This research utilizes dental health data from three archaeological sites from the Middle Horizon (AD 400-1000) period in the Atacama oases of northern Chile: Coyo 3, Quitor 6, Solcor 3 elite, and Solcor 3 non-elite. The Middle Horizon is characterized in the Andes by the establishment of the Tiwanaku State, which exerted political and economic influence in much of the South-Central Andes, which is explored here using the two Solcor 3 sites. In this thesis, I analyze the aspects of oral health of the population using the prevalence of dental caries, abscesses, tooth loss, and occlusal wear. I calculated the frequency of each type of dental pathology for males, females, and the total population for different parts of the dental arcade, to test if there are significant differences in oral health, and therefore in dietary practices, between the sites. The dental arcade was divided into six sections: anterior, posterior, superior, inferior, right, and left. Then, using statistical tests of Chi-Square and Analysis of Variance, I tested for significant differences between each section and between sexes. I found that there was a significant difference in total presence of dental pathological conditions throughout the entire dental arcade between males and females at all sites, showing a possible difference in diet between the sexes. In addition, all sites had significant differences between the posterior and anterior sections of the dental arcade and two sites, Coyo 3 and Quitor 6, had significant differences between the superior and inferior sections of the dental arcade when all dental conditions were considered. The Solcor 3 Pre-Tiwanaku and Solcor 3 Tiwanaku individuals had similar rates of abscesses and antemortem tooth loss, but significantly different rates of caries, possibly suggesting a change in diet after the establishment of the Tiwanaku state.No embargoAcademic Major: Anthropological Science
