Dental microwear

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Dental microwear analysis is a method to infer diet and behavior in extinct animals, especially in fossil specimens. [1] [2] [3] [4] Typically, the patterns of pits and scratches on the occlusal or buccal surface of the enamel are compared with patterns observed in extant species to infer ecological information. [5] [6] Hard foods in particular can lead to distinctive patterns (although see below). Microwear can also be used for inferring behavior, especially those related to the non-masticatory use of teeth as 'tools'. Other uses include investigating weaning in past populations. [7] Methods used to collect data initially involved a microscope and manually collecting information on individual microwear features, but software to automatically collect data have improved markedly in recent years. [8]

Potential issues and on-going debates

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References

  1. ↑ Hernando, Raquel; Fernández-Marchena, Juan Luis; Willman, John C.; Ollé, Andreu; Vergès, Josep Maria; Lozano, Marina (2020-12-20). "Exploring the utility of optical microscopy versus scanning electron microscopy for the quantification of dental microwear". Quaternary International. 569–570: 5–14. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.05.022. ISSN   1040-6182. S2CID   219761015.
  2. ↑ Louys, Julien; Zaim, Yahdi; Rizal, Yan; Aswan; Puspaningrum, Mika; Trihascaryo, Agus; Price, Gilbert J.; Petherick, Ansley; Scholtz, Elinor; Desantis, Larisa R.G. (2020-09-08). "Sumatran orangutan diets in the Late Pleistocene as inferred from dental microwear texture analysis". Quaternary International. 603: 74–81. doi:10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.040. hdl: 10072/399186 . ISSN   1040-6182.
  3. ↑ Pappa, Spyridoula; Schreve, Danielle C.; Rivals, Florent (15 January 2019). "The bear necessities: A new dental microwear database for the interpretation of palaeodiet in fossil Ursidae". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 514: 168–188. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.10.015. ISSN   0031-0182. S2CID   134140217.
  4. ↑ Scott, Robert S.; Ungar, Peter S.; Bergstrom, Torbjorn S.; Brown, Christopher A.; Grine, Frederick E.; Teaford, Mark F.; Walker, Alan (August 2005). "Dental microwear texture analysis shows within-species diet variability in fossil hominins". Nature. 436 (7051): 693–695. doi:10.1038/nature03822. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   16079844. S2CID   4431062.
  5. ↑ Winkler, Daniela E.; Schulz-Kornas, Ellen; Kaiser, Thomas M.; Tütken, Thomas (2019-05-29). "Dental microwear texture reflects dietary tendencies in extant Lepidosauria despite their limited use of oral food processing". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 286 (1903): 20190544. doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0544. PMC   6545078 . PMID   31113323.
  6. ↑ Rivals, Florent; Julien, Marie-Anne; Kuitems, Margot; Van Kolfschoten, Thijs; Serangeli, Jordi; Drucker, Dorothée G.; Bocherens, Hervé; Conard, Nicholas J. (December 2015). "Investigation of equid paleodiet from Schöningen 13 II-4 through dental wear and isotopic analyses: Archaeological implications". Journal of Human Evolution . 89: 129–137. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.04.002 . Retrieved 24 March 2024– via Elsevier Science Direct.
  7. ↑ Scott, Rachel M.; Halcrow, Siân E. (2017-02-01). "Investigating weaning using dental microwear analysis: A review". Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. 11: 1–11. doi: 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.11.026 . ISSN   2352-409X.
  8. ↑ Strani, Flavia; Profico, Antonio; Manzi, Giorgio; Pushkina, Diana; Raia, Pasquale; Sardella, Raffaele; DeMiguel, Daniel (2018). "MicroWeaR: A new R package for dental microwear analysis". Ecology and Evolution. 8 (14): 7022–7030. doi:10.1002/ece3.4222. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   6065344 . PMID   30073064.
  9. ↑ Winkler, Daniela E.; Tütken, Thomas; Schulz-Kornas, Ellen; Kaiser, Thomas M.; Müller, Jacqueline; Leichliter, Jennifer; Weber, Katrin; Hatt, Jean-Michel; Clauss, Marcus (2020-09-08). "Shape, size, and quantity of ingested external abrasives influence dental microwear texture formation in guinea pigs". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 117 (36): 22264–22273. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2008149117 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   7486718 . PMID   32839331.
  10. ↑ van Casteren, Adam; Strait, David S.; Swain, Michael V.; Michael, Shaji; Thai, Lidia A.; Philip, Swapna M.; Saji, Sreeja; Al-Fadhalah, Khaled; Almusallam, Abdulwahab S.; Shekeban, Ali; McGraw, W. Scott (2020-01-17). "Hard plant tissues do not contribute meaningfully to dental microwear: evolutionary implications". Scientific Reports. 10 (1): 582. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-57403-w . ISSN   2045-2322. PMC   6969033 . PMID   31953510.
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