Bullington J
Department of Anthropology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois 60208.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 1991 Jan;84(1):59-73. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330840106.
Scanning electron microscopy was used to study age-related changes in the dental microwear of 36 prehistoric juveniles ranging from 6 to 27 months of age. Juveniles from horticultural (Middle Woodland) and agricultural (Mississippian) groups were studied to allow an investigation of the impact of diet on deciduous microwear. Inclusion of both molars and incisors in the sample permitted identification of age at earliest appearance of wear and comparisons between the age-related microwear characterizing different tooth types. Data on feature frequency and enamel surface characteristics were analyzed. Microwear feature frequencies generally increase with age and/or exposure to wear. Enamel surface characteristics show consistent qualitative changes associated with both age and exposure to wear. Molars and incisors differ for such surface characteristics in a way that make biomechanical sense, given the relative bite forces characterizing these teeth. Dietary reconstruction based on deciduous microwear is complex because of the effects of both age and exposure to wear on feature frequencies and enamel surface characteristics. Nonetheless, the present analyses suggest that 1) diets differed for younger and older juveniles within each cultural group and 2) the Middle Woodland juvenile diet was both harder and more varied in physical consistency than the Mississippian juvenile diet.
利用扫描电子显微镜研究了36名年龄在6至27个月之间的史前青少年牙齿微磨损的年龄相关变化。对来自园艺（中林地时期）和农业（密西西比时期）群体的青少年进行了研究，以便调查饮食对乳牙微磨损的影响。样本中纳入了臼齿和门牙，从而能够确定最早出现磨损的年龄，并比较不同牙齿类型的年龄相关微磨损情况。对特征频率和牙釉质表面特征的数据进行了分析。微磨损特征频率通常会随着年龄增长和/或磨损暴露而增加。牙釉质表面特征显示出与年龄和磨损暴露相关的一致定性变化。考虑到这些牙齿的相对咬合力，臼齿和门牙在这些表面特征上存在差异，这在生物力学上是有意义的。由于年龄和磨损暴露对特征频率和牙釉质表面特征都有影响，基于乳牙微磨损的饮食重建很复杂。尽管如此，目前的分析表明：1）每个文化群体中较年轻和较年长的青少年饮食不同；2）中林地时期青少年的饮食在硬度和物理稠度上都比密西西比时期青少年的饮食更硬且更多样化。
