台灣史前時代拔齒習俗的社會意義研究：以鐵器時代石橋遺址蔦松文化為例

The Social Meaning of Ritual Tooth Ablation Behavior in Prehistoric Taiwan: A Case Study at the Shihchiao Site from the Iron-Age Niaosung Culture

台灣的拔齒習俗最早自距今4500年前就存在於史前住民的社會之中，從新石器時代、鐵器時代一直到晚近四百年的歷史時期，拔齒習俗的案例臺灣各地多有相關報導，時間上的連續性更是世界上少見的案例；關於拔齒習俗的意義也在晚近的民族誌中更有了具體的文字記載，說法也各有異同；然而，史前時代拔齒習俗的社會意義沒有文獻記載可以引用，我們除了參考民族誌的說法之外，更需要透過考古的出土脈絡、體質人類學方法進行研究分析。本文中除了整理拔齒習俗相關的文獻、確立觀察拔齒習俗的研究方法學之外，並以台南縣新市鄉石橋遺址出土的162具蔦松文化蔦松期墓葬中具有拔齒特徵的50具人骨為案例，以考古學的墓葬空間分析為基礎，結合體質人類學方法，判斷拔齒個體的性別、施行年齡、拔齒齒種類型與前耳狀溝有無（妊娠經驗的有無）的相關性，並以齒冠測量值血緣關係分析法的多變量統計分析結果來考察拔齒個體間的血緣近似度，以推論拔齒習俗的社會意義。根據本研究的分析，石橋遺址中拔齒習俗的施行以女性為主要對象，拔齒齒種以上顎左右側門齒、犬齒的對稱性拔齒為主流，施行時機集中於青少年期～成年早期。此外，女性的拔齒習俗與妊娠生產經驗之間沒有高度正相關，然而妊娠經驗的有無卻與女性墓葬的空間配置有關連性；齒冠測量的血緣關係分析也顯示出拔齒女性間同時存在血緣者與非血緣者，反映出拔齒習俗不具有標示所屬群體的功能。藉由以上的各項分析得知，拔齒習俗與成年、婚姻的象徵有高度相關性，是女性特有的通過儀式，拔齒的外顯樣貌也在其生命歷程中被賦予各種意義。

The tooth ablation ritual in Taiwan dates back to 4,500 years ago and has been reported all around the island from the Neolithic Age, the Iron Age and within the most recent 400 years. Such time consecutiveness is rarely seen in other parts of the world. Written records of different meanings of the ritual are found only in recent ethnographies. Thus, due to a lack of written records of rituals in prehistoric Taiwan, this research was conducted both with reference to ethnographies and within the context of archaeology and physical anthropological studies. In addition, this research examined 50 skeletons with tooth ablation features from the 162 skeletons found in burials from the Niaosung period, Niaosung Culture in the Shihchiao site, Sinshih Township, Tainan County, Taiwan. The relevance among gender, age, types of teeth ablated and presence of preauricular sulcus (experience of pregnancy) is worked out through archaeological analysis of burial placement and physical anthropological methodology while the social meaning of the ritual is reasoned out from an analysis of tooth crown measurements and genetic inheritance. This research found that at the Shihchiao site, the tooth ablation ritual was performed mainly on teenage and young adult females, with both maxillary lateral incisor and canine teeth ablated symmetrically. There is no positive correlation between tooth ablation and pregnancy experience. Nevertheless, pregnancy experience correlates with the placement of females' burials. The analysis of tooth crown measurements for genetic inheritance shows that ablated females include some who were genetically related and others who were not, which proves that tooth ablation does not label the social group of the females. The above analyses indicate that tooth ablation is highly correlated to adulthood and marital status, and that it is a unique rite of passage for females. The appearance of tooth ablation can also be given various meanings during the course of her life.