About diet and diseases ancient ancestors tell plaque

At excavations in Germany were found the remains of people who died more than 1000 years ago. Scientists believe that the well-preserved skeletons of plaque on the teeth can reveal the secret of the medieval diet and disease.

plaque

What people eat 1000 years ago and suffered from any disease? The answer to this question can only with the help of old books. But excavations in Dalhayme German scientists discovered the remains of people who have died 10 centuries ago. And some of the teeth remained hardened plaque Which contains a lot of valuable information.

Experts have called this "microbial Pompeii" because the plaque preserved for centuries bacteria and microscopic particles on the surface of the teeth, forming something like the tomb of minerals. It turned out that our ancestors suffered from gum disease, which causes the same bacteria that attack and our contemporaries. This is despite the fact that over 1000 years of human diet and health has undergone significant changes.

In the mouth, the inhabitants of the Middle Ages already had the genetic tools for the development of resistance to antibiotics, even though these drugs are invented only in the 1940s. DNA analysis of tartar allowed to know some features of the power of our ancestors. Researchers from the University of York, together with colleagues from Switzerland and Denmark are going to continue the study of the ancient plaque To get more information about the style of life of the people of the Middle Ages.

This can help in figuring out how the evolution of bacteria in the mouth of man, shed light on the origin of gum disease, which is extremely rare in animals in the wild. Therefore, there is a theory that the disease - a consequence of the modern style of life. (READ MORE)

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