A 1000-year-old skeleton has revealed what is believed to be the oldest case of gum disease in human history; the remains were described as a ‘microbial Pompeii’ after it was discovered that hardened plaque had preserved bacteria and microscopic particles of food between the teeth. It was also found that the same basic genetic machinery that causes gum disease in modern man was present in the ancient human oral microbiome (the micro-organisms that live in the body).
Although the bones in a human skeleton quickly lose much of their molecular information after burial, calculus helps to preserve the biomolecules because it is much more stable, even after death has occurred. Researchers at the University of York, along with others from Swiss and Danish institutes, found that the level of preservation was much higher than first expected after the skeleton was discovered. Professor Matthew Collins, of the University of York, said that the micro-organisms had been ‘entombed’ and this preserved the minerals in what he describes as a ‘microbial Pompeii.’
He added ‘As we learn more about the evolution of this microbiome in response to migration and changes in diet, health, and medicine, I can imagine a future in which most archaeologists regard calculus as more interesting than the teeth themselves.’
Professor Christian von Mering, of the SIB Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, was in agreement, saying ‘Dental calculus is a window into the past and may well turn out to be one of the best-preserved records of human-associated microbes.’