Dr. Anita Radini is not your average archaeologist. An assistant professor at the School of Archaeology, University College Dublin, she analyzes the tiny remains of dust that collected in the dental plaque of early humans to learn about their work lives and environments.
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For her outstanding work, she won the 2023 Dan David Prize which recognizes the work of archaeologists, as well as historians, digital humanists, curators, and documentary filmmakers.
Q: Before we dive into your work, can you tell us what attracted you to archaeology in the first place?
"I've always been fascinated by the past. I was born and grew up in Rome, where history and archaeology are around you everywhere. The city, one can say, invited me to join this profession. At the age of five, my mum – a teacher – took her pupils to Pompei, the ancient Roman town destroyed by the eruption of Vesuvius. The visit impacted me, stayed with me, and I think I have been obsessed with archaeology ever since."
Q: Since that visit to Pompei, you have worked at many archaeological sites. What does your typical workday look like?
"It's actually really varied. My work involves a lot of experimental archaeology, in the lab and under the microscope. So, some days I spend a lot of time looking down a microscope at slides of ancient residues from teeth or other archaeological objects, like pottery or stone tools. On other days I weave or make things the way they were made in ancient times, to look at the type of dust produced. I also spend a lot of time with craft people in North Africa to better understand their experience. I also read and, of course, I teach too."
Q: Your work stands out as it's not every day that we hear of archaeologists doing research based on dental plaque. How do your friends and family and the people you meet react when you tell them about it?
"People are normally very surprised about the subject of my work. Dental tartar is not exactly what people have in mind when they think about archaeology. I can see how this can come across as unique, but at the end of the day, for me, this is my work.
"As for family and friends, they have always been curious and supportive of my work. My immediate surroundings probably understand it best, because they have my research 'being born.' They were there from the beginning, supporting me."
Q: Tell us more about your work. What areas and eras do you research?
"I am very lucky in that I have worked in many regions of the world: my own country Italy and other countries in Europe and the Balkans, North and East Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, and North America. The oldest sample I studied was over 1 million years old, the most recent was modern. But my focus is on the Roman and Medieval periods."
Q: Speaking of the Middle East, one of your most interesting discoveries – in cooperation with Tel Aviv researchers – shows that early humans suffered from smoke inhalation due to fires and roasting meat in Israel's Qesem cave. How did you come to such an understanding after millennia?
"I prefer to talk about exposure to smoke, rather than suffering. That is what we can evaluate. Smoke was detected by a combination of microparticles of burnt wood and chemicals associated with smoke. The mineralized matrix of dental calculus/tartar can preserve this evidence for millennia. It's quite remarkable. The analysis we conducted revealed charcoal particles and various pieces of evidence regarding the use of plant food. We also identified part of a moth wing, which was literally trapped and covered in tartar."
Q: Incredible indeed. And what do these findings teach us about the lifestyle in Israel at the time?
"We had a glimpse into the diet and exposure to smoke in those days, and the presence of conifers and even butterflies and moths from these finds. It was all discovered in findings from hundreds of thousands of years ago.
"However, it is vital to understand that the best reconstruction of environments and lifestyles come from samples much more recent in date, like the Romans and the Medievals, because there you have many more individuals to sample. This is because we have large populations to study in those periods of time. When it comes to Qesem and other very ancient individuals, we have very few."
Q: Earlier, you mentioned nutrition, and most of us do think that dental plaque comes from food. But there are a significant number of other ways that particles can enter the mouth and be deposited on the teeth, aren't there? How does this process occur?
"Well, first of all, a lot of particles naturally settle on our face and hands from the environment we live in, and they go in the mouth by transfer. Others are in the air we breathe in and out all the time. Some people put objects in their mouth throughout the day, sort of using it as a 'third hand,' which is another way that various particles and bacteria enter the oral cavity. In one of my works, I came across a caveman in Indonesia who destroyed his teeth because he used them to make ropes.
"Dental tartar also entraps fibers such as cotton and flax, so we can see people did use them. I think experimental archaeology is a good way of understanding the amount of knowledge people need to have to turn clay into pottery or metal into objects. Today we might take it for granted, but back then, it was fairly new. Dental tartar can reveal at times the dust of their crafts, but this needs to be evaluated case by case, of course."
Q: And what about our diet? It is probably the most significant way to create tartar in the human mouth.
"Food particles contribute to plaque and the formation of deposits in our mouth. This is, of course, the accepted way that we can all think about. But what is not talked about is that the food we consume contains large amounts of dust. And this is another way for us, as archaeologists, to further understand different environments of life."
Q: And what can be said about the quality of the food in the past? What did early humans eat?
"It depends on the region, but in general, we saw both local food prepared by local residents, and imported food, spices, for instance.
"I think one of the most important pieces of information that dental tartar can give on ancient diets is that people ate plants! This might seem like a small thing, but when we look at our evolutionary past, like in the case of the Qesem cave in Israel, the consumption of plant food is very difficult to see because plant remains do not preserve well. So dental tartar is a precious window into this type of food we rarely have."
Q: In the areas you researched, what did people die from? Were they, overall, healthy?
"This is a very tricky question to answer briefly. It's actually very difficult to tell what people died from unless there is strong evidence of a deadly disease. I also would like to stress that bioarchaeology is a lot about life. We learn more about how people lived than how they died."
Q: Did you find any differences between the diet and lifestyle of men versus women?
"The majority of differences between these types come from the combination of multiple lines of evidence, not just dental tartar. Having said that, archaeology can identify differences between females and males in many aspects of life."
Q: What about the relationships and equality between people at the time?
"I normally study the poorest people of a society. In my doctorate, for example, I was able to say they had access to expensive imported items of food, like spices, which we thought were accessible mainly by the rich. In Victorian times there was evidence of food adulterations, which was very interesting."
Q: What else can dental tartar teach us about people's activities in the past?
"The field of occupational dust in dental tartar is very new, there is a lot to learn. Currently, my research is exactly on this topic – I am trying to understand when we can securely identify a craft from tartar in the teeth. It is a long process because crafts are specific to a location and period of time. Nevertheless, I have great hope to be able to track artists, stone, and textile workers. The tartar formed in their teeth while practicing their skills, which is what allows us to learn about them."
Q: And what would you say are the most dramatic findings you've discovered during your research?
"I would say that my most unique find was lapis lazuli [a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color] dust in a Medieval female skeleton.
"We don't know who she was, possibly a writer who died middle-aged, having lived sometime between 1162-997. Essentially, it's a precious blue gemstone, which humans have used since prehistoric times. We discovered hundreds of particles of this blue pigment in the tartar of that writer. From an archaeological point of view, it showed for the first time the involvement of women in Medieval book production."
Q: That sounds incredible.
"Yes, I myself was amazed when we discovered this."
Q: Throughout your research, have you identified any universal patterns that repeat themselves and characterize people, regardless of the time they lived in?
"Well, one thing that emerged from my work is that we breathe in the tiny particles of the world around us. That is why we need to take great care of the quality and health of our world, as it is part of us and we are part of it.
"Moreover, more conclusions could be drawn from my research. For instance, I would say with certainty that there is a lot of inequality, there is today and was in the past, that is rooted in our professions, in the division of labor, and in the way we value certain skills over others. A kind of occupational inequality that was present here and was part of human life. In this regard, it is important for me to say that every job respects its owner. We need all the diverse skills of human beings to build a society."
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Q: In conclusion, as someone who has seen and studied in depth quite a few sets of teeth, what would you say you see when you look at the teeth of people alive today?
"Teeth and their health are a real window into someone's life and sometimes even genetic background. When I see teeth I see diversity."
Q: And when archaeologists study our teeth hundreds and thousands of years from now, what do you think they will find out about us and our lifestyles?
"This is another really complex question. Our lifestyle, especially the heavily processed food and drinks, are really shaping our teeth including their size. In terms of particles, they will find lots of microplastics."
