| Abstract: |
Dental pathology studies of prehistoric and early historic populations have found the deciduous dentition to be less prone to caries than were permanent teeth of the same series (Brabant and Brabant 1962
Wells 1975). Consequently, dental decay is considered predominantly an adult disease in early groups. In populations dependent upon agriculture, however, dental decay often affected both adults and children. Agriculturally derived subsistence diets, rich in carbohydrates, promote an oral environment conducive to dental decay (Turner 1979). Recent examination of a late prehistoric-early protohistoric (ca. A.D. 1700) skeletal sample from Easter Island showed a high percentage of permanent teeth affected by caries (Owsley, Mires and Gill n.d.). This archaeological series represents a self-sufficient island community whose horticultural subsistence economy is ethnographically described (Metraux 1940). This study determined whether deciduous dentitions of the Easter Island collection were similarly affected by caries. Frequency of dental decay was determined by tooth type. An ethnohistoric approach was used to relate the frequency of carious teeth to foods available to the islanders. data for children were contrasted with values for early continental European populations for comparative perspective.
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