New Research Dispels the Myth That Ancient Cultures Had Universally Short Lifespans

[Judi Lynn]

Teeth are key to identifying elderly remains

By Mika McKinnon
smithsonian.com
January 10, 2018

After examining the graves of over 300 people buried in Anglo Saxon English cemeteries between 475 and 625 AD, archaeologist Christine Cave of the Australian National University made a discovery that might surprise you. She found that several of the bodies in the burial grounds were over 75 years old when they died.

Cave has developed a new technique for estimating the age that people died based on how worn their teeth are​. The work is dispelling myths that ancient cultures had universally short lifespans, Stephanie Dalzell reports for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

“Teeth are wonderful things. They can tell us so much about a person, they are simply marvelous,” Cave tells Dalzell.

While archeologists have long been able to estimate the age at time of death for younger people based on their skeletal development, techniques for dating older people have been inconsistent. “When you are determining the age of children you use developmental points like tooth eruption or the fusion of bones that all happen at a certain age,” Cave explains in a statement released by the university. But because the degradation from aging impacts skeletons in such a diverse range of ways, it’s harder to come up with a single universal comparison point.

Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smartnews-history-archaeology/identifying-elderly-remains-just-got-easier-180967789/#GVVC2VQzDIjlM7Fk.99