Search

Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) was employed to discern ecological dietary differences between Neandertals from continental Europe and from the Mediterranean region of Southern Europe and the Near East. The study followed standard DMTA procedures to observe phase II wear facets on molar occlusal surfaces of 17 individuals. Neandertals included in the study were: Arcy-sur-Cure 1, Engis 2, Kebara 2, Kůlna 1, La Quina 5, Hortus III, Hortus IV, Hortus V, Hortus VI, Hortus VIII, Hortus XI, Montmaurin, Pech de l'Aze 1, Spy 1, Svedův stůl 1, Tabūn E2, and Tabūn Series III. The three texture variables, calculated using scale-sensitive fractal analysis software (Sfrax® and Toothfrax®), included complexity (Asfc), anisotropy (epLsar), and textural fill volume (Tfv). Results indicate that anisotropy produced a significant difference between the groups with Mediterranean Neandertals showing significantly higher anisotropy values than their Northern European counterparts. The Mediterranean values are consistent with previously published DMTA anisotropy values for the Krapina Neandertals and suggest that Neandertals in this region were exploiting fibrous, homogenous foods, such as roots, tubers, grasses, and sedges that required consistent jaw movements. Elevated anisotropy signatures observed in Mediterranean Neandertals across both time and space suggest similar subsistence strategies that coincide with the relative climatic stability of the region and increased amounts of edible plant resources.

Spy I from the Meuse River Basin of Belgium is among the most recent Neandertals. This adult lived at the terminus of Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3 in cold steppe environments at the northern edge of the habitable zone for Neandertals where plants were relatively scarce. The dietary proclivities of Spy I are reconstructed using dental microwear texture analysis and compared to 33 Neandertals from western Eurasia, MIS 5 to MIS 3. Spy I has an elevated enamel surface complexity suggesting the consumption of course dietary items such as wild seeds, acorns, nuts, and underground storage organs laden with particles of grit. Unlike the young and old individuals from Hortus with low values for anisotropy, Spy I is closest to the adults from this site suggesting a common pattern of masticatory behavior typified this life cycle stage. Like many other Neandertals, Spy I probably consumed plant foods at appreciable levels, some of which were hard and brittle or poorly processed.

The dental microwear textures of six individuals from Hortus cave, France are compared to Neandertals from different ecological zones and time periods. Molar Phase II facets were scanned using white-light confocal microscopy and scale sensitive fractal analysis yielded enamel surface textural characteristics. The juvenile Hortus III and the older adult Hortus XI exhibit relatively low anisotropy (epLsar) and textural fill volume (Tfv) and are distinct from young adults with higher values. These differences may be related to age, such that only young adults were engaged in the mastication of tough, fibrous vegetation, whereas Hortus XI (50+ years) and Hortus III (6.5–7.9 years) did not. Sub-Phase Vb Hortus individuals exhibit reduced dietary hardness (Asfc) suggesting a greater reliance on soft foods, like meat. Differences between individuals from Hortus cave correspond to both sub-phase variation in climate and intrinsic lifeways.

Objectives. The current study seeks to determine if a sample of foragers, farmers, and pastoralists can be distinguished by their dental microwear texture signatures. Materials and Methods. The study included a sample of 719 individuals from 51 archaeological sites (450 farmers, 192 foragers, 77 pastoralists). All were over age 12 and sexes were pooled. Using a Sensofar® white-light confocal profiler we collected dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) data from a single first or second molar from each individual. We leveled and cleaned data clouds following standard procedures and analyzed the data with Sfrax® and Toothfrax® software. The DMTA variables were complexity and anisotropy. Statistics included ANOVA with partial eta squared and Hedges's g. We also performed a follow-up K-means cluster analysis. Results. We found significant differences between foragers and farmers and pastoralists for complexity and anisotropy, with foragers having greater complexity than either the farmers or the pastoralists. The farmers and pastoralists had greater anisotropy than the foragers. The Old World foragers had significantly higher anisotropy values than New World foragers. Old and New World farmers did not differ. Among the Old World farmers, those dating from the Neolithic through the Late Bronze Age had higher complexity values than those from the Iron Age through the medieval period. The cluster analysis discerned foragers and farmers but also indicated similarity between hard food foragers and hard food farmers. Discussion. Our findings reaffirm that DMTA is capable of distinguishing human diets. We found that foragers and farmers, in particular, differ in their microwear signatures across the globe. There are some exceptions, but nothing that would be unexpected given the range of human diets and food preparation techniques. This study indicates that in general DMTA is an efficacious means of paleodietary reconstruction in humans.