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

Abstract

The Tripolye were the first archaeo-logical culture in Ukraine to cultivate domesticat-ed 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.