Archaeologists Use 3D Printed Molars of Ancient Citizens to Point Toward ‘Where Berlin Began’

Is a futuristic scientist going to be checking out your chompers six hundred years from now? That’s something to consider, and it says a lot for the longevity and posterity of our teeth. Bioarchaeologist Dr. Kristina Killgrove and her team are using the technology of 3D printing to delve into these ancient tools of mastication found during the Periplatz project, also dubbed (translated) ‘Where Berlin Began.’

With no records as to their creation or founding, the two ancient towns of Berlin and Cölln offered up some mystery to scientists and archaeologists, who wondered if it was true as word from history handed down, that the founders of Berlin had come from Cologne, or perhaps another direction. They were stymied as to how the two cities, situated on opposite banks of the Spree River in Germany, came to be one by the 18th century. While Berlin did continue to thrive, the Cölln side was limited due to its surrounding water.

There may not have been any written records, but we all know dental remains can provide a great deal of forensic information. Due to the ‘unique geology’ of Cologne, researchers knew that strontium isotope analysis would provide results in this project.

From  2007 to 2010 archaeologists Claudia Melisch and Jamie Sewell were in charge of excavating a cemetery associated with Cölln called Periplatz (St. Peter’s Square). There, they uncovered the church of St. Peter, along with its town and cemetery, bearing 3,718 bodies in graves, and yielding:

• One of the largest medieval cemeteries in Europe
• Skeletons and teeth dating from 1200-1300
• Skeletons and teeth dating from 1400-1600

Although Medieval citizens did not usually live past middle age, the samples archaeologists uncovered showed that the people were in good health, and without the tooth decay that is not evidenced until after the 15th century.

 “They were tall and all had gleaming, white teeth,” Melisch says.

While the size of their church was a sign of prosperity, they were not rich in documentation. It was evident from some of the remains also that they had gone through periods of difficulty and malnutrition. The researchers also found interesting mysteries regarding the dead, including one grave with two men buried together wearing leather bags with sea urchins around their necks. Unearthed in another grave was a newborn baby who had been buried with a 50- to 60-year-old woman, circa 1200.

Claudia Melisch sent the first molars of 22 individuals from the Petriplatz site in Berlin, Germany to Dr. Killgrove at Virtebra, the Virtual Bones and Artifacts Lab at the University of West Florida. Due to issues with funding for the project, Dr. Killgrove and her colleagues were helping to do their part by performing some analysis in Florida.

Killgrove’s part in the project was to examine dental enamel using ‘strontium isotope analysis,’ which is helpful in learning about the diet and migration patterns of the ancient citizens. Before the analysis was to take place at the Isotope Geochemistry Lab at UNC Chapel Hill with Dr. Drew Coleman, however, Killgrove 3D scanned, edited, and printed two models of the ancient teeth to begin her journey in creating ‘an interactive and comparative 3D collection.’

The remains left the researchers begging the questions of who founded the cities and from whence did they come?

They discovered that three of the individuals were from another area of Germany besides Berlin. According to Dr. Kilgrove, one molar presented “with a strontium isotope value of .713, which is similar to the geology of west-central Germany, and the other with a strontium isotope value of around .711, which is more similar to the geology of Berlin.”

In making the 3D printed models of the teeth, Killgrove was able to replicate samples to work from, share with colleagues, and keep permanently long after the originals have been sent back to their homeland of Germany.

In the scanning and printing process, Killgrove did make some refinements which allowed her an end product with which she was very satisfied.

“During the editing process, I encountered very few problems. Fusing the model turned out to be the most difficult part of the process. Instead of binding multiple models together and filling any holes, fusing would not fill any data gaps but instead add more holes to the object,” said Killgrove. “I found a way to alternatively fuse the models by using the ‘remesh’ option on the software. This option created a smooth, clean and completed digital model.”

Killgrove plans to keep building the inventory of 3D printed teeth replicated from the originals. She also points out that “the Petriplatz skeletal collection now represents fifty percent of all known medieval and post-medieval skeletons from the area but is unique in its size and cross-section of the population.”
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Millsaps, Bridget Butler. 2014. “Archaeologists Use 3D Printed Molars of Ancient Citizens to Point Toward ‘Where Berlin Began’”. 3d Print. Posted: October 13, 2014. Available online: http://3dprint.com/18989/berlin-3d-printed-teeth/

New hominin site found in China

A joint team from Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, and Office for Cultural Relics Administration of Daoxian County, unearthed five hominin teeth and a large number of mammalian fossils from the Fuyan Cave site in Daoxian County, Hunan Province of China during an excavation carried out in September and October, 2011.

Researchers announced their finding in the latest issue of Acta Anthropologica Sinica 2013, providing new data for the study of human evolution and adaptive behaviour in South China.

Fuyan Cave site, also called Houbeishan cave by local farmers, was initially discovered in 1984.

Teeth similar to Homo sapiens

This excavation was carried out in two trenches in an area of total 20m2. Five hominin teeth and large number of mammalian fossils were unearthed. The general morphological characteristics of the five hominin teeth is quite similar to those of Homo sapiens, and the size of these teeth all falls into the tooth size variation of Chinese modern humans. Thirty nine mammalian species, including some undetermined species, have been recognized, and only a few of them are extinct, e.g. Ailuropoda baconi, Crocuta ultima, Stegodon orientalis, Megatapirus augustus and Sus cf. Australis.

Occupation in Late Pleistocene

Preliminary U-series dating shows that the sediments were formed after 141700±12100 years, and the general feature of the mammalian fauna suggests a late Late Pleistocene age. Therefore, researchers inferred that hominin probably occupied the cave in the Late Pleistocene.

“Our excavation shows the cave has great potential perspectives. Further excavation and laboratory study of cave development, filling sequence, hominin teeth morphology, dating, and environmental change from the Fuyan Cave as well as some adjacent caves will help better understand the human evolution and adaptive behaviour in Southwest Hunan, east Guangxi, and north Guangdong”, said corresponding author Dr. PEI Shuwen of the IVPP.
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References:

Past Horizons. 2013. “New hominin site found in China”. Past Horizons. Posted: May 13, 2013. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/05/2013/new-hominin-site-found-in-china

Ancient teeth provide evidence for early stress

Prehistoric remains are providing strong, physical evidence that people who acquired tooth enamel defects while in the womb or early childhood tended to die earlier, even if they survived to adulthood.

Emory University anthropologist George Armelagos led a systematic review of defects in teeth enamel and early mortality, recently published in Evolutionary Anthropology. The paper is the first summary of prehistoric evidence for the ‘Barker hypothesis’ – the idea that many adult diseases originate during fetal development and early childhood.

The Barker Hypothesis

The Barker hypothesis is named after epidemiologist David Barker, who during the 1980s began studying links between early infant health and later adult health. The theory, also known as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease Hypothesis (DOHaD), has expanded into wide acceptance.

As one of the founders of the field of bioarchaeology, Armelagos studies skeletal remains to understand how diet and disease affected populations. Tooth enamel can give a particularly telling portrait of physiological events, since the enamel is secreted in a regular, ring-like fashion, starting from the second trimester of fetal development. Disruptions in the formation of the enamel, which can be caused by disease, poor diet or psychological stress, show up as grooves on the tooth surface.

Armelagos and other bioarchaeologists have noted the connection between dental enamel and early mortality for years. For the Evolutionary Anthropology paper, Armelagos led a review of the evidence from eight published studies, applying the lens of the Barker hypothesis to remains dating back as far as 1 million years.

"Teeth are like a snapshot into the past,” Armelagos says. “Since the chronology of enamel development is well known, it’s possible to determine the age at which a physiological disruption occurred. The evidence is there, and it’s indisputable.”

Ancient human teeth are telling secrets that may relate to modern-day health: Some stressful events that occurred early in development are linked to shorter life spans.

Specific studies reveal individual stresses

One study of a group of Australopithecines from the South African Pleistocence showed a nearly 12-year decrease in mean life expectancy associated with early enamel defects. In another striking example, remains from Dickson Mounds, Illinois, showed that individuals with teeth marked by early life stress lived 15.4 years less than those without the defects.

“During prehistory, the stresses of infectious disease, poor nutrition and psychological trauma were likely extreme. The teeth show the impact,” Armelagos says.

Until now, teeth have not been analysed using the Barker hypothesis, which has mainly been supported by a correlation between birth weight in modern-day, high-income populations and ailments like diabetes and heart disease.

“The prehistoric data suggests that this type of dental evidence could be applied in modern populations, to give new insights into the scope of the Barker hypothesis,” Armelagos says. “Bioarchaeology is yielding lessons that are still relevant today in the many parts of the world in which infectious diseases and under-nutrition are major killers.”
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References:

Past Horizons. 2012. "Ancient teeth provide evidence for early stress". Past Horizons. Posted: July 30, 2012. Available online: http://www.pasthorizonspr.com/index.php/archives/07/2012/ancient-teeth-provide-evidence-for-early-stress