Occlusal Grooves in Anterior Dentition among Kovuklukaya Inhabitants (Sinop, Northern Anatolia, 10 th Century AD) Y. S. ERDAL* Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey ABSTRACT Mesiodistally directed grooves have been observed on the occlusal surfaces of nine incisors of five females in a small skeletal population from Kovuklukaya (Sinop, northern Anatolia, 10 th century AD). There is no archaeological evidence to explain the cultural practices that must have caused such unusual abrasions of the anterior dentition. Investigations of the geo- graphical characteristics of the region and data gathered on the traditional lifestyles of C ¸ ulhalı inhabitants enables us to reach meaningful conclusions about the Kovuklukaya people. According to the direction of the grooves, ecological characteristics of the region, and ethnographic data, it is proposed that the unusual abrasion observed in the Kovuklukaya population may be linked to passing yarn between the anterior teeth to wet it. The grooves in the Kovuklukaya population were found only in female skeletons, indicating the existence of a sex-based division of labour in yarn production. Copyright ß 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Key words: tooth-tool use; grooving; abrasion; Turkey; division of labour Introduction Dental wear results from tooth-to-tooth contact (attrition) and tooth–food interaction (abrasion) during mastication (Molnar, 1972; Rose & Ungar, 1992; Kieser et al., 2001). Since dental wear patterns vary according to food preparation techniques and diet, it has often been used for understanding the lifestyles and modes of adaptation to the environment of ancient populations (Molnar, 1971; Smith, 1972). The loss of calcified tissues of teeth results not only from teeth–food contact, but also from inten- tionally or unintentionally taking non-food materials into the mouth. Abrasions thus formed constitute an important factor in the interpret- ation of non-alimentary behaviours of ancient human populations (Larsen, 1985). In archae- ological populations, as most studies on skeletal biology show, difficulties arise in the interpret- ation of abrasions resulting from non-alimentary causes. In cases where there are no archaeological data for interpretation of the lifestyles of the ancient populations studied, interpreting such abrasions becomes even more difficult. However, it is widely accepted that ethnographic research has an important role to play in the resolution of archaeological issues (Wheat, 1967; Cybulski, 1974; Merbs, 1983; Larsen, 1985). The increasing globalisation of technology causes the rapid abolition of some traditional modes of production that were also used by ancient societies, and thus brings about the extinction of traditional lifestyles which can be used in resolving archaeological problems. In this respect, it can be said that Anatolia, with 30% of its population living in rural areas with traditional modes of production, or where these modes of International Journal of Osteoarchaeology Int. J. Osteoarchaeol. 18: 152–166 (2008) Published online 21 June 2007 in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com) DOI: 10.1002/oa.925 * Correspondence to: Department of Anthropology, Hacettepe University, 06800 Beytepe, Ankara, Turkey. e-mail: yserdal@hacettepe.edu.tr Copyright # 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Received 17 February 2006 Revised 31 January 2007 Accepted 14 February 2007