May I, as a lurker, ask if the subject of teeth has been considered? May one of the reasons for early death have been lack of the necessary teeth to process food and in the later European Palaeolithic at least,skins and sinews. Worn down and uncared for teeth would also be liable to form abscesses which, I presume could be fatal. The teeth of people living on grain processed with rough stone querns would also be very worn it would seem,are there any statistics on this available? Would better tooth care since the 1920's be a factor in the present day longer life in the present day North American population. ME Emberson MA Hons Prehistoric Archaeology (Edin) [log in to unmask]