126 R. F. SOGNNAES 



had an etched appearance. When the teeth were stained in toto 

 with carmine or similar dyes, such etched regions were easily pene- 

 trated l^v the stain. This condition was quite common on the ce- 

 mentum surface and was the only definite postmortem change found 

 in the enamel. Occasionally this process had advanced to a point 

 where it became grossly visible, the appearance being as if the sur- 

 face had been etched. Histologically, these lesions were irregular, as 

 shown in Figs. 23 and 24, unlike the diffuse etching produced by an 

 even exposure of a tooth surface to acid. It is interesting to note in 

 this connection that all the cementum and dentin may occasionally 

 be entirely lost as a result of the postmortem canals described above, 

 leaving complete shells of enamel as the only bodily remains in the 

 burial ground. 



Distribution of the Postmortem Changes 



All together about two-thirds of the exhumed teeth exhibited one 

 or more of the three aforementioned types of postmortem disintegra- 

 tion ( Table III ) . 



The penetrating canals proved to be the most frequently found 

 type of destruction. In the Greek material about 60 per cent of the 

 affected teeth were invaded from the external cementum surface 

 ("external canals"), 70 per cent from the pulpal or internal dentin 



TABLE III. I'osTMORTEM Erosions in Exhumed Human Teeth 

 (From data of Sognnaes, 1955) 



