Objective: To map out the pattern of periodontal disease in individuals who died before 1957 and were not exposed to formal dental services. Methods: The skeletons of some of the people who died during the Mau Mau uprising are preserved at the National Museums of Kenya in Nairobi. 64 out of the 170 dry mandibles stored at the Museum were assessed for periodontal bone loss using a calibrated ruler. Six sites were assessed on all the teeth; mesio-buccal, mid-buccal, disto-buccal, mesio-lingual, mid-lingual and disto-lingual. Results: All the 64 mandibles assessed were of individuals who died before 1957. 2,274 sites were examined. They were all from adults aged 35-45 years and the age range was 18-80 years. Majority of the mandibles examined were of the Kikuyu ethnic group from Central Kenya. Of the teeth examined, premolars and molars were the teeth most frequently preserved intact in the sockets. The total mean bone loss for all teeth was 2.51 (SD 1.15) with a range of 0.85-5.80. When the different sites were examined, values for bone loss were 2.59 for mesial surfaces; 2.55 buccal surfaces; 2.38 for distal surfaces. Three categories were identified as follows:- 70% of the individuals had minimal or no bone loss, 26.5% had 3-4mm or moderate bone loss and 3.5% had >5mm bone loss or advanced bone loss. Further analysis showed that only 28.12% of the individuals had bone loss of >3mm and 3.12% had 5mm or more bone loss. The first molars were the teeth most commonly affected. Conclusions: In this group from Central Kenya, the bone loss pattern showed that only a small number had experienced periodontal destruction as recorded by bone loss levels. Three groups were identified. Thus susceptibility to periodontal disease is evident even in populations not exposed to modern diet and dental services.