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Polish archaeologists have discovered the oldest evidence of caries on the teeth of people who lived on the territory of modern Poland almost 9000 years ago. This discovery refutes the popular theory of the later origin of this disease.

Article about the study was published in the journal of Archaeological Science – Reports, and briefly about it tells Nauka w Polsce. Until now it was thought that prehistoric people did not suffer from toothache. A popular theory States that caries they appeared only after they began leading a settled lifestyle, to cultivate plants and eat large quantities of food from crops.

In different parts of Europe this process occurred at different times. In the South, for example, it began about two thousand years earlier than in the North. In Poland, the first farmers appeared about 7,000 years ago. That is around the same time period the local population was supposed to appear and decay.

However, the new discovery disproves this theory. It turns out that tooth decay suffered and hunter-gatherers. Scientists have studied the remains of people found in the 1960-ies in the North-East Poland Biebrza national Park. Their age is nearly 9000 years old.

“We found that caries of the teeth in three year old child and two adults – said Professor Jacek Tomczyk from the University of cardinal Stefan Wyszynski in Warsaw. – In the case of the remains of the child are preserved even fragments of the jaw. Earlier research was based on metric measurements and was determined by the age and gender of these people. However, no one has assessed their dental disease”.

One of the reasons that the study of the teeth was conducted, was the lack of technology. In our days the scientists used a fluorescent camera and the various methods of radiography. The result showed traces of caries, which, however, is not very badly damaged tooth enamel.

Traces preserved on the molars, the rich grooves. Researchers are not able to be installed would have developed caries, if these people lived longer. But part of this question was answered by the analysis of isotopes of carbon and nitrogen preserved in the teeth. He helped to determine the diet of ancient humans.

“They ate a lot of fish, probably mainly sturgeon, says anthropologist Krzysztof Szostek. – Freshwater fish contain arginine, which has protivokariesnoe effect. This substance today, even added to some toothpastes. Thus, due to the fish diet caries these people might never develop.”

Why is this disease manifested itself among hunter-gatherers? Scientists indicate that these people ate all that was found. It could be berries, sweet fruit and maybe honey. These products contain a lot of carbohydrates, which help to��comfort the decomposition of the tissues.

“the tooth decay there are different causes, it is associated not only with diet, says Professor Shostak. – A lot depends on meal frequency and composition of saliva. Although people who eat a lot of sweet, have higher risk of tooth decay. From studies of the remains of the same period found in Spain or Portugal, we know that there is a caries was more common than in Northern Europe. Probably one of the main factors for this difference was the diet.”