Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 82. (Budapest 1990)

Fóthi, E. ; Pap, I.: Changes of way of life during the 6-12th centuries in the territory of Hungary

In the period between the 6th and the 10th centuries as well as in the ll-12th centuries dentition permanently kept on deteriorating and body composition became more and more gracile. These changes are evidently correlated to the more and more dominant settled way of life, to transition to plant cultivation, as a result of these to the modifications in the composition of diet

. The main food of half-nomadic populations was some sort of meat. Protein changes the pH of the mouth toward a more alkaline character and this weakens the activity of cariogenetic bacteria (HILLSON 1979). The settled way of life combined with the transition to plant cultivating agriculture altered the diet of the populations just in the opposite direction by decreasing the ratio of animal protein within the diet while increasing the consumption of carbohydrates. Naturally all these ratios could be interpreted in a strictly relative sense within the diet and we must not forget the different nature of protein and carbohydrate sources compared to the food of more recent centuries. For a rough example just think of an environment with no sugar but with honey to sweeten any dish. The decomposition of carbohydrates started already in the mouth cavity and it made the pH of the salivary acidic, creating a friendly environment for cariogenetic bacteria. A grain-based diet demands much less chewing and therefore it produces much less salivary than a meatoased diet. With less salivary the mouth cavity is a more suitable environment for the creation of plaque on the dental surfaces. A mouth with plaque on the teeth is a most suitable environment for cariogenetic bacteria (LUCASPOWELL 1985). Body composition dramatically and spectacularly reflected the changes of nutrition. The long bones of settled populations are generally longer but thinner that is more gracile. DEBETZ (1961) interpreted gracilization as an indicator of the transition to plant cultivation. As it is widely accepted the consumption of full value proteins results in a more robust body composition. Environmental factors have twice as much effect on stature as gene complex has TANNER (1962). Cranial characteristics are deeper rooted and more fixed genetically, then postcranial ones and therefore they are less dependent on diet. Craniological differences are indicators of ethnic differences (FÓTHI & FÓTHI, in press). At first sight the data of the Kornye population seemed to contradict the general trend but in fact they supported it. This population was considered an early Avar group according to its grave goods, dated to the end of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh centuries. However Kornye bore strong similarity to the La Tene, Roman and German series of the neighbouring regions as TÓTH (1971) pointed it out by comparative morphometric analysis. Therefore this population could well represent the survival of an autochthonous, settled population in the Carpathian Basin. Their extremely poor dental conditions and their gracility both seem to prove their settled status. We found an interesting juncture between the trends of physique and oral pathological conditions. The outstanding early Avar series of Tiszavasvári and the Conquest period one of Tiszafüred had the same peaks in body physique and the same lowest values in oral pathologies (Figs 2 and 3). It is evident from the craniological analysis that the population of Tiszavasvári had no analogy at all within the sample analyzed. It clearly indicates that the extreme results of the examination of various anthropological characteristics could also be traced back to some genetic background. However we supposed that the extreme dental pathological and body composition characteristics of Tiszavasvári could be better explained by nutritional factors . We found that the anthropological material reflected the social changes from half-nomadic pastoralism to an agricultural system. The anthropological results followed the same fluctuating trend of ups and downs producing an evident decrease only in the long run - as BRAUDEL (1985) introduced it for the historical and demographic changes of the Middle Ages in general. Of course no close and direct parallel can be set between given historical events and changes in health and body constitution but really important historical changes nevertheless left their marks on the populations.