Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss in two osteological assemblages from Yucatán, Mexico: A biosocial comparison within a structural vulnerability framework

S. Thamara Noriega Muro; Sudip Datta Banik; Oana Del Castillo Chavez; Martha Pimienta Merlin; Alfonso Manuel Gallardo Velázquez; Andrea Cucina

doi:10.18778/1898-6773.89.4.01

Authors

S. Thamara Noriega Muro Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, México https://orcid.org/0009-0000-7722-4801
Sudip Datta Banik Departamento de Ecología Humana, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mérida, México https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5359-1850
Oana Del Castillo Chavez Centro INAH Yucatán, México https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8892-1861
Martha Pimienta Merlin Centro INAH Yucatán, México
Alfonso Manuel Gallardo Velázquez Centro INAH Yucatán, México
Andrea Cucina Facultad de Ciencias Antropológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Mérida, México https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7280-5591

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1898-6773.89.4.01

Keywords:

Bioarchaeology, oral health, Maya populations, nutrition transition, market integration, health inequalities

Abstract

Introduction
Dental caries and antemortem tooth loss (AMTL) are common clinical and bioarchaeological findings but are seldom examined through historically contextualized frameworks of structural vulnerability.

Study aim(s)
This study compares individual-level frequencies of dentin-involving caries and AMTL and descriptively examines caries severity and lesion location in two Yucatecan osteological assemblages: Pixoy, an 18^th to 19^th century assemblage associated with a rural Maya community and interpreted primarily within its 19^th century context, particularly in relation to the period preceding and surrounding the Caste War, and Xoclán, a late 20^th to early 21^st century documented urban sample.

Material(s) and Methods
The study comprised 146 mandibles: 69 from Pixoy and 77 from Xoclán. Antemortem tooth loss was identified through alveolar remodeling, while carious lesions were classified according to dentin involvement, severity, and anatomical location. Individual-level comparisons used Pearson’s chi-square tests or Fisher’s exact tests; tooth- and lesion-level distributions were analyzed descriptively.

Results
Recorded individual-level frequencies of dentin-involving caries and AMTL were significantly higher in Xoclán (80.5% and 83.1%, respectively) than in Pixoy (63.8% and 46.4%; p = 0.023 and p < 0.001, respectively). Descriptively, interproximal and root-surface lesions represented greater proportions in Xoclán, whereas occlusal lesions predominated in Pixoy.

Conclusion(s)
These contrasts must be interpreted in relation to age composition, preservation, and historically distinct food environments and opportunities for dental care. Joint consideration of caries and AMTL provides a contextualized biosocial perspective on oral-disease accumulation within a structural vulnerability framework.

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