Abstract:

The skeletal remains obtained from anthropological and archaeological excavations provide a lot of information about the biological structure and socio-cultural behavior of people. The teeth constitute the most important part that lets us unearth the skeleton’s biological character. Provided that the tooth is the hardest substance in the body, it is more resistant to taphonomic processes. Therefore, comprehensive evaluations can be made thanks to dental studies, such as the diets of individuals and societies, the food they consume and the frequency of their consumption, food preparation techniques, oral and dental hygiene, and the diseases they suffered. The subject of this study is the oral and dental health of infant and child skeletons excavated from Börükçü Site of Muğla Province, dating back to the Late Geometric-Roman Period. A total of 823 sockets and teeth belonging to 125 infants and 698 children were examined within the scope of the study. Dental wear, tooth decay, hypoplasia, calculus, abscess,aleolar loss, ante-mortem tooth loss were examined in the study based on jaw and dental pathologies. At the end of the study, wear was 81.7%, caries 3.5%, hypoplasia 25.8%, calculus 10.8% in total milk and permanent teeth; Abscess, antemortem tooth loss and alveolar loss were not found. The data obtained show that Börükçü infants and children are exposed to nutritional deficiencies and factors that will negatively affect their developmental processes. However, the fact that the results of the analysis are in the range of average values shows that the living conditions of Börükçü were not very bad, and that he was included in the general health profile of ancient societies.

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