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The Find of Human Deciduous Tooth in the Dvoinaya Cave (North-West Caucasus)

Zubova A.V. (1,2), Kulkov A.M. (3), Leonova E.V. (4), Dobrovolskaya M.V. (4)

1) Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (Kunstkamera), Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya Nab. 3, 199034, St. Petersburg, Russia; 2) Institute of archaeology and ethnography Siberian branch of Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrentieva av., 17, 630090, Novosibirsk, Russia; 3) St.-Petersburg State University, Research Centre for X-ray Diffraction Studies, Universitetskaya Nab. 7-9, St. Petersburg, 199034, Russia; 4) Institute of Archaeology, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117036, st. Dm. Ulyanova, 19, Moscow, Russia

Zubova Alisa Vladimirovna, PhD; ORCID ID 0000-0002-7981-161X; zubova_al@mail.ru; Kul’kov Aleksandr Michaylovich, ORCID ID: 0000-0002-2001-2231; aguacrystals@yandex.ru; Leonova Elena Viktorovna, PhD; ORCID ID: 0000-0002-7343-5422; lenischa@yandex.ru; Dobrovol’skaya Mariya Vsevolodovna, D.Sci.; ORCID ID: 0000-0001-9695-4199; mk_pa@mail.ru.

Abstract

The article presents the first results of the analysis of a fragment of a human tooth from Dvoinaia Cave. Materials and methods. Dvoinaya Cave is the stone age site situated in the foothills of the Northern slopes of the north-western Caucasus (Skalisty [Rocky] ridge) (Mostovskoy district of Krasnodar region) at an elevation of 46 meters above the water level of the Gubs River (803 m above the sea level). The site was occupied by humans from the end of Upper Palaeolithic to Early Mesolithic and Late Mesolithic and thus covers the time span dated from about 13 to 8,5 ka C14 (uncalibrated). Results and discussion. A small fragment (size 5,5 х 3,7 х 4,2 mm) of human upper left deciduous first molar was found near the mouth of the cave in the Late Mesolithic layer (about 8,8-8,9 ka). The tooth belonged to a juvenile individual around 10-11 years old and probably was naturally lost during the life of the child. The crown is badly erased with the roots almost completely resorbed. The analysis of texture of the occlusal surface showed line and pit-like scratches formed probably as a result of consuming meat and bones. Tartar deposits and caries are absent. This fact suggests that the individual’s diet included predominantly animal protein and low carbohydrate content. These data are indirectly confirmed by finding of mammals’ bones and a huge number of shells of terrestrial mollusks Helix sp.

Keywords

anthropology; archaeology; Stone Age; Late Mesolithic; diet; Russia

DOI: 10.32521/2074-8132.2018.4.077-081

Цит.: Zubova A.V., Kulkov A.M., Leonova E.V., Dobrovolskaya M.V. The Find of Human Deciduous Tooth in the Dvoinaya Cave (North-West Caucasus) // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2018; 4/2018; с. 77-81