). Visible to the primates (Galbany et al. 2011; Galbany et al. 2014), past
naked eye, dental macrowear can be particularly useful for human populations (Tomczyk & Zalewska 2016; Watson &

© 2022 The Authors

DOI: 10.1127/homo/2022/1534 E. Schweizerbart’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 70176 Stuttgart, Germany, [Link]
2     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Haas 2017; Tomczyk et al. 2020) and modern-day human Our objectives are to investigate the macrowear of the
populations (Vieira et al. 2015; Normando et al. 2020). maxillary and mandibular second molars by the scoring
Therefore, the tooth wear patterns provide an important method, quantitative analysis of occlusal dentine exposure
research tool especially for anthropologists to correlate the by sex, age, prehistoric period, and cultures (1), and to
diet abrasiveness and the food processing with the occlu- evaluate the relationship between the degree of dental wear,
sal worn surfaces of the teeth. The diet abrasiveness, espe- estimated age, occlusal area of the tooth and the stability of
cially of agriculture products and processing of cereals, is variables during chronological time (2).
influenced by the amount of abrasive particles consumed There are some limitations to this study concerning
with food (Romero et al. 2013; Schmidt et al. 2019). Also, sampling and methodological aspects. The assemblages of
in the ancient human populations that slightly processed human remains discovered in Chalcolithic and Bronze Ages
mechanically the food, teeth show a rapid macrowear and sites from North-Eastern Romania are small and poorly pre-
a microwear characterized by wide scratches (Schmidt et al. served. The dental macrowear assessment is restricted at the
2019). The food and abrasives consumed in a short period occlusal surface of the second molar teeth (M2), owing to the
of time (days or weeks) are reflected at a microscopic level availability of the anthropological material and according to
as dental microwear, also known as “Last Supper effect” the methodology indicated by researchers. In this stage of
(Grine 1986; Schmidt 2018). The micromorphological wear research, we focused on the dental occlusal macrowear.
features refers to linear features (fine and wide scratches)
and nonlinear features (small and large pits) (Schmidt 2010).
The macrowear and microwear are expressions of the same 2 Material and methods
process, but with different time lapse, microwear leading to
macrowear; wider scratches are frequent in teeth with greater 2.1 Archaeological sites
macrowear (Schmidt 2010; Schmidt et al. 2019). The skeletal material included in this research has been discov-
Although there are many studies addressing macrowear ered in prehistoric archaeological sites from North-Eastern
characterization, the knowledge of dental macrowear in pre- Romania (Fig. 1a). The relative dating of the analysed mate-
historic human populations is still limited, and it is missing rial was based on the artefacts inventory discovered in the
in Romania. The aim of this present study is to assess the archaeological sites and associated to the human skeletons.
dental macrowear in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age archaeo- Our study includes dental samples from five archaeological
logical human population discovered in sites from North- sites of Chalcolithic period (5000–3800/3700 BC) (Fig. 1b)
Eastern Romania. and seven of Bronze Age (3500–1200/1150 BC) (Fig. 1c)

Fig. 1. Location of Prehistoric archaeological sites: (a) Nord-Eastern Romania area; (b) Location of Chalcolithic archaeological sites;
(c) Location of Bronze Age archaeological sites; map source: Google Earth Pro.
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     3

(Petrescu-Dîmbovița & Vulpe 2001). In the Bronze Age wear and M3 is not always present – congenitally missing,
sample, the materials belonging to the cultures of Monteoru unerupted or impacted. All M2 molars available in each skel-
(2200/2100–1500/1400 BC) and of Noua (1500–1150 BC), eton (maxillary and mandibular molars; left and right) were
were also analyzed separately (Petrescu-Dîmbovița & Vulpe included into the study (Supplementary data – Table S1).
2001). Choosing the molars from a single hemiarch may affect the
The most part of the human skeletons was discovered in dental wear analysis since some individuals may favor to use
the second half of the 20th century and now they are pre- one part of the jaw for chewing than the other, thus show-
served in the “Olga Necrasov” Center of Anthropological ing more pronounced wear on the preferring chewing side
Research of the Romanian Academy – Iași Branch. The (Molnar et al. 1983; Górka 2016). A recent study conducted
human remains were studied in terms of demography (i.e., by Petraru et al. (2020) suggests using teeth from both hemi-
age at death and sex estimations), and pathologies (Table 1) arcades for dental wear analysis when the anthropological
(Necrasov & Cristescu 1957; Antoniu & Roșca-Gramatopol material exists. Wear assessment (scoring system and mac-
1966; Cristescu 1961; Cristescu et al. 1965; Necrasov et al. rowear analysis) was performed on both antimeres, left and
1972; Necrasov & Antoniu 1979; Miu 1992; Miu 1999; right M2 molars, of the maxilla or mandible, and then the
Cristescu & Miu 1999; Diaconu et al. 2016). average of the two scores was considered; when the M2
molar was present only in one side (left or right) the data
2.2 Material was used as such (Clement et al. 2012). The mandibular and
This study concerns a dental material from Chalcolithic and maxillary molars were analysed separately. The molars with
Bronze Age archaeological sites discovered in North-Eastern postmortem dental chipping or crown damage were not used
Romania (Table 1). (Górka et al. 2016). Also, teeth with pathologies (i.e., caries)
were discarded (Clement et al. 2012; Petraru et al. 2020).
2.2.1 Sampling strategy
To evaluate the dental wear as a bioindicator for diet, the M2 2.2.2 Sample preparation
molars were chosen for the analysis (Table 2); the first and The dental material was prepared for study according to
third molars were avoided because M1 has a high degree of Mahoney (2006); the teeth were placed under the stereo-

Table 1. List of archaeological sites considered in the study.

Archaeological site/County Period/Culture Reference
Brad/Neamț Chalcolithic/Horodiștea – Foltești Culture Necrasov & Onofrei (1972)
Aldești/Neamț Chalcolithic Necrasov & Onofrei (1972)
Valea Lupului/Iași Chalcolithic Antoniu & Roșca-Gramatopol (1966)
Holboca/Iași Chalcolithic Necrasov & Cristescu (1957)
Bârgăoani/Neamț Chalcolithic/Spherical amphorae Culture Necrasov et al. (1972)
Cioinagi/Galați Bronze Age/Monteoru Culture Cristescu et al. (1965)
Cândești/Vrancea Bronze Age/Monteoru Culture Miu (1999)
Roman/Neamț Bronze Age/Monteoru Culture Diaconu et al. (2016)
Trușești/Botoșani Bronze Age/Noua Culture Cristescu & Miu (1999)
Ciritei/Neamț Bronze Age/Noua Culture Cristescu (1961)
Braești/Botoșani Bronze Age/Noua Culture Miu (1992)
Doina/Neamț Bronze Age “Olga Necrasov” Centre of Anthropological
Research – Archives

Table 2. M2 molars selected for the study.

Human skeletons: 47 Number of teeth: 100
Sex No. of Maxilla Mandible
estimation individuals Left Right Left Right
Females 14 7 8 7 10
Males 30 17 14 14 18
Undetermined 3 1 2 1 1
4     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Fig. 2. Total occlusal crown area (outline by gray dots) and dentine exposed regions (red areas) on M2 mandibular molars.

microscope, being attached to the bone or in the specific of dentine were present on the occlusal surface, each was
anatomical position if the teeth were detached from the quantified separately and then sum up and accounted as total
skull (Petraru & Bejenaru 2019). The teeth were positioned dentine exposure area (Clement & Hillson 2012; Clement
according to the cement-enamel junction plane, situated per- et al. 2012).The percentage of dentine exposure (PDE%) has
pendicular to the optical axis of the camera lens (Galbany been evaluated for each M2 molar: PDE = ADE × 100/TOA
et al. 2016). Furthermore, all teeth were analysed by the (Galbany et al. 2011).
scoring method, while only the teeth with dentine exposure
were considered for the macrowear imaging method (Petraru 2.3.2 Macrowear scoring
et al. 2018). The macrowear scoring was performed according to Scott’s
method (Scott 1979). The stages of dental wear were consid-
2.3 Methods ered, according to the degree of dentin exposure, into three
categories: molars with wear facets that are invisible or very
2.3.1 Macrowear analysis small (Scott’s scale: 4–9), molars with wear facets that are
Occlusal macrowear assessment based on digital images moderately advanced (Scott’s scale: 10–22) and molars with
can be performed in accordance with several methodolo- wear facets that are highly advanced (Scott’s scale: 23–40)
gies (Galbany et al. 2011; Clement et al. 2012; Calhoun (Tomczyk et al. 2020)
et al. 2022). Clement and collaborators use oblique lighting
in image acquisition to highlight the topography of occlusal 2.3.3 Statistical analysis
surfaces, expressing the occlusal area and dentine exposure Intra-observer error of dental macrowear analysis was
area by number of pixels and the wear value as wear ratio achieved by blind tests in which 20 molars were randomly
(dimensionless value) (Clement & Freyne 2012; Clement & examined by means of TOA, ADE and PDE.
Hillson 2013; Clement & Hillson 2012). In reverse, Galbany The Shapiro-Wilk test for assessing data normality was
and collaborators use a millimeter scale at the same height applied. In the absence of the pair molars, the non-para-
as the occlusal plane of the dental crown during the images metric test Kruskal-Wallis and Tukey’s honesty significant
acquisition for further image calibration by a software. difference (HDS) were used to compare the PDE values
Therefore, the crown area and dentine exposure area are between molar groups according to the anatomical position
expressed in mm2, and the wear value measured in percent- in the skull. Also, Mann-Whitney test was used to compare
ages is known as percent of dentine exposure (PDE) (Galbany the PDE values from the right (M2 and M2) vs. left molars
et al. 2011; Galbany et al. 2014; Galbany et al. 2016). (M2 and M2) and the upper molars vs. lower molars, as two
In our study, digital images of the occlusal surfaces of the independent samples (Górka 2016).
M2 molars along with a millimeter scale for calibration were Correlation and linear regression analysis were used to
stereomacroscopically recorded. Each image was processed assess the relationship between PDE and the age of indi-
and calibrated (in mm) using ImageJ software (Abràmoff vidual. Multiple regression analyses, including ANOVA test
et al. 2004). The total occlusal crown area (TOA, mm2) and were carried out to determine whether there are other vari-
the total dentine exposure area (ADE, mm2) were recorded ables which could have control or influence over the wear of
by outlining their perimeters (Fig. 2) (Galbany et al. 2011; molar, apart from that of age (Mays 2002). For this purpose,
Górka et al. 2016; Petraru et al. 2018; Calhoun et al. 2022); the dentine exposure area (mm2) was evaluated according
the same software was used. When several isolated areas to three independent (explanatory) variables: age, occlusal
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     5

Fig. 3. Macrowear scoring in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age samples, from North-Eastern Romania: relative frequency of the dental
scores in mandibular (a) and maxillary molars (b); stages of the dental wear in mandibular (c) and maxillary molars (d).

area and prehistoric period. The occlusal area has been used variation in occlusal groove forms; oblique wear plane).
as an indicator for the size of the tooth, and its use certainly The macrowear scoring results show that over 50% of the
highlights much better the sensitive differences between the samples obtained scores for occlusal macrowear between 16
molars, than does the PDE. This decision to use the occlusal and 24 in both mandibular and maxillary molars (Fig. 3a,
area was also influenced by the fact that the dental material c). Furthermore, the obtained scores were grouped, accord-
under analysis belongs to populations close in geographi- ing to Tomczyk et al. (2020), into three categories: molars
cal space and time. Due to the limitations of the sample with wear facets that are invisible or very small (2.94% in
size, the bootstrap method was used for the resampling the mandibular molars and 0% in maxillary molars), molars with
original data. Within the resampling method, the t-test was wear facets that are moderately advanced (55.88% in man-
performed in R using MKinfer library (Kohl & Kohl 2020), dibular molars and 81.25% in maxillary molars), and molars
with 10000 bootstrap replicates, and the Mann-Whitney test with wear facets that are highly advanced (41.17% in man-
statistic using Hodges-Lehmann shift estimator (Boos & dibular molars and 18.75% in maxillary molars) (Fig. 3c, d).
Brownie 1988) applying the bootstraps_mann_whitney.R The raw data was subjected to sex criteria and teeth were
script (available on: [Link] removed from the analysis since no sex information was
Descriptive statistics, regressions and correlations were available.
made with Paleontological Statistics 4.03 (Hammer et al. In females, the M2 molars are characterized by moderate
2001), and XLSTAT 2019 4.2 version. and highly advanced wear, the inferior M2 molars being more
worn-out than the superior ones (Fig. 3c, d). The macrowear
is highly advanced with a value of 47.61% in the mandibular
3 Results male molars and 25% in the maxillary molars, the analysed
male molars being more worn-out compared to female ones
3.1 Macrowear scoring results (Fig. 3c, d). When scoring values were categorized by sex
In the microscopically screening, no atypical wear types and age group, no statistical differences in mandibular den-
were observed (e.g., suggesting the use of teeth as tools; tal wear were obtained between males and females in both
6     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

young adults age group (Z = 0.10, p = 0.91) and middle terion was removed, the PDE by age-ranges (i.e., YA vs. MA)
adults age group (t = 0.03, p = 0.97). As expected, similar showed statistical differences (M2, Mann-Whitney, Z: 3.64,
results were obtained for the maxillary molars (young adults p: 0.0002; M2, t test, t: 2.10, p: 0.04). Our results confirm
– t = 0.37, p = 0.71; middle age group – Z = 0.60, p = 0.54). the increase of the wear rates with the age-ranges (Fig. 4b,
c). Statistical tests revealed significant difference of PDE as
3.2 Macrowear analysis results between YA vs. MA age group category in mandibular and
To evaluate the intra-observer error in PDE evaluation, 20 maxillary M2 molars (Fig. 4b, c; Table 3). When the occlu-
molars were randomly chosen; TOA, ADE, and PDE vari- sal wear was compared in the same age group (i.e., middle
ables were analyzed twice with one month between them. adults age group and young adults group) between males and
The result of the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was not statisti- females no statistical difference was observed in both man-
cally significant (N: 20; W: 98; Z: 0.54; p: 0.58). The mea- dibular and maxillary molars (M2, YA: t: 0.77, p: 0.46; MA:
surements were performed by the same researcher. t: 0.009, p: 0.99; M2, MA: t: 1.38, p: 0.19. The PED of the
All data were standardized by rank-transformation and Chalcolithic and Bronze Age samples are characterized by
the Shapiro-Wilk test was performed to test the data distribu- a variation coefficient of 1.38% and 1.08%, respectively for
tion (Razali & Wah 2011). the mandibular molars; for the maxillary molars the varia-
The wear asymmetry between the left and right molars tion coefficient recorded slightly higher values (1.43% and
was compared and it was not statistically significant (Mann- 1.18% respectively) Nevertheless, the t test revealed no wear
Whitney results: left and right M2 – Z: 0.29; p: 0.76; left and difference between the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age archae-
right M2 – Z: 0.03, p: 0.97); therefore, the dental wear values ological populations (M2, t: 0.23, p: 0.81; M2, t: 0.10, p:
from the left and right antimeres M2 molars were combined. 0.91). Moreover, when the data were compared between the
The arithmetic mean of the two values was used (Clement & two Bronze Age cultures, Monteoru and Noua, there were no
Hillson 2012). significant differences in the dental occlusal wear (Table 3).
The PDE data subjected to sex criteria showed a nor-
mal distribution for both mandibular and maxillary molars 3.3 Dental wear – age dependent process
(M2 – males, W: 0.94, p: 0.34, females, W: 0.93, p: 0.51; In the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age populations from North-
M2 – males, W: 0.91, p: 0.09, females, W: 0.95, p: 0.78). Eastern Romania, a strong positive correlation was observed
When the age criterion was used to evaluate the PDE data, between the occlusal tooth wear of the mandibular and
the Shapiro-Wilk test showed a non-normal distribution in maxillary M2 molars and the age at death estimation (M2
the mandibular M2 molars (YA – W: 0.79, p: 0.01; MA – molars, Spearman coefficient: 0.78; M2 molars, Spearman
W: 0.94, p: 0.43; and a normal distribution in the maxillary coefficient: 0.71). When an interval of age was available,
molars (YA: 0.90, p: 0.23, MA: 0.85, p: 0.58). The data set the middle value of this was used to perform the regres-
was investigated by period (i.e., Chalcolithic and Bronze sion analysis between the PDE values and the age at death.
Age) and culture criteria (i.e., Monteoru and Noua cultures – Due to the positive correlation, we tested the influence of
both of Bronze Age); in both sub datasets the Shapiro-Wilk age upon the dental wear. In the mandibular molar dataset,
test showed a normal distribution of data. the two variables were correlated in 31% of cases (R2: 0.31;
The summary statistics in macrowear analysis are shown p < 0.0001) (Fig. 5a), while for the maxillary molars the PDE
by sex, age, prehistoric period, and culture criteria in Table 3. and age variables were correlated in 49% of cases (R2: 0.49;
The PDE values by sex are characterized by a higher mean p < 0.0001) (Fig. 5b). The two variables were subjected to
in males than females (17.01 and 9.62, respectively, in man- a bootstrap resampling method after that two other linear
dibular molars, and 9.33 and 5.89 in the maxillary molars) regressions were performed. The bootstrapped coefficient
while for the mandibular molars the variation coefficient is of determination for the mandibular dataset revealed that
slightly different (1.03 in males and 1.44 in females). The 14% of the generated data were correlated (bootstrapped
PDE results are similar to those obtained by the scoring R2 = 0.14, p < 0.02) while for the maxillary dataset the coef-
system. When the age group criterion was applied (20–34 ficient of determination showed that 52% of the variables
years old: young adults-YA; 35–49 years old: middle adults- were correlated (bootstrapped R2 = 0.52, p < 0.0001). Given
MA; over 50 years: old adults-OA), the PDE showed an the obtained results, it can be considered that the age was
increasing mean value as expected. Although the variation not the only factor that influenced the dental wear; the diet
coefficient of PDE by sex is similar, it varies by age show- and food-processing methods are also important factors to
ing different values (M2, YA: 2.26%; MA: 0.89%; M2, YA: be considered when discussing about the loss of tooth tissues
0.96%, MA: 0.10%). The PDE relative frequency of the total in archaeological populations. A limitation of this correla-
sample is showed in Fig. 4a. The t test result on ranked data tion as tool in interpretation the influence of age in occlusal
showed an insignificant difference between PDE values in wear is represented by the estimations of age at death, that
males and female in both mandibular (t: 1.10, p: 0.28, boot- include several inaccuracies by means of the actual method;
strapped p – value: 0.29) and maxillary molars (t: 0.27, p: also, applying the middle of the estimated age interval into
0.76, bootstrapped p-value: 0.75). When the sex criteria cri- the correlation also may influence the results. Therefore, the
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     7

Table 3. Summary statistics of PDE by sex, age, period, and culture. N – number, Min – minimum, Max – maximum, Var. – variance,
St. dev. – standard deviation, Var. coef. – variation coefficient, BLower conf. – mean lower confidence of bootstrap analysis, BUpper
conf. – mean upper confidence of bootstrap analysis, PDE – percent of dentine exposure, YA – young adults, MA – middle adults,
OA – old adults; age at death categories proposed by Buikstra & Ubelaker (1994).). Significance tests were performed on ranked data.
St. Var. BLower BUpper
N Min Max Range Median Sum Mean Var.
dev. coef. conf. conf.
Mandibular M2 molars
Total PDE 31 0.040 68.18 67.14 6.78 429.16 13.84 269.34 16.41 1.18 7.96 19.23
PDE by sex*
Males 19 0.11 68.18 68.07 13.19 323.24 17.01 237.15 17.58 1.03 8.60 24.14
Females 11 0.22 39.07 38.91 3.76 105.87 9.62 193.87 13.92 1.44 0.99 16.52
T test, t: 1.10, p: 0.28 bootstrapped p-value: 0.29
PDE by age**
Young adults (YA) 10 0.11 26.40 26.29 0.96 35.68 3.56 65.21 8.07 2.26 –1.71 6.51
Middle adults (MA) 17 3.53 68.18 64.65 13.19 334.63 19.68 309.52 17.59 0.89 11.08 27.08
Mann-Whitney, Z: 3.64, p: 0.0002 bootstrapped p-value: 0.0
PDE by age and sex**
Young adults (YA), Males 7 0.11 26.40 26.29 1.15 33.57 4.79 41.94 9.571.99 –2.60 8.90
Young adults (YA), Females 3 0.22 1.64 1.42 0.24 2.11 0.70 0.65 0.811.15 –0.23 1.18
T test, t: 0.77, p: 0.46 bootstrapped p-value: 0.22
Middle adults (MA), Males 10 4.64 68.18 63.54 18.44 232.08 23.20 355.51 18.85 0.81 10.91 33.00
Middle adults (MA), Females 7 3.53 39.07 35.54 6.78 102.55 14.65 241.85 15.55 1.06 2.62 24.22
T test, t: 0.009, p: 0.99 bootstrapped p-value: 0.31
PDE by period
Chalcolithic 7 0.11 68.18 68.07 8.34 123.8 17.68 596.83 24.43 1.38 –1.05 31.60
Bronze Age 24 0.04 39.07 39.03 5.71 305.35 12.72 189.81 13.77 1.08 7.17 18.05
T test, t: 0.23, p: 0.81 bootstrapped p-value: 0.85
PDE by Culture
Monteoru Culture 8 1.21 35.03 33.82 5.71 90.40 11.30 148.66 13.09 1.15 2.45 19.02
Noua Culture 15 0.04 39.07 39.03 3.78 188.54 12.56 211.54 14.54 1.15 5.11 19.37
T test, t: 0.16, p: 0.86 bootstrapped p-value: 0.86
Maxillary M2 molars
Total PDE 26 0.15 40.63 40.48 4.52 215.28 8.28 109.16 10.44 1.26 3.94 11.90
PDE by sex*
Males 18 0.26 40.63 40.37 4.86 168.09 9.33 142.85 11.95 1.27 3.59 14.22
Females 8 0.15 19.51 19.63 4.13 47.18 5.89 33.58 5.79 0.98 1.64 8.82
T test, t: 0.27, p: 0.76 bootstrapped p-value: 0.75
PDE by age 2 individuals from OA were removed
Young adults (YA) 11 0.26 6.88 6.62 1.45 30.84 2.80 7.25 2.69 0.96 1.25 4.25
Middle adults (MA) 13 0.15 30.05 29.90 5.01 128.66 9.89 99.90 9.99 0.10 4.22 14.68
T test, t: 2.10, p: 0.04 bootstrapped p-value: 0.05
PDE by sex and age
Middle adults (MA), Males 7 0.78 30.05 29.27 9.56 92.21 13.17 134.21 11.58 0.87 5.15 20.49
Middle adults (MA), Females 6 0.15 19.51 19.36 4.01 36.44 6.07 46.15 6.79 1.11 0.31 9.90
T test, t: 1.38, p: 0.19 bootstrapped p-value: 0.22
PDE by period
Chalcolithic 10 0.26 40.63 40.37 4.96 82.81 8.28 141.63 11.90 1.43 0.31 13.45
Bronze Age 16 0.15 30.05 29.90 4.13 132.46 8.27 96.96 9.84 1.18 3.21 12.50
T test, t: 0.10, p: 0.91 bootstrapped p-value: 0.92
PDE by culture
Chalcolithic 7 0.39 30.05 29.66 3.74 46.92 6.70 111.95 10.58 1.57 –1.70 11.87
Bronze Age 9 0.15 28.54 28.39 4.23 85.54 9.50 93.98 9.69 1.01 2.97 14.94
T test, t: 0.74, p: 0.46 bootstrapped p-value: 0.47
* one sample without sex estimation was removed from this analysis
** two samples belonging to adolescent category and two belonging to old adult category were removed from this analysis
8     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Fig. 4. Macrowear analysis in the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age overall samples, from North-Eastern Romania: (a) relative frequency
of PDE % in maxillary and mandibular M2 molars; (b) Box-and-whiskers of PDE by age at death in mandibular M2 molars; (c) Box-
and-whiskers of PDE by age at death in maxillary M2 molars.

Fig. 5. Linear regression of tooth wear and age in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age populations from North-Eastern Romania, for man-
dibular (a) and maxillary (b) M2 molars (p < 0.001).
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     9

relation between the two variables might be characterized by lower bound: 0.201, upper bound: 0.828; occlusal area vari-
a higher value. able, lower bound: –0.110, upper bound: 0.673), reveals
again the role of them in describing the regression model.
3.4  cclusal area and prehistoric period
O Based on the Type III sum of squares, again, the age at
influence on dental wear death variable give significant information to explain the
In order to perform further correlation analysis, we tested if variability of the dental exposure.
there are differences in the occlusal area and dentine expo- In contrast with the age, an insignificant contribution
sure between Bronze Age molars and those of Chalcolithic. is determined by the period (Chalcolithic versus Bronze
According to the Shapiro-Wilk test results, the occlusal area Age). The slopes reveal a close relationship between the
datasets from Bronze Age molars and Chalcolithic were sub- variables comparatively investigated for the two samples of
jected to the Mann-Whitney U test (M2 Bronze Age, W: 0.90, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age, in both mandibular and maxil-
p: 0.02; M2 Chalcolithic, W: 0.92, p: 0.53; M2 Bronze Age, lary molars and the differences were not statistically signifi-
W: 0.91, p: 0.12; M2 Chalcolithic, W: 0.82, p: 0.02), while cant (Fig. 6).
the dentine exposure datasets were subjected to the t test (M2 Even if the Prehistoric period did not manifest a signifi-
Bronze Age, W: 0.80 p: 0.0003; M2 Chalcolithic, W: 0.75, p: cant contribution in the variability of dentine exposure in
0.01; M2 Bronze Age, W: 0.75, p: 0.008; M2 Chalcolithic, W: the analysed samples, a new analysis was performed to pro-
0.64, p: 0.0001). Although, the dental material under analysis vide a regression model between two Bronze Age cultures
belongs to populations close in geographical space and time, from that dominate as number of specimens in our study:
there is a significative difference between the occlusal area Monteoru and Noua Cultures. As expected, similar results
of the molars from Chalcolithic and those from Bronze Age were obtained. The role of age shows similar contributions
(M2, Mann-Whitney, Z: 3.04, p: 0.002; M2, Mann-Whitney, within the two periods, although the role of the occlusal area
Z: 1.97, p: 0.04), and no differences regarding the dentine should not be overlooked especially in the maxillary molars
exposure area (M2, t test, t: 0.80, p: 0.30; M2, t test, t: 0.14, considering the p value very close to p 0.05 (0.054). Also,
p: 0.88). in the conditions of a larger sample, the test statistics could
To a more specific analysis, the explanatory variables for have probably highlighted a significant role of the occlusal
the degree of dentine exposure area (mm2) were revealed by area in dental exposure. The variability of the dentine expo-
a multiple linear regression. sure is described by the three explanatory variables in 37% of
Based on the results of the previous correlation, we tested the mandibular molars and in 50% of the maxillary ones. The
if, in addition to age, there are other variables that could influ- age variable has a significative influence on dentine exposure
ence the degree of dentine exposure (DE). Thus, two other in the two cultures (M2: ANOVA: F: 5.37; p < 0.008; M2,
variables assumed to influence the degree of dentin exposure ANOVA: F: 4.05, p < 0.033).
(i.e., the occlusal area and the period) were subjected to the The relations between the three variables do not dif-
multiple regression analysis. As a dependent variable, the fer significantly between the two cultures; similar correla-
dentine exposure surface was used. tion between the variables is observed in both data from
According to the R2 value, 38% of the variability of the Monteoru and Noua Cultures (Fig. 7). The parameters of the
dentine exposure (DE) is made by the explanatory variables model regression are described in Table 5.
(i.e., age at death, occlusal area, and period) in the mandib-
ular M2 molars and 52% in the maxillary ones. Since the
probability corresponding to the F value is lower than 0.05, 4 Discussion
we would be assuming a lower risk than 0.05% in presuming
that the null hypothesis (no effect of the explanatory vari- The dental macrowear depends on several variables, espe-
able) is incorrect. Therefore, we can agree with confidence cially on age (Kaifu 1999). Our results show that the age
that the mentioned variables give significant information not influenced the most the dental wear; also, the occlusal area
to be neglected (ANOVA: M2, F: 5.5; p: 0.004; M2, F: 8.18, has an important influence on the dentine exposure among
p: 0.001). the tested variables in the multiple correlations (Tables 4,
In the Table 4, the regression results are shown. The rela- 5). In a study conducted by Petraru et al. (2022), part of the
tive weights of the variables reveal the most important ones dental samples included in the present study were subjected
for DE. The age at death and the occlusal area reveals the to classical linear odontometrics. The results showed differ-
greatest influences in the dentine exposure, but only the age ences between male and female molars from Prehistory in
at death with statistical significance (Table 4a). The confi- terms buccolingual, mesiodistal diameters and crown area
dence range 95% in the two very narrow parameters (Upper (Petraru et al. 2022). The dental wear is strongly correlated
M2 molar: age at death variable, lower bound: 0.421, upper with the physical properties and abrasiveness of the con-
bound: 1.042; occlusal area variable, lower bound: –0.053, sumed food, with processing techniques and storage of ali-
upper bound: 0.62; Lower M2 molar: age at death variable, ments (Peigné & Merceron 2019). Moreover, due to the hard
10     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Table 4. Regression results between dentine exposure and parameters (age, occlusal area, period).
(a) Upper M2
Standard Lower bound Upper bound
Source Value t Pr > |t|
error (95%) (95%)
Standardized coefficients (DE)
Age at death 0.731 0.150 4.881 < 0.0001 0.421 1.042
Occlusal Area 0.284 0.162 1.748 0.094 –0.053 0.620
Period 0.018 0.159 0.113 0.911 –0.312 0.349
Parameters of the regression model
Intercept –34.830 11.657 –2.988 0.007 –59.005 –10.654
Age 0.727 0.149 4.881 < 0.0001 0.418 1.036
Occlusal Area 0.185 0.106 1.748 0.094 –0.035 0.405
Period 0.319 2.809 0.113 0.911 –5.506 6.143
Bootstrapped p-value: 0.0001
(b) Lower M2
Standard Lower bound Upper bound
Source Value t Pr > |t|
error (95%) (95%)
Standardized coefficients (DE)
Age at death 0.515 0.153 3.370 0.002 0.201 0.828
Occlusal Area 0.282 0.191 1.476 0.151 –0.110 0.673
Period –0.034 0.190 –0.180 0.858 –0.424 0.356
Parameters of the regression model
Intercept –51.308 28.571 –1.796 0.084 –109.930 7.314
Age at death 0.740 0.220 3.370 0.002 0.290 1.191
Occlusal Area 0.442 0.299 1.476 0.151 –0.172 1.055
Period –1.191 6.614 –0.180 0.858 –14.762 12.379
Bootstrapped p-value: 0.001

particles contained by poorly processed aliments, the rate of skin) and secondary (e.g., milk, wool) products (Gheorghiu
the dental wear is higher in the past human populations com- 2001b). The fishing in lakes and rivers was also practiced
pared to recently human populations (Mays 2002). (Gheorghiu 2001a). Plant cultivation, especially cereals, was
Regarding our research on prehistoric samples (Chalco­ another important occupation, generating a storage strategy
lithic and Bronze Age) it urges us to consider wild and using underground pits, large ceramic vessels and grainers
domestic regional food resources. The southeastern Europe (Gheorghiu 2001a; Monah & Monah 2008; Bejenaru et al.
Chalcolithic period is characterized by the use of copper, and 2018). In the late part of Chalcolithic the cultivated plants
the earliest centers of European metallurgy were in the Balkan were mostly represented by various species of wheat, mil-
and Carpathian Mountains (Milisauskas & Kruk 2011). The let, pea, vetch, and lentil (Gheorghiu 2001b). The abrasive
subsistence economy was based on animal husbandry, hunt- particles incorporated into the foods, the abrasiveness and
ing, and plant cultivation. Hunting was more intensely in hardness of cereals, the poor food storage and preparation,
the Early Chalcolithic and less in the Late Chalcolithic; for the cooking directly over a hearth or in ashes may be directly
instance, aurochs (Bos primigenus) remains show higher fre- associated with an advanced dental wear. Substantial dental
quencies in Neolithic and Chalcolithic than in Bronze Age wears were mentioned, especially on the occlusal surface of
(Bejenaru et al. 2013a). The archaeozoological data from the teeth, in all skeletons from Holboca, Brad, Aldești; for the
Valea Lupului site indicate the presence of domestic animals other Chalcolithic human remains no information regarding
such as cattle (Bos taurus), sheep/goat (Ovis aries/Capra the dental wear were available (Necrasov & Cristescu 1957).
hircus), as well as wild species such as red deer (Cervus ela- According to the earlier paleoanthropological studies, no
phus) and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (Haimovici 1962; Bejenaru caries were identified on the human teeth discovered in the
et al. 2013b). Pastoralism was an important occupation, Chalcolithic sites of Holboca, Aldești, Valea Lupului, and
communities being interested in both primary (e.g., meat, Bârgăoani (Necrasov & Cristescu 1957; Antoniu & Roșca-
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     11

Fig. 6. Scatterplots showing the relationship between variables in Chalcolithic and Bronze Age: mandibular M2 molars (a) and maxil-
lary M2 molars (b).

Fig. 7. Scatterplots showing the relationship between variables in Monteoru and Noua cultures of Bronze Age: mandibular M2 molars
(a) and maxillary M2 molars (b).

Gramatopol 1966), except for the skeleton discovered at and legumes – were an important source of food for the
Brad, with caries identified on the M1 superior molars and on Monteoru communities (Aguraiuja et al. 2018). According to
the superior right premolar P2 (Necrasov & Onofrei 1972). Miu (1999), the presence of straw and chaff in construction
The Bronze Age communities from North-Eastern material of the houses and the use of the plow are indicators
Romania are known as farmers and pastoralists in hilly areas for the land use to cereal cultivation. The cereal storage took
east of the Carpathians, according to Stanc et al. (2018) and place in pits or above-ground structures (granaries) (Harding
to the unpublished manuscript of Bolohan & Bejenaru. The 2011). The agriculture development led to the expansion of
Monteoru Culture is a representative culture developed in animal husbandry. Thus, decreasing proportions of wild boar
the Middle Bronze Age, which contributed to the formation (Sus scrofa) and increasing proportions of pig (Sus domesti-
of Noua Culture in the Late Bronze Age (Miu 1999). cus) were observed, in evolution from Chalcolithic to the late
Cereals such as barley, spelt, einkorn, emmer, rye, mil- Bronze Age in sites of North-Eastern Romania (Popovici &
let are mentioned in Bronze Age settlements from North- Stanc 2014).
Eastern Romania (Harding & Harding 2000). A study The archeozoological analyses for Chalcolithic and
based on stable isotopes showed that plants– both cereals Bronze Age samples indicate a predominance of cattle (Bos
12     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Table 5. Regression results between dentine exposure and parameters (age, occlusal area, culture).
(a) Upper M2
Standard Lower bound Upper bound
Source Value t Pr > |t|
error (95%) (95%)
Intercept –56.026 19.907 –2.814 0.016 –99.399 –12.652
Age at death 0.775 0.253 3.068 0.010 0.225 1.326
Occlusal Area 0.419 0.196 2.132 0.054 –0.009 0.847
Monteoru Culture 4.274 3.898 1.096 0.294 –4.219 12.767
Noua Culture 0.000 0.000
Bootstrapped p-value: 0.03
(b) Lower M2
Standard Lower bound Upper bound
Source Value t Pr > |t|
error (95%) (95%)
Intercept –42.727 22.980 –1.859 0.079 –90.825 5.371
Age at death 0.699 0.186 3.761 0.001 0.310 1.087
Occlusal Area 0.329 0.268 1.231 0.233 –0.231 0.890
Monteoru Culture 1.397 4.098 0.341 0.737 –7.181 9.974
Noua Culture 0.000 0.000
Bootstrapped p-value: 0.007

taurus), followed by sheep/goat (Ovis aries/Capra his- tiple regression analysis involving three variable that could
cus) and pig (Sus domesticus) (Harding & Harding 2000). influence the dental wear (i.e., age, occlusal area, and period)
According to Haimovici (2001), communities of Noua shows no differences between Chalcolithic and Bronze Age
Culture practiced the husbandry, especially of cattle that archaeological populations, as well as between the Monteoru
were used for both primary and secondary products, includ- and Noua Cultures.
ing the traction force necessary for the cereal cultivation.
According to Eshed et al. (2006) and Zhang et al. (2016),
the dental pathologies are corelated with the beginning of 5 Conclusions
intense development of agriculture. Caries and dental gran-
uloma were identified in the Bronze Age skeleton samples In the skeletal samples of Chalcolithic and Bronze Age
of Cândești and Trușești; a much higher frequency of den- archaeological populations from North-Eastern Romania,
tal pathology in Cândești than in Trușești (Cristescu & Miu the percentages of dentine exposure (PDE) and the scoring
1999; Miu 1999). No caries were identified in the Bronze recorded on the M2 molars suggest that the macrowear is not
Age samples of Ciritei and Roman (Cristescu 1961; Diaconu sex related. Although the PDE values increase with the age-
et al. 2016). ranges, the linear regression between the tooth wear and the
The tooth macrowear among the Chalcolithic and Bronze age for the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age populations indi-
Age populations from North-Eastern Romania has not been cates a correlation in 31% of the mandibular molars and 49%
previously documented. Our result shown that quantified of the maxillary ones. Moreover, the explanatory variables
macrowear (i.e., assessed by scoring) in the archaeologi- (i.e., age, occlusal area, and period) and the area of dentine
cal human population is advanced. The difference between exposure included in the multiple regression analysis show a
the PDE values in males and female has not statistical sig- correlation of 38% in the mandibular molars and 52% in the
nificance. Also, no differences in dental wear were revealed maxillary ones. Therefore we conclude that the age along-
between males and females from the same age group (i.e., side the occlusal area and the prehistoric period were not the
young adults = YA, and mature adults = MA). only factors that influenced the dental wear; the diet based
We showed that the PDE values increases with age- mainly on cereals, the food-processing methods, the storage
ranges. The linear regression between the tooth wear (PDE) strategy of aliments must be also considered when discuss-
and the age for the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age popula- ing the loss of tooth tissues in archaeological populations.
tions indicates correlation in 31% of cases in the mandibular The results of the present study will be correlated with the
molars and 49% in the maxillary ones. Furthermore, the mul- data of the dental microwear analysis.
 Dental wear in archaeological human populations     13

Acknowledgments: This work was supported by a research Cristescu, M. (1961). Contribuție la studiul antropologic al unor
grant made with financial support from the Recurring Donor schelete de la sfârșitul Epocii Bronzului (Cultura Noua) și
Fund, available to the Romanian Academy and managed by the începutul Epocii Fierului din Moldova. Arheologia Moldovei,
“PATRIMONIU” Foundation GAR-UM-2019-II-2.1-16. 1, 129–148.
Cristescu, M., Antoniu, S., & Klüger, R. (1965). Studiul antropo-
logic al scheletelor de la Cioinagi – Bălintești. SCA, 2, 29–42.
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16     O.-M. Petraru, L. Bejenaru, M. Popovici

Supplementary Table
Table S1. Inventory of dental material.
Period Archaeological site Skeleton code Right M2 Left M2 Right M2 Left M2
Aldești ALD1 + – + +
Bârgaoani BIR1 + + + –
Brad BR1 + + + –
HLB1 + + – –
HLB2 + + + +
HLB3 + + + +
Chalcolithic HLB4 + – + +
Holboca
HLB5 + + – –
HLB6 – – – +
HLB7 + + – –
HLB8 – – + –
VL1 – – + +
Valea Lupului
VL2 – – – +
Brăești BRA2 + + – –
C1 – – – +
C2 + – + +
C3 – – + +
C4 – + – +
Cândești
C5 + + + +
C6 – + – –
C7 + + + –
C8 – – + +
CI1 + – – –
Cioinagi CI2 + + + +
CI3 – – + +
Ciritei CIR1 + – + +
Doina DO1 + + – –
RO1 – – – +
Roman RO2 + – – –
RO3 – – – +
Bronze Age
T1 + + – –
T2 + – – –
T3 + – – –
T4 + – + –
T5 + + + +
T6 – + – –
T7 – – + +
T8 – + + +
Trusesti T9 + + – –
T10 + – – +
T11 + + + –
T12 + + + +
T13 + – – –
T14 – – – +
T15 – – + –
T16 + – + +
T17 – + – –

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