Liang Bua

This paper focus on chewing betel quid habit that dominantly happen in the Asia to Pacific region. Betel quid leaves traces of reddish-brown colour on the teeth. It is identified that dental stain was very common on teeth of prehistoric skeletal remains, for example in Thailand and Vietnam. Several studies have shown that chewing betel nut can cause diseases in the teeth and oral cavity. The purpose of this study is to describe the relationship between betel nut chewing and the emergence of tooth pathology in teeth from the prehistoric population from Lewoleba and Liang Bua. Ten individuals were observed using the macroscopic method. The results showed that consumption of betel nut (based on dental stains) was followed by attrition, periodontitis and even antemortem tooth loss.

ABSTRAK Mengkonsumsi sirih pinang adalah kebiasaan di wilayah Asia hingga Pasifik. Sirih pinang menyisakan jejak warna coklat kemerahan (dental stain) pada gigi geligi. Dental stain banyak diidentifikasi pada gigi geligi sisa rangka prasejarah, misalnya di Thailand dan Vietnam. Beberapa penelitian menunjukkan bahwa mengunyah sirih pinang dapat mengakibatkan penyakit pada gigi dan rongga mulut. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah untuk mendeskripsikan hubungan mengkonsumsi sirih pinang dengan timbulnya patologi gigi geligi pada gigi geligi dari rangka prasejarah masyarakat Lewoleba dan Liang Bua. Sebanyak 10 individu diperiksa dengan menggunakan metode makroskopik. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa konsumsi sirih pinang (berdasarkan dental stain) diikuti dengan atrisi, periodontitis bahkan antemortem tooth loss.

Liang Bua 3 (LB/3) is one of the individuals of the human skeletal remains which are found in the Liang Bua site, Manggarai, Flores Island. Antiquity of LB/3 refers to the Neolithic transition. Condition of skeletal remains of LB/3 is not complete, though still some parts can be investigated. The aim of this study is to describe the pathological conditions in the remnants of LB/3 which can be identified on the vertebrae, the cervical 5 and 6, and lumbar 3 and 4. We applied macroscopic and pathological identification method of Ortner. The results showed the morphological anomalies in the 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae suspected osteoarthritis (OA), and lytic lesions in the 4th lumbar vertebrae allegedly as a result of myeloma. This finding is important information that osteoarthritis and myeloma has evolved in humans from the past. Understanding of these findings can complement the historical development of the disease, especially in Indonesia. This is an aspect of contribution of human paleoanthropological and paleobiological study for the purposes of science today.

Aim. The aim of this scientific study was to delineate tooth wear captured in part of anterior mandible of individual remains as a result of excavation done in several sites such as in Liang Bua, Lewoleba, and Melolo of East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia. The focus of the investigation was to identify the pattern of tooth wear on mandibular incisors. Materials and Method. The investigation was carried out upon seven mandibles of individuals excavated from the three sites. Macroscopic observation was occupied to identify the stages of tooth wear and wear type on mandibular incisors. Result. The result depicts high level of stages of occlusal surface wear and oblique wear type on incisors of subjects acquired from Liang Bua, Lewoleba, and Melolo. Conclusion. Such evidence implies that the occurrence of high level of stages of occlusal surface wear can be indicated to have correlation with meat based diet. Meanwhile, the occurrence of oblique tooth wear suggests its correlation with an activity of chewing 'Sirih Pinang' or betel-nut chewing, a kind of betel vine popularly done by individual dwelling in those areas. Also, an indication of intentional dental modification upon incisors was found on subjects acquired from both Liang Bua and Lewoleba.