Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Why didn't our ancient ancestors get cavities?

#1
C C Offline
https://sciencenorway.no/animal-kingdom-...es/2010848

EXCERPTS: We can blame the agricultural revolution for accelerating tooth decay in humans - if we are to believe an article by three German researchers in the journal PLOS One.

[...] He explains that hunters and gatherers ate everything between heaven and earth. They were super healthy. “They had access to all the vitamins and minerals they needed.”

The reality was a little different for the farmers, who mostly ate only what they grew. And being a farmer was a hard life. “Farmers suffered physical wear and tear from kneeling and weeding. And they had access to a lot of sugar. People began to eat foods that were less beneficial for their health,” says Ørmen.

Although the food became less nourishing and caries probably increased in prevalence, evidence suggests that the extent of poor dental health did not become so dire until much more recent times. It took a long time before sugar became available to everyone - especially in the far north.

[...] Ørmen has studied the Medieval Park in Oslo - and people who lived about 1,000 years ago - where well-preserved remains have been found. “People then had perfect teeth. They were worn down but had no cavities. There weren’t a lot of sweets in Norway at that time. They might have had access to honey, fruit and berries, but refined sugar wasn’t available,” he says.

The traces we have indicate that very few people had serious tooth decay.

“Cavities weren’t at all common. They’re a new phenomenon - we’re talking about the last few hundred years. Tooth decay started with the upper class, since they were the first to have access to sugar and sweets,” Ørmen says... (MORE - missing details)
Reply
#2
Yazata Offline
Fluoride toothpaste and lots of flossing!

Yeah, it's plausible that sugar in the diet made cavities a lot worse. But these early people often had very worn down teeth, something we don't really see very much today.
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Why prehistoric herders didn’t spit out their watermelon seeds C C 0 119 Nov 4, 2022 05:59 PM
Last Post: C C
  Smoking effects surface 3 generations later + Meat eating didn't shape our evolution? C C 1 121 Jan 25, 2022 04:14 AM
Last Post: Syne
  Didn’t Think I’d Ever See... Zinjanthropos 0 111 Jul 16, 2020 01:18 PM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)