TY - JOUR
T1 - Anterior dental microwear in Australopithecus afarensis
T2 - comparisons with human and nonhuman primates
AU - Ryan, Alan S.
AU - Johanson, Donald
N1 - Funding Information:
We thank T. D. White for allowing us to study the occlusal casts of the Laetoli hominids and I. Tattersall for his permission to study the Eskimo materials housed in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Permission to study the nonhuman primate materials was generously given by the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Thanks to C. L. Brace, E. Delson, F. E. Grine, B. Kimbel, T. D. White, and J. Gussler for their comments relating to this manuscript. Three anonymous reviewers provided excellent comments and suggestions. This research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the L. S. B. Leakey Foundation. This manuscript is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Paul E. Mahler.
PY - 1989/5
Y1 - 1989/5
N2 - Dental microwear observed on the incisors and the canine/premolar complex of Australopithecus afarensis is described. Comparisons are made with three groups of extant African primates: Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, and Papio hamadryas. Additional comparisons are made with a prehistoric Eskimo dental sample recovered from Point Hope, Alaska. Six distinct types of incisal dental microwear are found in these groups. These include fine wear striae, polish, small pits, large pits, gouges, and microflakes. These microwear types are related to suggested dietary conditions, feeding behaviors, and dental functions. It is shown that each species exhibits a different set of microwear types. Results of this study show that incisal dental microwear in A. afarensis is most similar to that observed in Gorilla, and to a lesser extent, in Papio. It is suggested that the incisors of A. afarensis were used to strip leaves and to chew hard foods such as roots, seeds, and rhizomes. Dental microwear observed on the canine/premolar complex of A. afarensis indicates that these teeth did not serve a shearing/slicing function as they do in modern apes or in baboons. Rather, it appears that the canine/premolar complex of A. afarensis was used primarily to puncture-crush food.
AB - Dental microwear observed on the incisors and the canine/premolar complex of Australopithecus afarensis is described. Comparisons are made with three groups of extant African primates: Pan troglodytes troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla gorilla, and Papio hamadryas. Additional comparisons are made with a prehistoric Eskimo dental sample recovered from Point Hope, Alaska. Six distinct types of incisal dental microwear are found in these groups. These include fine wear striae, polish, small pits, large pits, gouges, and microflakes. These microwear types are related to suggested dietary conditions, feeding behaviors, and dental functions. It is shown that each species exhibits a different set of microwear types. Results of this study show that incisal dental microwear in A. afarensis is most similar to that observed in Gorilla, and to a lesser extent, in Papio. It is suggested that the incisors of A. afarensis were used to strip leaves and to chew hard foods such as roots, seeds, and rhizomes. Dental microwear observed on the canine/premolar complex of A. afarensis indicates that these teeth did not serve a shearing/slicing function as they do in modern apes or in baboons. Rather, it appears that the canine/premolar complex of A. afarensis was used primarily to puncture-crush food.
KW - Australopithecus afrensis
KW - dental function
KW - dental microwear
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U2 - 10.1016/0047-2484(89)90051-1
DO - 10.1016/0047-2484(89)90051-1
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0001169676
SN - 0047-2484
VL - 18
SP - 235
EP - 268
JO - Journal of human evolution
JF - Journal of human evolution
IS - 3
ER -