Enamel hypoplasia in Northeast China: Evidence from Houtaomuga

This study explores the dental expression of stress episodes in this period. Our results show overall 72.73% of the individuals examined (40/55) exhibited linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH). Additional data from labial/buccal casts from 105 teeth of 30 individuals from the upper level of the site reveal the duration of growth disruption, counted as numbers of perikymata in the occlusal wall of each hypoplastic defect, ranged from 2 to 14. Stress episodes, calculated as ranging from 17 to 28 days at the low end to 98 to 154 days for the longer duration events, are consistent with values reported from sites in other parts of the world. Examination of anterior permanent teeth for LEH also indicates that infants and children of Houtaomuga experienced extremely high levels of stress, sufficient to affect the developing teeth of almost all the inhabitants. In future examination of enamel hypoplasia of the pastoralists from the Neolithic levels of the site can provide time depth for this study of population stress, and facilitate our understanding of the changes in lifeways and adaptive strategies across subsistence transitions and climate change in Northeast China.