Dental Biomechanics, Abrasive Mastication & Pre-Contact Nutrition In Southwest Wa

1. Dental Microwear and Macrowear Analysis in Pre-Contact Skeletal Assemblages

Bioarchaeological investigations into pre-contact Bibbullmun populations provide an unassailable empirical baseline regarding nutrition, oral ecology, and general physiological robusticity.¹ Dental anthropology demonstrates that ancestral Southwest populations possessed exceptionally healthy dentition marked by rapid, symmetrical occlusal wear (attrition) and an almost total absence of carious lesions.² High-magnification dental microwear texture analysis reveals a distinctive pattern of parallel striations and uniform micro-pitting across enamel surfaces.³ This macrowear and microwear was generated not by pathological degradation, but by the mechanical properties of an unrefined ancestral diet consisting of fibrous roasted tubers, stone-ground seed breads, and roasted lean wild meats prepared in subterranean earth ovens (kallang).⁴

2. Nutritional Ecology of Unrefined Geophytes, Tubers, and Marine Resources

The pre-contact Bibbullmun food system integrated exceptional nutrient density with high mechanical abrasiveness.⁵ Staple geophytes—such as Dioscorea hastifolia (warrain yams), Haemodorum spicatum (meen roots), and Platysace deflexa (youk)—were harvested with digging sticks (wanna) from gritty sandy loam soils.⁶ Despite careful washing and ash-baking, fine quartz and silicate sand grains inevitably adhered to the edible root parenchyma, functioning as natural abrasive agents during mastication.⁷ Furthermore, bread meal prepared from pulverized seeds of Acacia species, Macrozamia riedlei (bayio/zamia sarcotesta), and Xanthorrhoea was milled using granitic grinding stones, introducing microscopic quartz dust that accelerated functional attrition while simultaneously cleansing teeth of plaque.⁸

3. Absence of Refined Carbohydrates and Masticatory Biomechanics

The biomechanical forces generated during daily mastication promoted continuous osteological remodelling of the mandible, maxilla, and alveolar margins.⁹ Pre-contact adult skulls consistently exhibit broad, well-developed dental arches with edge-to-edge incisal bites rather than the overbite characteristic of modern soft-food cultures.¹⁰ Impacted third molars (wisdom teeth) were virtually non-existent, as high masticatory loading stimulated ample maxillary growth to comfortably accommodate full 32-tooth dentitions.¹¹ Salivary flow rates stimulated by chewing tough fibrous foods naturally buffered oral pH, inhibiting acidogenic bacteria like Streptococcus mutans and protecting enamel surfaces against microbial decay.¹²

4. Paleopathological Indicators and General Pre-Contact Metabolic Health

Beyond oral biomechanics, bioarchaeological analyses confirm that pre-contact Bibbullmun ancestors enjoyed high baseline physiological resilience.¹³ Skeletal remains from undisturbed archaeological contexts exhibit low frequencies of cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis, demonstrating that iron deficiency anaemia was rare.¹⁴ The high-protein, low-glycaemic ancestral diet—rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids from estuarine finfish, marine crustaceans, emu fat, and macropod game—conferred complete protection against chronic metabolic diseases such as type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, pathologies that emerged only following the forced imposition of colonial rations.¹⁵