Carbohydrate-rich diet and tooth decay at Taforalt
Dieta rica en carbohidratos y caries en Taforalt
- Date
- c. 15-13 ka · confidence medium
- Place
- Grotte des Pigeons, Taforalt, Berkane, Morocco
- Credited to
- Iberomaurusian hunter-gatherers
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
In the Taforalt necropolis more than half the teeth show caries, a rate typical of farmers. It was caused by acorns, pine nuts and other wild plants processed and eaten regularly (Humphrey et al., 2014).
Burial dates fall between c. 15 and 13 ka cal. BP. The same site yielded Iberomaurusian ancient DNA in 2018, showing ancestry related to Natufians and sub-Saharan populations.
What it led to
- demonstration that reliance on starchy wild plants long predates agriculture
- revision of the link between diet, oral health and sedentism
- a North African Epipalaeolithic reference for the study of farming origins