Human dental microwear from Ohalo II (22,500–23,500 cal BP), southern Levant

Abstract

Dietary hardness and abrasiveness are inferred from human dental microwear at Ohalo II, a late Upper Palaeolithic site (22,500-23,500 cal BP) in the southern Levant. Casts of molar grinding facets from two human skeletons were examined with a scanning electron microscope. The size and frequency of microwear was measured, counted, and compared to four prehistoric human groups from successive chronological periods in the same region: pre-pottery Neolithic A, Chalcolithic (this study); Natufian, pre-pottery Neolithic B (Mahoney: Am J Phys Anthropol 130 (2006) 308-319). The Ohalo molars had a high frequency of long narrow scratches, and a few small pits, suggesting a tough abrasive diet that required more shearing rather than compressive force while chewing. These results imply that the diet of the two late Upper Palaeolithic hunter-gatherers did not focus on very hard foods. Aquatic foods with adherent contaminants, as well as grit from plant grinding tools seemed likely causal agents. The size of the pits and scratches on the Ohalo molars were most similar to microwear from the pre-pottery Neolithic A period, though they also compared well to the Chalcolithic period. These results contrasted with the larger pits and scratches from the Natufian hunter-gatherers and pre-pottery Neolithic B farmers, implying that there is no simple increase or decrease in dietary hardness and abrasiveness across the late Upper Palaeolithic to Chalcolithic development in the Southern Levant. Am J Phys Anthropol 132:489-500, 2007.

The relationship between ante‐mortem molar loss and mandibular ramus shape in an archaeological population from Korea

“…The results of previous analyses and the present study indicate that there may be variable interaction effects of age and tooth loss on mandibular ramus morphology in terms of differential dietary regimes, as modern samples generally have lower masticatory loads than archaeological skeletal samples (Bigoni, Krajíček, Sládek, Velemínský, & Velemínská, ; Mahoney, ; Watson, ). With regard to food quality, different food preparation techniques can affect the stiffness or coarseness of food and, in turn, affect cranial and mandibular morphology (Bigoni, Krajíček, Sládek, Velemínský, & Velemínská, ; Mahoney, ; Watson, ). For instance, Bigoni, Krajíček, Sládek, Velemínský, and Velemínská () showed that facial bilateral asymmetry was higher in a high socio‐economic skeletal sample from an early medieval central European site than low socio‐economic modern samples.…”

Intraspecific variation in M1 enamel development in modern humans: implications for human evolution

“…Each molar was replicated prior to removal for sectioning, and an epoxy cast was prepared (e.g., Mahoney, 2007). Contaminants were removed from the enamel surface of each molar using ethanol and cotton wool.…”

Cereal grinding technology in ancient Mesopotamia: evidence from dental microwear

“…In archaeology, dental microwear has been used to examine the impact of the transition from foraging to agriculture on human diet (e.g., Hogue and Melsheimer, 2008), also in the Levant (Mahoney, 2006a(Mahoney, , 2007 and North Mesopotamia (Molleson and Jones, 1991). Several papers have been published about dietary transitions in prehistorical and historical periods, especially in North America (e.g., Schmidt, 2001;Organ et al, 2005;Ma and Teaford, 2010).…”

“…Usually good quality replicas of selected tooth facets (primarily in molars) are imaged using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 300Â or 500Â magnification (Galbany et al, 2004;Mahoney, 2007). Phase II facets or buccal crown side allow better distinction between diets than Phase I facets (Krueger et al, 2008).…”