Dental microwear and diets of African early Homo (original) (raw)
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Dental Evidence for the Reconstruction of Diet in African Early Homo
The reconstruction of diet is important for understanding the paleoecology and evolution of early hominins. This paper reviews and colligates the fossil evidence for diets of early Homo {Homo habilis. Homo rudolfensis. Homo erectus), particularly that related to tooth size, shape, structure, and wear. Technological innovations and new finds have led to improved understandings of feeding adaptations and food preferences in the earliest members of our genus. Differences in dental topography between these species and the australopiths, for example, have been documented, as have differences in microwear textures between H. habilis and H. erectus. These and other lines of evidence suggest a probable shift in diet in early Homo, and especially H. erectus, compared with their australopith forebears, with a broadened subsistence base to include foods with a vnder range of fracture properties. Studies to date also make clear that while much remains to be done, early hominin teeth hold the potential to provide more detail about diet and confidence in our reconstructions as samples increase, our understanding of functional morphology improves, and other methods of analysis are applied to the fossils we have.
Palaeodemography and dental microwear pattern of Homo habilis in East Africa
We have studied the variability of the buccal microwear pattern in the Homo habilis population from Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania) and East Rudolf (Kenya), as a dietary indicator in fossil hominin species, and its relationship to the age of the individuals analysed. The estimation of the age of the individuals was done by estimating the rate of dental occlusal wear of individuals of known age. The biodemographic population extinction pattern could be analysed, showing great similarities to that observed in other Paleolithic populations. In the studied sample, the results obtained show that the striation density of the buccal microwear pattern is not significantly correlated with the estimated age at death, despite a tendency towards an increase in the number of striations with age can be observed. Further analyses and greater samples are needed to draw meaningful results.KEYWORDS: Paleodemography – Buccal microwear – Hominins – Homo habilis
Testing dietary hypotheses of East African hominines using buccal dental microwear data
Martínez LM, Estebaranz-Sánchez F, Galbany J & Pérez-Pérez A (2016) Testing dietary hypotheses of East African hominines using buccal dental microwear data. PLoS ONE 11(11): e0165447. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0165447. Abstract There is much debate on the dietary adaptations of the robust hominin lineages during the Pliocene-Pleistocene transition. It has been argued that the shift from C3 to C4 ecosystems in Africa was the main factor responsible for the robust dental and facial anatomical adaptations of Paranthropus taxa, which might be indicative of the consumption of fibrous, abrasive plant foods in open environments. However, occlusal dental microwear data fail to provide evidence of such dietary adaptations and are not consistent with isotopic evidence that supports greater C4 food intake for the robust clades than for the gracile australopithecines. We provide evidence from buccal dental microwear data that supports softer dietary habits than expected for P. aethiopicus and P. boisei based both on masticatory apomorphies and isotopic analyses. On one hand, striation densities on the buccal enamel surfaces of paranthropines teeth are low, resembling those of H. habilis and clearly differing from those observed on H. ergaster, which display higher scratch densities indicative of the consumption of a wide assortment of highly abrasive foodstuffs. Buccal dental microwear patterns are consistent with those previously described for occlusal enamel surfaces, suggesting that Paranthropus consumed much softer diets than previously presumed and thus calling into question a strict interpretation of isotopic evidence. On the other hand, the significantly high buccal scratch densities observed in the H. ergaster specimens are not consistent with a highly specialized, mostly carnivorous diet; instead, they support the consumption of a wide range of highly abrasive food items.
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 2021
This study aims at improving dietary discrimination among primates through a new analytic approach of dental microwear texture analysis integrating a surface sampling on facets of both phase I and II of mastication. The surface sampling is applied on these two types of molar facets on 104 specimens belonging to four extant cercopithecids, and on 207 Plio-Pleistocene specimens representing four taxa from the Shungura Formation, Ethiopia. The extant species, including Colobus guereza, Theropithecus gelada, Papio hamadryas, Chlorocebus aethiops, compose a model covering a wide range of feeding ecology from leafeating through grass-eating habits to opportunistic habits. A principal component analysis built with a selection of the most discriminant variables and extant species as a model displays that the two facets contribute equally to the dispersion of individuals and to the between-species differences. Also, most contributing variables along the components are not central values of texture parameters (mean and median of the parameters measured on subsurfaces or a single value for the whole surface) but rather statistics of their dispersion (percentiles) and distribution (kurtosis, skewness). Once the fossil specimens are inserted into the extant species model, the two largebodied colobines, Paracolobus and Rhinocolobus, are found to differ from the extant Colobus guereza, one of the most leaf-eating colobines. This highlights ecological diversity among early African colobines. Besides, the analysis tracks between-genus as well as temporal differences between the extinct species of papionins, attesting of a low ecological overlapping between Theropithecus and non-theropith papionins, notably after 2.4 Ma. No significant difference was found between T. brumpti, T. oswaldi, Theropithecus sp. supporting similar feeding habits with the present-day gelada, at least from 2.9 Ma onwards.
Early hominin dental remains from the Plio-Pleistocene site of Drimolen, South Africa
Journal of Human Evolution, 2010
The Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominin site of Drimolen is located approximately 5.5 km north of the other well-known South African Plio-Pleistocene sites (Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, Coopers). It was discovered by A.W. Keyser in 1992. Systematic excavations led to the recovery of a remarkable number of fossil vertebrate taxa, including hominins. Most of the specimens collected consist of isolated teeth or those in jaws. The aim of this paper is to provide a morphological description of the dental specimens. The taxonomic allocation of each specimen is also reported, either confirming or revising previous provisional attributions. The analysis confirms the occurrence of two hominin species, Paranthropus robustus and Homo sp. With over 80 fossil hominin specimens recovered so far, Drimolen is the second largest sample of P. robustus, after Swartkrans. At Drimolen, P. robustus is represented mostly by craniodental specimens (63) among which are 47 isolated teeth and the remainder are maxillary and mandibular fragments with teeth. The assemblage markedly increases the dental sample of P. robustus. Furthermore, the Drimolen sample includes tooth classes not present in the Swartkrans or Kromdraai samples. The new tooth classes include both deciduous upper lateral incisors (DNH 31) and canines (DNH 23). In the dental sample described here there are nine specimens probably attributable to Homo, although a specific attribution is not yet possible. These specimens expand the small sample of early Homo from South African sites. Basic dimensions (MD and BL) of the Drimolen dental remains are compared in a preliminary analysis with other hominin samples. This analysis delineates the Drimolen P. robustus dental sample as characterized by smaller teeth overall than the Swartkrans sample (and in some cases also smaller than the Kromdraai sample), as well as a greater size range.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 1984
Studies of dental microwear have been used to relate tooth form to function in a variety of recent and extinct mammals. Probably the most important aspect of microwear analysis is the possibility of using it to deduce the diet of extinct animals. Such deductions must be based on comparative studies of modern species with known diets, but to date, only qualitative studies have been attempted and all have been based on small samples. Here we report quantitative differences in dental microwear between primate species that are known to have different diets. Occlusal facets with different functions have previously been shown to exhibit different microwear patterns. However, the differences between facets of one species are shown to be far less than those between homologous facets of different species. Study of seven species of extant primates shows that enamel microwear can be used to distinguish between those with a mainly frugivorous diet and those with a mainly folivorous one. Microwear can also distinguish hard-object feeders from soft-fruit eaters. The microwear of Miocene Sivapithe cus indicus cannot be distinguished statistically from that of the chimpanzee, but it is different from that of the other species. On this evidence S. indicus was not a hard-object feeder and the adaptive significance of its thick molar enamel is a t present unknown.
Ancient teeth, phenetic affinities, and African hominins: Another look at where Homo naledi fits in
Journal of human evolution, 2018
A new species of Homo, Homo naledi, was described in 2015 based on the hominin skeletal remains from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. Subsequent craniodental comparative analyses, both phenetic and cladistic, served to support its taxonomic distinctiveness. Here we provide a new quantitative analysis, where up to 78 nonmetric crown and root traits of the permanent dentition were compared among samples of H. naledi (including remains from the recently discovered Lesedi Chamber) and eight other species from Africa: Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus boisei, Paranthropus robustus, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, Middle Pleistocene Homo sp., and Pleistocene and Holocene Homo sapiens. By using the mean measure of divergence distance statistic, phenetic affinities were calculated among samples to evaluate interspecific relatedness. The objective was to compare the results with those previously obtained, to assess further the ...
Archaeology International, 2013
Diet imposes significant constraints on the biology and behaviour of animals. The fossil record suggests that key changes in diet have taken place throughout the course of human evolution. Defining these changes enables us to understand the behaviour of our extinct fossil ancestors. Several lines of evidence are available for studying the diet of early hominins, including craniodental morphology, palaeoecology, dental microwear and stable isotopes. They do, however, often provide conflicting results. Using dental macrowear analysis, this new UCL Institute of Archaeology project will provide an alternative source of information on early hominin diet. Dental macrowear has often been used to analyse diet in archaeological populations, but this will be the first time that this type of detailed study has been applied to the early hominin fossil record.
Journal of Human Evolution, 2006
Molar microwear fabrics in extant mammals vary with diet and, more particularly, the physical properties of the items that are consumed. Praeanthropus afarensis is well represented in the fossil record over a prolonged and radiometrically controlled temporal span, and reasonably robust paleoecological reconstructions are available for the various localities from which it is known. We therefore examined molar microwear in this species to determine whether diet varied in relation to time or in response to different ecological conditions. Of more than 70 specimens of Pr. afarensis that contain one or more worn permanent molars, only 19 were found to be suitable for microwear analysis. These derive from eight temporal horizons in the Laetolil Beds and Hadar Formation spanning approximately 400 kyr (3.6e3.2 Ma). Six paleoecological categories have been reconstructed for these horizons, and these were ranked on the basis of floral cover. None of the microwear variables observed for Pr. afarensis is significantly associated with either temporal or paleoecological rank. Thus, microwear and, by extension, diet does not appear to have altered significantly in Pr. afarensis through time or in response to different paleoecological circumstances. The wear pattern that appears to have characterized Pr. afarensis overlaps extensively that of Gorilla gorilla beringei and differs notably from the fabrics of extant primates (e.g., Cebus apella and Cercocebus albigena) that consume hard objects. The high proportion of scratches on Pr. afarensis molars suggests the inclusion of fine abrasives in or on the food items consumed by those individuals sampled in this study. Although Pr. afarensis may have been morphologically equipped to process hard, brittle items, the microwear data suggest that it did not necessarily do so, even in the face of varying environmental circumstances. Explanatory scenarios that describe Pr. afarensis as part of an evolutionary trajectory involving a more heavily masticated diet with an increased reliance on hard, brittle items need to be reconsidered. However, fallback foods that were consumed during relatively short, albeit critical periods may have exerted sufficient selective pressure to explain the evolution of the comparatively robust Pr. afarensis trophic apparatus. Because it is unlikely that many individuals from such restricted temporal intervals would be sampled in the paleontological record, we suggest that the most productive approach to the elucidation of paleodiet is the integration of genetic (morphological) and epigenetic (microwear and isotopic) lines of evidence.
Dental microwear profilometry of African non-cercopithecoid catarrhines of the Early Miocene
Journal of Human Evolution, 2015
The Early Miocene of Kenya has yielded the remains of many important stem catarrhine species that provide a glimpse of the East African primate radiation at a time of major faunal turnover. These taxa have been subject to innumerable studies, yet there is still no consensus on their dietary niches. Here we report results of an analysis of dental microwear textures of non-cercopithecoid catarrhines from the Early Miocene of Kenya. Scanning confocal profilometry of all available molar specimens with undamaged occlusal surfaces revealed 82 individuals with unobscured antemortem microwear, representing Dendropithecus, Micropithecus, Limnopithecus, Proconsul, and Rangwapithecus. Scale-sensitive fractal analysis was used to generate microwear texture attributes for each individual, and the fossil taxa were compared with each other using conservative non-parametric statistical tests. This study revealed no discernible variation in microwear texture among the fossil taxa, which is consistent with results from a previous feature-based microwear study using smaller samples. Our results suggest that, despite their morphological differences, these taxa likely often consumed foods with similar abrasive and fracture properties. However, statistical analyses of microwear texture data indicate differences between the Miocene fossil sample and several extant anthropoid primate genera. This suggests that the African noncercopithecoid catarrhines included in our study, despite variations in tooth form, had generalist diets that were not yet specialized to the degree of many modern taxa.