MKMOIK'S OK TIIK NATIONAL ACADKMV Ol" SCI KNCKS. H>9 



this ill aiH.tlicr way. 'I'lic sii Itlu' iiiiiiihcrs nf Dnliiialioii oniic lii-licr (-kciI liallOf tlit- serii's 



is littlf iiiiirc tliaii liail'tlio sum oltlu' aiialoj;oiis iiiiiiilu'is nf the Iciwri farcil lialC, llic proportion 

 heiiiR ">t>.17 : HKI. The most abfiraiit palate in tlie liisl half is that of skull II. I!»; the most aber- 

 rant in the seeoml half is that of sl<nll II. 5. 



.V list <)r])alatin(^ (le])tlisis jjiven in Table L. 



Dr. ti. V. Hhu'k in the introdiietion to bis article on "Dental Caries"* ob.serves that "caries 

 'of the teeth has been known in all historic ajjes of the world, and wherever prehistoric human 

 remains have been discovered traces of this disease have been found. It seems to be and to have 

 been universal in the sense of affecting all nations and tribes of the human race. • • • It has 

 been thoufjht that the savajre races were not so much afHicteil as the civilized, but my own study 

 of the remains of ancient penples will not bear out this oiiinion. This research has, however, been 

 limiteil within conqjaratively narrow bounds — too narrow, perhaps, to serve as the basis of con- 

 clusions. Unfortunately the literature of the subject furnishes no data that are of much value in 

 this direction, but what there are strongly support the statements made above. • • • The 

 studies I have been able to make in this direction incUcate that the races of men that have eaten 

 largely of acid fruits have had less decay of the teeth than those who have been debarred by 

 their position or climate from the use of sucli articles of food. Generally those tribes that have 

 subsisted largely upon tlesh and grain have suffered more from caries than those that have had a 

 more exclusively vegetable or fruit diet. Our knowledge upon this point is, however, too meager 

 to warrant any lengthy discussion of it." 



In the following study of the, teetli of the ancient inhabitants of the Salado Valley we have 

 taken occasion to make accurate notes not only of caries but also of all deformities of the dental 

 arch, as well as the tuberculation of the superior molars. The materials afforded are fairly abun- 

 dant and quite suflicieut to institute an extended com])arisou in these respects with other races, 

 with whose remains the Army Medical Museum is so well jirovided. Unfortunately the materials 

 illustrative of those races whose diet consists exclusively of vegetables and fruits are not abundant 

 in our collections, and it has been deemed best to limit the comparisons to peoi)les subsisting 

 almost wholly ui)on flesh or upon a more mixed class of food. The series selected for this purpose 

 are as follows: A series of the Alaskan Indians, whose dietetic habits are well known and who 

 afford an excellent example of an almost exclusively carnivorous race; an unusually large series 

 of ancient dwellers of the Pacific coast region in the vicinity of Santa Barbara, whose food was, 

 in all probability, of a somewhat mixed character; a good series of skulls of Sioux, who furnish 

 a typical example of the carnivorous tribes of the plains; a series of the so-called mound-builders 

 of the Mississippi valley; and a series of the ancient Peruvians, who lived largely on vegetable 

 food. 



It is proper to state in this connection that only individuals at or below middle life have been 

 selected, since in those races where the wear is rapid, owing, perhaps, to giit contained in the 

 food, the pulp cavity is soon exposed, or the nutrition of the tooth is affected and disease is setup 

 which can not be attributed, projierly sjjcaking, to jiremature decay or caries. We have taken as 

 a mark of middle life the bony union or synostosis of the cranial sutures, either the sagittal or 

 coronal, and there can be little doubt that it is usually exjjressive of an age of forty or fifty years 

 Accurate comparisons beyond this limit are difficult, if not imjiossible, and are therefore not 

 attempted. 



The Saladoaus, so far as we are able to judge, were a sedentary people, who dwelt in cities 

 and subsisted almost wholly upon the jiroducts of the soil, which they extensively cultivated. 

 Indian corn, sciuash, and other vegetable products must liavi? formed the chief article of their diet, 

 although the i)resence of charred animal remains in the ruins of their cities indicate that flesh was 

 occasionally consumed. That their remains are pre-Columbian, and that their occupancy of the 

 Salado Valley extended over many generations ajjpear to be well-establi.shed facts. As explained 

 in our introduction, it h.is been pn-tty clearly shown that some of the modern Pueblos are very 



* American Bysteni of Dentistry, Pliiladulpliia, 1886, vol. 1, p. 730. 



