Resumen de Marcas de Desgaste Dentario Ritual en el Período Bizantino de Oxirrinc (Minia, Egipto)
Bibiana Agustí i Farjas, Esther Pons Mellado, Caroline Ahlström Arcini
- español
La excavación de los niveles bizantinos de la Necrópolis Alta de Oxirrinc ha proporcionado en los últimos años varias series antropológicas de época bizantina (siglos V-VIII), con un volumen de más de 380individuos (Codina, 2009) (Agustí, 2012-2015). En las muestras estudiadas durante los últimos años ha llamado nuestra atención el caso de un individuo adulto masculino que murió en el estadio maduro entre 25-40 años (OXI 07 UE23115/EN23114).El interés en dar a conocer este individuo reside en que presenta unas marcas de abrasión de la cara vestibular del esmalte dental de los incisivos superiores izquierdos. Se trata de bandas horizontales, paralelas y superficiales, visibles macroscópicamente y de distintas profundidades. Las bandas son más profundas en la pieza dental 21 que en la 22. El incisivo lateral izquierdo presenta una fractura distal de la corona en forma de muesca que no tiene relación con las marcas horizontales. Estas marcas de desgaste difieren absolutamente de la abrasión causada por una disposición anómala de los maxilares o de los trazos funcionales que dejan algunas actividades laborales. El resto de las piezas dentales presenta un desgaste oclusal leve, asociado a la masticación. Su localización y morfología parecen responder a una maniobra de repetición.
- English
The Byzantine layers of the archaeological site of the High Necropolis in Oxyrrhyn chushave provided us in the last few years several anthropological series from Byzantine times (V-VII centuries A.D.) comprising more than 380 individuals (Codina, 2009) (Agustí, 2012-2015). These individuals were buried according to the customs of this period: the corpses were treated with balsam and wrapped in clothshrouds, protected with an exterior wrapping made of layers of palm leaves, and then placed inside crypts built of mudbricks. Between samples studied in recent years, one male individual particularly struck our attention. The relevant individual died when he was between 25-4O years old (OXI 07 UE23115/EN23114) (Pons, 2007) (Agustí, 2014). There a son for our interest is the abrasion marks that he has on the vestibular surface of the dental enamel of his upper left incisors. These marks are horizontal, parallel superficial bands, of diferent depths, which can be seen macroscopically/with the naked eye. The bands are deeper in incisor 21 than in 22. The lateral left incisor has a distal fracture of the crown in the form of a vestibular notch, that has no relation with the horitzontal marks. These erosion marks are totally diferent from the abrasion caused by an abnormal arrangement of the maxillary bones or the funcional features resultin from some work activities. Their location and morphology would seem to correspond to some kind of repeat edaction. This discovery is an isolated finding in the High Necropolis of this archaeological site. The rest of the teeth found only show the normal slight occlussal wear associated. We believe that the most coherent interpretation of this finding atthisstage is one which pòsits anaesthetic (cosmetic) or ritual activity as the cause. The fact that this case is unique in our set of sample sand the absence of bibliographical references with parallel cases has led us to present it to the scientific community for discussion.
