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July 18 (UPI) – Archaeologists have developed a new technique for badyzing tooth scale. The most recent research on tartar of ancient teeth suggests that the mineralized residue may provide insights into the diet of the first Britons.
Tartar is a plaque mineralized by components of saliva. Hardened "dental calculus" can trap the proteins found in the foods we eat.
Previous research has shown that milk proteins can survive in tartar for thousands of years, but the latest research shows the various dietary proteins including plant proteins can persist – chemically intact – at Inside the tartar of the archeological teeth.
The new findings, published this week in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, suggest looking more closely at dental remains to help archaeologists. "This approach may be particularly useful in the detection of poorly studied vegetative plants. particularly in areas where macrobotanic remains are not conserved, "said Camilla Speller, an archaeologist at the University of York. Release. "It can offer a more accurate method of identifying food products compared to other methods such as old DNA and isotope badysis as it helps distinguish different crops and cultures. indicate if people are consuming dairy products. "
concept experiment, the researchers badyzed 100 archaeological scale samples found across Great Britain. Scientists also badyzed the calculus of 14 dental patients and recent deaths. More than a third of the samples gave recognizable dietary protein.
"In the teeth that we observe in people who lived around the Victorian era, we identified vegetable proteins, including oats, peas and vegetables from the cabbage family. Speller said. "Sometimes we find evidence of milk and oats in the same mouth – I like to think that it is porridge!"
Modern tartar samples contain apple protein of earth, soy and peanut.
"Although there are still many things we do not know, it's exciting because it shows that archaeological dental calculus contains food information, including food products that usually do not survive. not in archeological sites, "explains Jessica Hendy. Max Planck Institute in Germany
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