The Biological Implications of the Transition to Agriculture in Ukraine: A Study of Enamel Hypoplasias

Abstract

The Tripolye were the first archaeological culture in Ukraine to cultivate domesticated cereals, practice animal husbandry, and establish large settlements with high population densities. This cultural adaptation was much different than that of mobile hunter-fisher-gatherers of the Ukrainian Mesolithic/Neolithic, and likely resulted in different outcomes for human health. This study compares the rates of enamel hypoplasias in a Tripolye skeletal population with that of Mesolithic/Neolithic hunter-fisher-gatherers. A recently excavated sample of dentitions representing a minimum of 35 individuals from Verteba Cave was examined macroscopically for hypoplasias and was compared statistically to published rates for hunter-fisher-gatherers. The Tripolye from Verteba Cave were found to have at least one enamel hypoplasia on 18.18% of teeth, while the hunter-fisher-gatherers have hypoplastic lesions on 1.88% of teeth. When examined at the individual level, 48.57% of the Tripolye were found to have at least one hypoplasia, as compared to 12.77% of the hunter-fisher-gatherer individuals. The results indicate that the agropastoral Tripolye experienced significantly more systemic stress than the hunter-fisher-gatherers. The higher stress likely relates to dietary and behavioral variables associated with the Tripolye’s agropastoral economy, including heavy reliance on cereals as weaning foods and sanitary problems linked to sedentism.