Estimating age by tooth wear of prehistoric human remains in Brazilian archaeological sites

The occlusal surfaces of 298 permanent maxillary and mandibular molar teeth of prehistoric shellfish-gatherer subjects from the Piacaguera and Tenorio sites (4930 to 1875 BP), near the central-northern coastline of Sao Paulo, Brazil, were examined for classification of macro-wear stages. Molar tooth wear is an indication of masticatory activity and can be used in the estimation of age at death. The examination of visual and schematic aspects of occlusal macro-wear used a visual chart proposed by Brothwell, which includes the three superior and inferior, left and right, permanent molars. Three examiners performed the macroscopic observations twice under the same conditions. The resulting age estimates were compared with previous information of age estimated by skeletal examination. A reduced intra- and interobserver variation was observed; all re-examinations indicated discrepancies of less than two years for the upper and lower limit of the age range estimates. The procedure was also considered consistent with the skeletal method used for age estimation of human remains excavated in Brazilian archaeological shell mounds, with a discrepancy of less than 8.22 years between the upper and lower limits of estimates by both methods. Age classification by the occlusal molar wear may be a useful tool for the classification of archaeological findings, mainly when only fragmentary skeletal remains are excavated. The current results indicate that the application of the Brothwell chart for Brazilian archaeological series presented satisfactory results of consistency, and its expanded use may represent a relevant adjunct for research. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.