Bronze Age populations at Nahal Refaim experienced worsening dental health during the Middle Bronze I period, followed by signs of recovery in Middle Bronze II, according to a new study of dental remains. Increased tooth wear, enamel hypoplasia, and calculus suggest dietary stress during the village’s early role supplying urban Jerusalem, while later improvements reflect growing prosperity.
The study, published in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology by Eva Chocholova (Masaryk University), Patricia Smith (Hebrew University), Emmanuel Eisenberg (Israel Antiquities Authority), and Liora Kolska Horwitz (Hebrew University), analyzed 1108 teeth and alveoli from tombs spanning the Intermediate Bronze (IB), Middle Bronze I (MBI), and Middle Bronze II (MBII) periods.
“We found that the pattern of dental pathology varied in a nonlinear fashion over time,” the authors wrote. Severe tooth wear, increased dental calculus, and higher caries rates appeared in MBI, while enamel hypoplasia—evidence of childhood stress—was highest in the earlier IB phase.
Tooth wear was most severe in MBI, where 15.8% of permanent teeth were heavily worn, compared to lower levels in IB and MBII. “The MBI had significantly higher wear in permanent teeth compared to MBII (p = 0.0413),” the authors reported. Caries increased from 0% in IB to 6.4% in MBI and 5.9% in MBII, with most cases affecting molars.
Enamel hypoplasia affected 87.5% of IB teeth, 77% of MBI, and 80.4% of MBII. The researchers suggested this reflected dietary and environmental stress during childhood. “The severity and extent of enamel hypoplasia that characterized the IB population at Nahal Refaim suggests that they suffered more from developmental disturbances,” the authors wrote.
The study linked these shifts to broader socioeconomic changes, including the village’s integration into the urban economy of Jerusalem. The later MBII phase showed reduced tooth wear and hypoplasia, along with wealthier burial goods. “The dental health status of the MBII population suggests a more nutritious, less abrasive diet,” the authors concluded, “compatible with our understanding of a positive association between prosperity and access to dietary resources”.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
