Diet and Attrition in the Natufians PATRICIA SMITH Department of Ancrtomy, Hndassah Medical School nnd School of Deiitnl Medicine, Hebrew lJn iversity, Jerusale?ii, Israel

KEY WORDS Attrition . Diet . Dental disease . Natufians.

ABSTRACT There is a high correlation between the rate of dental attrition and the physical consistency of the diet. Hypotheses concerning types of diet and methods of food preparation in prehistoric populations may therefore be tested by comparing attrition rates in the specimens under investigation with standards derived from groups of known dietary status. For such comparisons the age factor is of paramount importance, but difficult to assess accurately in fragmentary skeletal material. The use of attrition gradients rather than mean attrition scores provides an age independent method for comparison of attrition rates. When Natufian specimens from three different sites (Kebara, El Wad and Eynan) were compared by this method, significant differences in the gradient of attrition were found at one site, Kebara. The incidences of caries and perio- dontal disease were also lower at this site, and taken in conjunction with the low level of attrition were considered to relate to differences in the vegetable content of the diet between the individuals recovered from Kebara and those recovered from El Wad and Eynan.

Investigations into the dietary status of prehistoric populations involve the ex- ploration of many different lines of re- search. Human skeletal remains, when present, afford a good primary source of information regarding nutritional status, while the dentition can provide more de- tailed information regarding both carbo- hydrate content and physical consistency of the diet (Davies, '63; Kreshover and McClure, '66).

Caries, attrition and periodontal dis- ease result in permanent lesions of the hard tissues of the teeth and supporting bone (table 1). Direct comparisons can therefore be made between the pattern of dental disease in skeletal populations and that of extant groups of known dietary status, providing that due allowance is made for the effect of variables such as differences in tooth structure and age of specimens examined.

In the case of attrition, the major com- ponent of tooth wear, the age-attrition correlation is especially high. Tooth wear takes place as a result of mechanical fric- tion of the tooth. It is thus primarily a function of age and diet, although the rate and pattern of wear may be second- arily affected by differences in tooth struc-

AM. J. PHYS. ANTHROP.. 37: 233-238.

ture, jaw relationship, chewing patterns and cultural habits (Smith, '72).

Differences in tooth structure as well as non-dietary factors producing attrition can usually be identified by careful ex- amination of the teeth. Age estimations for adult skeletal material are, however, more difficult. The usual range of accur- acy claimed is from five to ten years (Krogman, 'SZ), and in individuals with a rapid rate of attrition such a range may bias the findings considerably.

For example, in a recent study of dif- ferent communities in Israel, we found that the attrition score more than dou- bled between the 20 and 40-year age groups in Bedouin who show a high rate of attrition. In Fellahin with a less abra- sive diet, it increased by half this amount over the same period of time (fig. 1).

The rate of attrition is therefore the key factor to be considered in dietary in- vestigations. If mean attrition scores form the basis for comparison, good samples of known age are necessary. When working with skeletal material from early sites these conditions can rarely be met, so

I Supported in part by a grant from the Wenner- Gren Foundation.

233

234 PATRICIA SMITH

TABLE I

Diet and denttrl pathology 1

Effect on teeth Factors determining Nature

food type of food Initial effect Late effect

Food selection Abrasive Severe wear

Cooking methods Sticky Oral debris and calculus, Abscesses - resulting in periodontal Tooth loss disease

Customs High CHO Caries content

1 Based on Davies, '63.

r I I

Ape QrOUP Ape group Ape Q ~ O U P 2 0 - 2 4 "7. 26 - 34 ycs 15- 44yr.

Fig. 1 A comparison of attrition scores in three communities.

that alternate methods which avoid age based comparisons are necessary.

One approach to the problem is to base comparisons on attrition gradients within individual specimens. The timing of erup- tion of the first two permanent molars shows very little variability throughout most populations (Fanning and Moorrees, '69) although a slightly wider range is found for the third molar. The molar teeth erupt at six-year intervals so that the difference in attrition score of adja- cent molars reflects the amount of attri- tion taking place during this period. As- suming a constant rate of attrition within any one group, this difference is main- tained irrespective of chronological age. All of the specimens from any one site can then be pooled, and intergroup com- parisons made using non parametric sta- tistics, such as Spearman's rank correla-

tion coefficient (Siegel, '56) to test for the significance of differences found.

The method was applied to the present investigation of dietary status of the Na- tufians, in order to determine which of the two possible variables, age or diet, was responsible for intersite differences in dental pathology of specimens examined (tables 2, 3).

The name Natufian is derived from the Wadi Natuf in which the first traces of this culture were found by D. Garrod in 1928 (Garrod, '32, '42). Further excava- tions by her at El Wad (Garrod and Bate, '37), at Kebara (Turville-Petrie, '32), and caves in the Judean desert (Neuville, '51), revealed similar deposits in which Garrod distinguished three and Neuville four phases, mainly differing in the percentage of microliths, and especially microburins, bone tools, ornaments and carvings pres- ent. More recently Natufian sites have been discovered in the Negev, at Ramat Matred (Yizraeli, '67), at Beidha (Kirk- bride, '67), at Jericho (Kenyon, '59), Nahal Oren (Stekelis and Yizraeli, '63), HaYonim cave (Bar Yosef and Tchernov, '66), Eynan (Perrot, '66) and Jabrud (Rust, '50). These vary from the "permanent" stone walled settlements at Eynan and N. Oren to the temporary camping sites of the desert, indicating the diversity of ecological zones utilised as well as activ- ities practiced.

At one time the Natufians were con- sidered to be the first agriculturists and were accredited with domestication of at least dogs. The former statement was based on the presence of large numbers of sickle blades, mortars and pestles, the

DIET AND ATTRITION IN THE NATUFIANS

TABLE 2

235

Incidence of carious and missing teeth 1

Number of Carious teeth AM tooth loss 3 Ablation in I1 Group teeth

Age 2 present No. % 4 No. % s R L

Eynan 1-10 11-20 21-30 31 +

Total

El Wad 1-10 11-20 21-30 31 +

Total

Kebara 1-10 11-20 21 +

Total

60 111 235 92

498

65 167 436 165

833

33 63

306

402

- - 2 1.8 3 1.3 9 9.8

14 2.8

- - 8 4.8 9 2.1 8 4.8

25 3.0

- - 1 0.3

1 0.2

- 7 2

9

- 4

88

92

3

2.0

- - - 3

0.9 4 3 30.0 5 1

14.0 9 7

- -

- - - 1 1

1.0 1 1

0.75 2 2

-

1 After Smith 1970. 2 Age groupings based on estimations of skull and long bones. At Kebara, few post cranial fragments

were present. All adults were placed in the 21 f age category. 3 AM loss = ante mortem tooth loss - where the tooth socket showed evidence of post extraction (or

exfoliation) changes. This was differentiated from ablation, ritual removal of a healthy tooth, diagnosed from the absence of signs of disease in the alveolar bone or adjacent teeth.

4 % Carious teeth = % of teeth present with caries. 5 % AM tooth loss = % of missing teeth and not ratio of teeth present to teeth lost, i.e., number of

teeth lost/(number of standing teeth + lost teeth).

TABLE 3

Menn attrition scores for mandible teeth, 21 + age group 1

Eynan R 13 2.3 16 3.3 11 3.9 9 2.7 11 2.8 10 4.2 9 3.6 7 3.9 L 10 2.3 9 3.2 10 4.1 10 3.2 11 3.2 10 4.0 9 4.1 7 4.1

El Wad R 13 3.4 16 3.2 15 3.9 11 3.0 12 3.3 11 3.6 11 3.3 10 3.6 L 13 2.5 17 3.0 12 3.7 13 3.0 11 3.3 10 3.9 10 3.8 10 4.0

Kebara R 12 1.9 15 2.3 13 3.2 11 2.4 8 2.5 6 3.0 5 3.2 3 3.7 L 8 2.0 11 2.4 11 3.3 10 2.7 8 2.6 8 3.4 7 3.4 5 3.4

1 Includes isolated teeth.

latter on two skulls which Reed (‘61) now says are those of jackals. Most workers in the field today would amend “agriculture” to intensive grain collecting, although even this activity is inferred from the presence of the afore-mentioned artifacts, and the dating of the Natufian as pre- agricultural, rather than demonstrated by the presence of grain caches at any site. The permanence and size of the

Northern settlements has also been ad- duced as evidence of a reliable and plen- tiful food supply, but this need not nec- essarily have been based on grain - as Perrot (’68) comments in citing Dolni Vestonici as an example of a permanent hunting-based settlement.

Skeletal remains have been recovered from most of these sites. Both primary and secondary, single and group burials

236 PATRICIA SMITH

TABLE 4

Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients calculated f o r attrition in mandibular molars

r for r for r for Group No. MI, Mz No. Mz. M3 No. MI, M3

Eynan 1 5 0.815 11 0.837 11 0.914

El Wad 23 0.796 1 8 0.858 18 0.692

Kebara 22 0.696 12 0.51 1 12 0.473

When the correlation coefficient of attrition between (1) M I , Mz; (2) Mz, MI; (3) M I , M3 was compared for the three sites tabulated, the correlation coefficient between M2 and M3 at Kebara was found to differ from that at El Wad (p > 0.01) and Eynan (p > 0.05). In addition. the correlation coefficient of attri- tion at Kebara for M I , MS was found to be significantly different from that at Eynan ( P > 0.01).

These findings support the hypothesis that the mean rate of attrition at Kebara was lower than that at Eynan and El Wad because of the reduced rate of attrition at this site, and is not to be explained by age differences in the samples examined.

were found. Bones were commonly sprin- kled with ocher and covered with a pave- ment of large flat stones. Posture varied from flexed to extended and ornaments were occasionally present. Superimposi- tioning of burials was common. Attempts have been made to analyse burial customs from these variables, in terms of cultural differences and social stratification: Gar- rod in Garrod and Bate (’37) associated the crouched burials with the earlier BB phase, but Mastin (’64), concluded that the variability pointed to no very great concern for the dead, but rather fear of them, and thus the covering stones. He suggested that the differences in size of the graves was only related to the amount of space available.

METHOD

Molar teeth were scored for attrition using a 5-point scale:

1 = enamel facetting 2 = dentine exposure 3 = secondary dentine exposure 4 = pulpexposure 5 = crown of tooth completely worn away

Each of the four main cusps was scored separately, so that the tooth score repre- sented the gross attrition for the entire occlusal area. It was felt that this would minimize any differences in rate of attri- tion due to part of the occlusal surface of a tooth not coming into contact with its antagonist. Specimens with attrition scores of 4 or 5 on any cusp were excluded because of the insensitivity of the scale in this range, as were teeth with dental ab- scesses from any cause. The remaining

specimens were then ranked according to molar differences in attrition scores and Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient calculated for each of the molar tooth pairs (i.e., MI MP; MI M3; Ms M3). The be- tween group coefficients were then cal- culated separately for individuals with MI and Mz and those with MI M2 and M3.

RESULTS

Table 3 shows the results obtained. The correlation coefficient “r” calculated be- tween MI and Mz was very similar at Eynan and El Wad (r = 0.80, 0.82) but significantly different (P < 0.01) from that found at Kebara (r = 0.70).

This difference was maintained when the Mz M3 pairs were examined, r = 0.51 at Kebara, 0.86 at El Wad and 0.84 at Eynan.

This demonstrates that the attrition gradients at El Wad and Eynan were very similar, and different from those found at Kebara.

DISCUSSION

The results obtained show that the gra- dient of attrition at Kebara differed from that taking place at El Wad and Eynan. No differences in tooth size or morphology were found between the various sites and there were no localised areas of abrasion that would implicate cultural practices as a factor in producing tooth wear (Smith, ’70). The differences found in attrition gradients therefore indicate that diet of a different consistency was utilised.

All the sites were situated in the same Mediterranean Woodland belt (Butzer, ’64). Any differences in diet utilised are

DIET AND ATTRITION

therefore to be explained in terms of cul- tural differences - food preferences or techniques of preparing food - rather than potentially available food resources (Steward, '68). The pattern of dental disease found at Kebara, a low rate of attrition together with little calculus or periodontal disease, is typical of hunting- based population utilising self cleansing non-abrasive foods.

At El Wad and Eynan, the severe at- trition found attests to a more abrasive diet. It resembled the pattern of dental disease found at early village sites such as Chatal Huyuk and Tell-al-Judeidah (Krogman, '49) where stone ground ce- reals formed a major component of the diet.

When the archeological evidence for cultural differences between the sites was re-examined, Kebara was found to differ somewhat from the remaining sites. No signs of settlement were found on the ter- race outside the cave mouth, there were no individual burials, and no tooth or decorated bone pendants. Furthermore, curved fishhooks, haircombs and pierced spatulae were found here but not at any other site (Bar Yosef and Tchernov, '70).

The buildings found at the other Na- tufian sites may reflect a demand for in- creased living space with population in- crease or permanency of settlement. The archeological findings suggest that in- crease in population size and permanency of settlement were features characteristic of the Natufian period (Binford, '68; Bar Yosef and Tchernov, '70), and these are indicative of a stable and reliable food supply such as was available in the form of wild cereals.

The evidence for intensive grain utiliza- tion, based on the relative frequency of sickle blades, mortars, and pestles, as well as the implications derived from the rela- tive size and duration of settlements, sup- port the conclusions derived from a study of the dental pathology present at the different sites. This would place Kebara within the framework of a hunting and gathering economy, as opposed to the re- maining sites with increased reliance on vegetable resources, presumably cereals.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my indebtedness

IN THE NATUFIANS 237

to Professors F. C. Howell and A. A. Dahl- berg for their help and guidance during my studies of the Natufians. I would also like to thank Mrs. E. Salomon and Mrs. L. Smith for their technical assistance in the preparation of the text and figures.

LITERATURE CITED

Bar Yosef, O., and E. Tchernov 1966 Archeo- logical finds and the fossil faunas at Hayonim Cave (Western Galilee) Israel. Israel J. Zool., 1 5 : 104-140.

1970 The Natufian bone industry of ha-Yonim Cave. Israel Exploration Journal, 20: 141-150.

Binford, L. R. 1968 Post-Pleistocene Adapta- tions. In: New Perspectives in Archeology. S. R. Binford and L. R. Binford, eds. Aldine Publish- ing Company, Chicago, pp. 313-342.

Butzer, K. W. 1964 Environment and Archeol- ogy, Aldine Press, Chicago, pp. 285-300.

Davies, G. N. 1963 Social customs and habits and their effect on oral disease. J. Dent. Res., 42: 209-232.

Fanning, E. A. and C. F. A. Moorrees 1969 A comparison of permanent mandibular molar formation in Australian Aborigines and Cau- casoids. Archs. Oral Biol., 14: 999-1006,

Garrod, D. A. E. 1932 A new Mesolithic in- dustry: The Natufian of Palestine. J. Royal Anthrop. Inst., 62: 257-269.

1942 Excavations at the cave of Shuk- bah, Palestine, 1928. Proc. Prehist. SOC., n.s., 8: 1-20.

Garrod, D. A. E., and D. M. A. Bate 1937 In: The Stone Age of Mount Carmel, Vol. 1, Clar- endon Press, Oxford.

Kenyon, K. M. 1959 Some observations on the beginnings of settlement in the Near East. J . Royal Anthrop. Inst., 89: 35-43.

Kirkbride. Ij. 1967 Beidha 1965: An interim report. Palestine Exploration Quarterly, pp. 5- 13.

Kreshover, S. J., and F. J. McClure 1966 En- vironmental variables in oral disease. Amer. Assoc. Advance. Science, pub. 81.

Krogman, W. M. 1949 Ancient cranial types at Chatal Huyuk and Tell-al-Judeidah. Belletin, 13: 407477.

The Human Skeleton in Forensic Medicine. Charles C Thomas, Springfield, 11- linois.

Mastin, B. A. 1964 The extended burials a t Magharet el-Wad. J. Royal Anthrop. Inst., 94: 44-50.

Neuville, R. 1951 Le Paleolithique et le Meso- lithique du Desert de JudCe. Archs. Inst. Pa- leont. hum., 24, Paris.

Perrot, J . 1966 Le gisement Natoufien de Mal- laha (Eynan) Israel. L'Anthropologie, 70: 437- 484.

1968 Prehistoire Palestinienne. In: Sup- plement au Dictionnaire de la Bible. Ed. Letou- zey et Ane. Paris, 8: 286446.

Reed, C. A. 1961 Osteological evidence for pre- historic domestication in southwestern Asia. Zeit. Tierziichtung und Zuchturgsbiologie, 76: 31-38.

1962

238 PATRICIA SMITH

Rust, A. 1950 Die Hohlenfunde von Jabrud Steward, J. H. 1968 Causal factors and proc- (Syrien). Neumunster, Wachholtz. esses in the evolution of pre-farming societies.

Siegel, S. 1956 Nonparametric statistics for the In: Man the Hunter. R. B' Lee and I . lieVore, eds. Aldine Pub. Co., Chicago, pp. 321-334.

behavioral sciences. McGraw-Hill, New York. Turner, C. G., and J. li. Cadien 1969 Dental

thology in the Natufians: The dental evidence J, Phys. Anthrop,, 31 : 303-310.

for dietary specialization. (Unpublished Ph.D. Turville-Petrie, F, 1932 Excavations in the dissertation) University of Chicago. Mugharet el-Kebarah. J. Royal Anthrop. Inst.,

Dent. Med., in press. Yizraeli, T. 1967 Mesolithic hunters' industries Stekelis, M., and T. Yizraeli 1963 Excavations at Ramat Matred. Palestine Exploration Quar-

at Nahal Oren. Israel Exploration J., 13: 1-12.

Smith, p. 1970 Denta1 and pa- chipping in Aleuts, Eskimos and Indians, Am,

1972 Studies in attrition. Israel J. of 62: 271-276.

terly, pp. 78-85.