Craniomandibular trauma and tooth loss in northern dogs and wolves: implications for the archaeological study of dog husbandry and domestication

TY - JOUR

T1 - Craniomandibular trauma and tooth loss in northern dogs and wolves

T2 - implications for the archaeological study of dog husbandry and domestication

AU - Losey, Robert J.

AU - Jessup, E.

AU - Nomokonova, T.

AU - Sablin, M.

N1 - Funding: Funding for this project was provided by an ERC Advanced Grant (#295458) to Dr. David Anderson, University of Aberdeen (http://erc.europa.eu). Financial support to Mikhail V. Sablin was provided by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant 13-04-00203; http://www.rfbr.ru/rffi/ru). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

PY - 2014

Y1 - 2014

N2 - Archaeological dog remains from many areas clearly show that these animals suffered tooth fractures, tooth loss, trauma, and dental defects during their lives. Relatively little research has explored the meanings of these patterns, particularly for ancient dog remains from small-scale societies of the North. One limiting issue is the lack of comparative data on dental health and experiences of trauma among northern wolves and dogs. This paper examines tooth loss, tooth fracture, enamel hypoplasia, and cranial trauma in a large sample of historic dog and wolf remains from North America and Northern Russia. The data indicate that the dogs more commonly experienced tooth loss and tooth fracture than the wolves, despite reportedly being fed mostly soft foods such as blubber and fish. The higher rates observed in the dogs likely is a result of food stress and self-provisioning through scavenging. The ability to self-provision was likely important for the long-term history of dog use in the north. Dogs also more commonly experienced cranial fractures than wolves, particularly depression fractures on their frontal bones, which were likely the result of blows from humans. Hypoplastic lesions are rare in both wolves and dogs, and probably result from multiple causes, including food stress, disease, and trauma.

AB - Archaeological dog remains from many areas clearly show that these animals suffered tooth fractures, tooth loss, trauma, and dental defects during their lives. Relatively little research has explored the meanings of these patterns, particularly for ancient dog remains from small-scale societies of the North. One limiting issue is the lack of comparative data on dental health and experiences of trauma among northern wolves and dogs. This paper examines tooth loss, tooth fracture, enamel hypoplasia, and cranial trauma in a large sample of historic dog and wolf remains from North America and Northern Russia. The data indicate that the dogs more commonly experienced tooth loss and tooth fracture than the wolves, despite reportedly being fed mostly soft foods such as blubber and fish. The higher rates observed in the dogs likely is a result of food stress and self-provisioning through scavenging. The ability to self-provision was likely important for the long-term history of dog use in the north. Dogs also more commonly experienced cranial fractures than wolves, particularly depression fractures on their frontal bones, which were likely the result of blows from humans. Hypoplastic lesions are rare in both wolves and dogs, and probably result from multiple causes, including food stress, disease, and trauma.

KW - Craniomandibular Trauma

KW - Dogs

KW - Wolves

KW - Domestication

KW - Tooth Loss

U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0099746

DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0099746

M3 - Article

VL - 9

JO - PloS ONE

JF - PloS ONE

SN - 1932-6203

IS - 6

M1 - e99746

ER -