Data from: Methodological validation and inter-site analysis in Late Bronze and Early Iron Age cremations using tooth cementum annulation

Most TCA studies have been conducted on contemporary materials from individuals of known calendar age and sex who underwent tooth extraction in dental clinics. Only a few studies have been undertaken on archaeological human skeletal remains and occasionally on cremated remains. 62 cremated tooth roots from 60 individuals from eight Lusatian Urnfield Culture cemeteries from SW Poland were studied. Based on analyses of 292 undecalcified slides with an average thickness of 36.1 µm embedded in methyl methacrylate resin, tests were carried out to estimate the age at death of individuals using the tooth cementum annulation (TCA) technique and, for slides with insufficient incremental lines of Salter counts (ILSc) identification, the incremental lines of Salter width (ILSw) parameter and the of acellular extrinsic fiber cementum thickness to line width (AEFCt/ILSw) ratio were introduced. The intra-observer error of repeatability of ILSc was 18.3%, while the inter-observer error was 29.6%. The expected statistically significant differences in AEFCt (P=0.0027) and an increase in ILSc (P=0.0068) with the ageing of individuals were shown. The TCA age corresponded with the individuals’ morphological age and with the age estimated based on AEFCt/ILSw ratio. The phenomenon of partial multiplication of the number of ILS was identified in two individuals. No differences in the ILSw were found within different parts of the dental root or between individuals of various ages and sexes. Differences in ILSw between individuals from different cemeteries proved to be statistically significant (P<0.001). Considering the absence of analogous studies, the explanation for this variation is multifaceted and may relate to genetic, ecological, nutritional and disease differences.