New discovery of the origin of dental disease in prehistoric people

Eating nuts and head fruits is a major cause of dental disease in prehistoric people.

This is a study by a group of British scientists published in the journal of the National Academy of Sciences in the US on January 6.

According to the expert group, fermentable carbohydrate content in nuts is the cause of tooth decay, bad breath and many other dental diseases.

The conclusion is based on the study of jaw surgery of the Iberomaurusian prehistoric people found in the Taforalt cave in Morocco.

Eating nuts is a major cause of dental disease in prehistoric people.(Photo: phys.org)

Scientists used mass spectrometry accelerators (a technique used to measure and find components of a substance) to determine the age of the remains and microscopes to identify real fossils. The object found in 52 teeth of an adult prehistoric man.

The study found "unbelievably high rates , " about 51%, of bone condition in the Iberomaurusian prehistoric teeth.

According to London's Museum of Natural History Louise Humphrey, this is the first time scientists have discovered the Iberomaurusian eating habits and also the oldest evidence of early agricultural activity. of African hunting-gathering community.

The new finding also demonstrated that the occurrence of dental disease in human history was much earlier (several thousand years) than the long-standing view of the scientific community that the disease began to appear around 10,000. years ago, in agricultural civilization when people began to use processed food.

The Iberomaurusians living in Taforalt about 13,000-15,000 years ago, described as a highly evolved community that organized rituals to bury the dead, used grinding stones to prepare food and had gathering and storing activities. dried.