Doctoral Dissertation Research: Weaning practices, subsistence strategies, and skeletal growth and development

Suny At Buffalo, Amherst NY

Investigators

Abstract

The human skeleton is capable of plastic responses to biomechanical pressures, including those associated with chewing. This doctoral dissertation project examines relationships between dietary patterns and skeletal characteristics through analysis of pre-industrial populations with various weaning and subsistence practices. The research advances insights about biocultural factors that may influence skeletal growth and development in our species, including factors affecting dental alignment and function. The project fosters graduate student training of a female scientist, dissemination of findings including to clinical audiences, science education and curriculum development for students, and public science communication through popular science outlets. While researchers have found differences in face and jaw shape with differing subsistence strategies, the effects of weaning practices and the biomechanical effects of suckling are not well understood. Additionally, modern infant behavior such as thumb-sucking, bottle-feeding and early termination of breastfeeding are implicated in the rise of dental malocclusions, suggesting that shifts in weaning practices that are thought to have occurred with the advent of farming may be partially responsible for the increase in modern dental occlusion problems. This project investigates associations between facial morphology, weaning practices, and subsistence strategies, using cranial and mandibular 3D scan data. The project also seeks to assess the association between weaning/subsistence behavior and dental occlusion patterns by quantifying dental occlusion using modern orthodontic criteria. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.