Rodent incisor microwear as a proxy for ecological reconstruction

Caporale, Salvatore S; Ungar, Peter S.

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2016.01.013

Cited by 41 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 101 publications

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“…In the end, their work determined that microwear could elucidate seasonal, microhabitat, and intergroup differences in diet. In fact, other researchers have determined that dental microwear analysis, be it scanning electron microscope (SEM)‐based, mesowear, or DMTA‐based, can successfully distinguished diets of living animals well beyond primates and hominins, including hyraxes, carnivorous mammals, peccaries, rodents, rabbits, ungulates, and fish (e.g., Burgman, Leichliter, Avenant, & Ungar, ; Calandra et al, ; Caporale & Ungar, ; DeSantis, Schubert, Scott, & Ungar, ; Hoffman et al, ; Merceron et al, ; Merceron, Schulz, Kordos, & Kaiser, ; Purnell & Darras, ; Schmidt, ; Schulz et al, ; Scott et al, ; Solounias & Semprebon, ; Stynder, Ungar, Scott, & Schubert, ; Walker, Hoeck, & Perez, ).…”

Section: Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental microwear texture analysis ofHomo sapienssapiens: Foragers, farmers, and pastoralists

Schmidt

Remy

Sessen

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives The current study seeks to determine if a sample of foragers, farmers, and pastoralists are distinguishable based on their dental microwear texture signatures. Materials and methods The study included a sample of 719 individuals from 51 archeological sites (450 farmers, 192 foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12 and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar® white‐light confocal profiler we collected dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) data from a single first or second molar from each individual. We leveled and cleaned data clouds following standard procedures and analyzed the data with Sfrax® and Toothfrax® software. The DMTA variables were complexity and anisotropy. Statistics included ANOVA with partial eta squared and Hedges's g. We also performed a follow‐up K‐means cluster analysis. Results We found significant differences between foragers and farmers and pastoralists for complexity and anisotropy, with foragers having greater complexity than either the farmers or the pastoralists. The farmers and pastoralists had greater anisotropy than the foragers. The Old World foragers had significantly higher anisotropy values than New World foragers. Old and New World farmers did not differ. Among the Old World farmers, those dating from the Neolithic through the Late Bronze Age had higher complexity values than those from the Iron Age through the medieval period. The cluster analysis discerned foragers and farmers but also indicated similarity between hard food foragers and hard food farmers. Discussion Our findings reaffirm that DMTA is capable of distinguishing human diets. We found that foragers and farmers, in particular, differ in their microwear signatures across the globe. There are some exceptions, but nothing that would be unexpected given the range of human diets and food preparation techniques. This study indicates that in general DMTA is an efficacious means of paleodietary reconstruction in humans.

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Section: Caveatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dental microwear texture analysis ofHomo sapienssapiens: Foragers, farmers, and pastoralists

Schmidt

Remy

Sessen

et al. 2019

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Nevertheless, there are few studies on the intra-specific variations in chewing mechanics 31 32 and in diet 33 34 in mammals other than human populations. Moreover, the application of DMTA to rodents is still in its infancy (SSFA 34 35 36 , STA 37 ). Finally, DMTA has never been applied to reconstruct chewing movements, most likely because SSFA does not compute texture direction.…”

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confidence: 99%

Tooth wear as a means to quantify intra-specific variations in diet and chewing movements

Calandra

Labonne

Schulz‐Kornas

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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In mammals, tooth function, and its efficiency, depends both on the mechanical properties of the food and on chewing dynamics. These aspects have rarely been studied in combination and/or at the intra-specific level. Here we applied 3D dental surface texture analysis to a sample of field voles (Microtus agrestis) trapped from Finnish Lapland at different seasons and localities to test for inter-population variations. We also explored intra-individual variation in chewing dynamics by analysing two facets on the second upper molars. Our results confirm that the two localities have similar environments and that the voles feed on the same items there. On the other hand, the texture data suggest that diets are seasonally variable, probably due to varying concentrations of abrasives. Lastly, the textures on the buccal facets are more isotropic and their direction deviates more from the mesial chewing direction than the lingual facets. We interpret these results as reflecting food, rather than chewing, movements, where food particles are more guided on the lingual side of the molars. This has implications for the application of dental microwear analysis to fossils: only homologous facets can be compared, even when the molar row seems to constitute a functional unit.

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“…Thus, we still face challenges discriminating similar seed‐based diets in pitheciids by molar microwear pattern. This may be due to the dental division of labor emphasizing a heavy reliance on anterior tooth use in these taxa (Burgman, Leichliter, Avenant, & Ungar, ; Caporale & Ungar, ). Hopefully, future research with better control over sites and dates of capture, more precise dietary information concerning physical properties of triturated seeds, and larger samples (particularly for P. irrorata ) will provide more insights into the potential of microwear texture differences to reflect details of diet in these taxa.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A molar microwear texture analysis of pitheciid primates

Ragni

Teaford

Ungar

2017

American J Primatol

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Dental microwear textures have been examined for a broad range of extant primates to assess their efficacy for reconstructing diets of fossil species. To date though, no dental microwear texture data have been published for pitheciid molars, despite reported variation in degree of sclerocarpy and, by extension, the fracture properties of foods these platyrrhines eat. While all pitheciids eat hard or tough seeds, Chiropotes and Pithecia have been documented to consume more than Callicebus. In this study, we explored whether measures of molar microwear texture complexity discriminate taxa following variation in reliance upon seeds, and whether dispersion among variables is greatest in Callicebus, which has the most variable diet. Here we report results for a study of microwear textures on M "Phase II" facets of Ch. satanas (N = 14), P. irrorata (N = 8), and Ca. moloch (N = 24) from the Brazilian Amazon (Oriximina, UHE Samuel, and Taperinha, respectively). Textures examined using a scanning confocal profiler showed significant differences in central tendencies for three measures: mean dale area (Sda), anisotropy (Str), and heterogeneity (HAsfc ). Ten measures showed significant differences in dispersion, with Callicebus being significantly more variable in eight of those ten. These results demonstrate that the pitheciids with different morphological adaptations and dietary reliance on seeds differ in their dental microwear textures, though less than initially hypothesized. Measures of dispersion, especially, show potential for identifying dietary variability.

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Rodent incisor microwear as a proxy for ecological reconstruction

Cited by 41 publications

References 101 publications

Dental microwear texture analysis ofHomo sapienssapiens: Foragers, farmers, and pastoralists

Dental microwear texture analysis ofHomo sapienssapiens: Foragers, farmers, and pastoralists

Tooth wear as a means to quantify intra-specific variations in diet and chewing movements

A molar microwear texture analysis of pitheciid primates

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