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Dr. Krueger Publishes Article in Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports
Dr. Kristin Krueger has recently published an article titled "Reconstructing diet and behavior in bioarchaeological groups using incisor microwear texture analysis" in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.
Abstract: Diet and behavioral strategies of modern humans are examined through several indirect and direct lenses. One of the direct lenses is dentalmicrowear texture analysis (DMTA), which examines enamel texture signatures associated with food fracture properties or behavioral regimes. While molar texture signatures are linked to dietary proclivities, those of incisors appear to reflect diet, abrasives, and non-dietary anterior tooth use behaviors. This study builds upon previous research of incisor microwear textures with the addition of six recent modern human groups. This expands the known database of incisor microwear textures to 11 bioarchaeological samples. Dental microwear textures from six bioarchaeological samples (n = 142) were collected using a white-light confocal profiler with a 100Å~ objective lens. High-resolution casts of maxillary central incisors were scanned for clean, antemortem microwear textures. Four adjacent scans of the labial surface, nearest the incisal edge, were created, defects were removed, and scans were characterized for microwear textures using SFrax and Toothfrax scale-sensitive fractal analysis software packages.
Results show that the samples differ significantly from each other in four texture variables: anisotropy, textural fill volume, heterogeneity, and complexity. These data strengthen previous hypotheses concerning anisotropy and textural fill volume as indicators of non-dietary anterior tooth use and anterior loading regimes, respectively. Moreover, while heterogeneity indicates abrasive load exposure, this measure may be exacerbated by non-dietary behaviors. Complexity is found to be significant in the current study and may reflect a balance between abrasive loads and non-dietary regimes.
