The Nabataean Urban Experiment and Dental Disease and Childhood Stress

Petra served as the economic, political, and religious center of the Nabataean kingdom from approximately the third century BC until Rome annexed the kingdom in AD 106. The city’s location in a large basin with no natural springs or other immediate groundwater sources meant its success hinged on Nabataean technological inspiration that enabled Petra to function and support a population estimated at 30,000 at its height. This chapter explores how the diverse urban environment at Petra variably impacted dental disease and childhood stress among three different communities, two of which were buried in elaborate facade tombs and one within shaft chamber tombs. The individuals in the facade tombs had higher frequencies of linear enamel hypoplasias and dental calculus than those in the shaft chamber tombs, perhaps suggesting that differences in size and elaboration of tomb architecture parallels differences in childhood frailty, diet, and intrinsic host factors that led to the development of calculus. While evidence suggest that the “elite” facade tomb individuals survived multiple bouts of childhood stress, as adults they were more susceptible to chronic and infectious conditions linked to calculus than the “non-elites” in the shaft chamber tombs.