iMi:M()ii{S of TiiK NATioNAi. A(".\1)i;mv of scikncfs. 



201 



W.' liiivi'seli'ftcil a scries. if J-J skulls of tlicsDcalliMl Momnl Uiiildcis of tli<' -Mississipi.i Valley. 

 These liave lu-eii enllected lor the most part in Illinois, Kcniiicky, Tennessee, and Wisroiisin. 

 Whether or not they represent a hoin ijjenoiis rare has not lieen accurately determined; but it 

 appears to hv pretty well established that they lived larfjely upon the products of the soil of which 

 maize formed the chief staple. It is also i)robable that they subsist<'d to a certain extent upon lisii 

 and siimw, but it is believed that tiiey weie tillers of the soil rather than liunters. An exainina 

 tion of this series reveals 1(5, or about .'JS per cent, in which caries is ]»resent. Of the remainiiif,' L'O, 

 in 4 cases there was ante mortem loss with obliteration of the alveoli which, if duo to decay, would 

 increase the percentage to about -17. 



Passing imw to the California ('oust Indians we find a people whose diet jjrobably consisted 

 largily of tisii, although it is well known that berries, grass seeds, acorns, and various vegetable 

 substances formed a part of their food. In this series of ;?S skulls 5, or over 13 per cent, exhibit 

 dental caries. 



Of the dwellers of the open jdaiiis we include .U skulls of the Sionx. As is well known these 

 people have lived for many generations upon an almost purely animal diet. The Buffalo, until re- 

 cently furnished tiieir chief staple of food, very little vegetable substance being consumed. Among 

 this number but .1, nearly 9 per cent, out of 34, show any caries. These skulls were gathered over 

 twenty years ago while game was still abundant in the Sioux country. Those with carious teeth 

 are all from eastern bands who had, even then, begun to use the food of white people to some 

 extent. 



Lastly we come to the Alaskan Imlians. who were probably the most exclu.sively carnivorous 

 peoide in existence except the Eskimo. Out of 42 skulls examined we have failed to find a 

 single case of caries, although abscess and premature loss of teeth are present in 8 cases. 

 We ai"e inclined to believe that abscess and premature loss of teeth is more due to accident 

 and violence than decay. It has often been nt)ted of these people that the teeth are exten.sively 

 used as a sort of vise for many oiierations, and it would not be at all surprising if they sustained 

 occasional iujnries leading to the formation of abscess and not infrequent loss. 



With this evidence before us it can not said that a meat diet is injurious to the teeth or a 

 vegetable diet especially beneficial. 



Table P. — Dental caries among different American peoples. 



Deformity. — The malposition of the teethor deformity of the dental arch is of very fre<iuent 

 occurrence in the skulls of the Salado Valley peojde. Out of .30 .skulls it is found to a greater or 

 le.ss extent in Ki, making over .j3 per cent. If we divide them up into inci.stir, cuspid, bicuspid, 

 and molar deformities we find that there are nine cases of malposition of rhe incisors, six in 

 which the cusjiids are attected, five of the bicusjiids, and three of the molar.s. There is one 

 interesting case in which the canine of the left side had been displaced (mt ward by the persist- 

 ence of a milk tooth occupying a ])osition between tlic lateral incisor and the first bicuspid. 



There are many of these cases of deformity associated with (;aries of the teeth, more especially 

 in those situations favorable to the lodgment of particles of food. Deformity ajijjcars to have 

 been a fruitful cause of decay. 



Among the rcruvian.s, out of (S~> .skulls we are able to find only 7, or ncaily 11 per cent, in 

 which there was any deformity of the dental arch. In these skulls the arch is well roundeil and 

 the teeth are very regular, resembling in this respect the form of arch displayed by the Alaskans. 



