Dental Pathology and Diet During IV Millenium B.C. in Ciudad Real, Spain

This work is about the bioanthropological study of a collective interment, dated from Neolithic Period (possibly Calcolithic), located in a mountanious shelter in Ortega Hill, Villanueva de la Fuente (Ciudad Real, Spain). The demograpy of the site makes clear the existence of a minimum number of 19 individuals, 12 adults (5 women and 7 men) and 7 children. A study of paleonutritional indicators has been carried out. Among the paleostomatological results, a degree of a slight-moderate occlusive abrasion is underline, a 6,4% of dental caries, a 21,3% of enamel hypoplasia, a 56,4% of dental calculus, and a 63,7% of periodontal disease. A preliminary study of the faunal remains has also been carried out, underlining the presence of wild herbivorous animals: oryctologus curriculus (rabbit) and capra porcus (goat), as well as fractures of flesh bones, probably as a result of human food handling. The analysis of oligoelements shows that this populationhad an agricultural mixed diet with half contribution of animal proteins (ratio Sr/Ca (c) = 0.843 and ratio Zn/Ca = 0.397). The presence of a porous osteoarchaeological syndrome case, indicative of a nutritional deficit, is also evident.