Dataset on the dental morphology and occlusal dental wear of pre-colonial societies of the South and Southeast Coast of Brazil

This dataset compiles information on dental morphology and occlusal dental wear of 431 individuals exhumed from coastal and riverine sites of the South and Southeast Coast of Brazil, dated between approximately 10,000 to 1,000 years before present. Dental traits were scored according to the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) (Scott and Irish, 2017; Turner II et al., 1991). Few additional mandibular traits were added following Hauser and Stefano (1989). Occlusal dental wear was scored according to the method described in Smith (1984).

Sex and age at death estimations derive from previous studies (Estevam, 2020; Fischer, 2012; Neves et al., 2005; Silva, 2005; Tognoli, 2016; Wesolowski, 2007). When this information was not available from previous studies, it was assessed by the first author (Fidalgo, 2021) using standard protocol methods (Buikstra and Ubelaker, 1994). Further detailed information and description of each variable can be consulted within the “description” and “dental grades” sheets in the excel file.

The dataset is part of a PhD project developed at the Museu de Arqueologia e Etnologia da Universidade de São Paulo, carried by Daniel Fidalgo and advised by Veronica Wesolowski and Mark Hubbe (Fidalgo, 2021). Manuscripts have already been published using this data (Fidalgo et al., 2021a, 2021b). All research was funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP), grants 17/20637-4 and 19/18289-3. It was also supported by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) grant 001.