Knowledge Bank

Along the Georgia coast from the Middle Woodland to the Mississippian period (AD 1 – AD 1500), habitation sites increase in frequency and become denser and more clustered. In addition, it appears that the general pattern is for the site locations to shift towards coastal margins. This study explores the nature of change in the frequency of dental caries, linking trends with shifts in population density and the adoption of maize agriculture. The data set includes counts of carious lesions from a large series of skeletal remains from the Georgia bight. Using comparative statistical analyses including regression models, the data set is examined in order to determine relationships between the frequency of dental caries, settlement, and subsistence shifts in this setting of the American Southeast. This research has the potential to contribute to a broader understanding of the effects of shifts in subsistence and settlement patterns and for drawing inferences about biocultural adaptation in coastal environments.