Dental microwear explained

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

• The role of phytoliths and environmental grit in creating microwear features is not well understood and recent research suggests such items may create a surprisingly large amount of the microwear features visible in fossil samples^[9]
• A recent study suggests hard food, or at least some types, may not contribute significantly to microwear textures^[10]
• Dental microwear is rapidly turned over during life and therefore may only give information about the last few days of an individual's life. In particular, this 'last supper' effect may create a severely biased sample

References

1. 2020-12-20. Exploring the utility of optical microscopy versus scanning electron microscopy for the quantification of dental microwear. Quaternary International. en. 569-570. 5–14. 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.05.022. 1040-6182. Hernando . Raquel . Fernández-Marchena . Juan Luis . Willman . John C. . Ollé . Andreu . Vergès . Josep Maria . Lozano . Marina . 219761015 .
2. 2020-09-08. Sumatran orangutan diets in the Late Pleistocene as inferred from dental microwear texture analysis. Quaternary International. en. 10.1016/j.quaint.2020.08.040. 1040-6182. 10072/399186. free. Louys . Julien . Zaim . Yahdi . Rizal . Yan . Aswan . Puspaningrum . Mika . Trihascaryo . Agus . Price . Gilbert J. . Petherick . Ansley . Scholtz . Elinor . Desantis . Larisa R.G. . 603 . 74–81 .
3. 15 January 2019. The bear necessities: A new dental microwear database for the interpretation of palaeodiet in fossil Ursidae. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. en. 514. 168–188. 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.10.015. 0031-0182. Pappa . Spyridoula . Schreve . Danielle C. . Rivals . Florent . 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. en. 436. 7051. 693–695. 10.1038/nature03822. 16079844 . 4431062 . 1476-4687.
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. 10.1098/rspb.2019.0544. 6545078. 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 . . en . 89 . 129–137 . 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.04.002 . 25242064 . 24 March 2024 . Elsevier Science Direct.
7. 2017-02-01. Investigating weaning using dental microwear analysis: A review. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports. en. 11. 1–11. 10.1016/j.jasrep.2016.11.026. 2352-409X. free. Scott . Rachel M. . Halcrow . Siân E. .
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. en. 8. 14. 7022–7030. 10.1002/ece3.4222. 2045-7758. 6065344. 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. en. 117. 36. 22264–22273. 10.1073/pnas.2008149117. 7486718. 0027-8424. 32839331. free.
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. en. 10. 1. 582. 10.1038/s41598-019-57403-w. 31953510 . 6969033 . 2045-2322. free.