Fiorenza Luca, Kullmer Ottmar
Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC 3800, Australia.
Senckenberg Research Institute, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Homo. 2015 Oct;66(5):414-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jchb.2015.04.002. Epub 2015 May 16.
The use of teeth as tools for manipulating objects and simple food-processing methods was common among prehistoric and modern hunter-gatherer human populations. Paramasticatory uses of teeth frequently produce enamel chipping and distinctive types of dental wear that can readily be related to specific tool functions. In particular, the presence of unusual occlusal wear areas (named para-facets) on maxillary teeth of prehistoric, historic and modern hunter-gatherers has been associated with cultural habits involving extensive use of teeth (Fiorenza et al., 2011; Fiorenza and Kullmer, 2013). However, Sarig and Tillier (2014) believe that this wear had been caused by pathological occlusal relationships rather than by the use of teeth as tools. In this contribution, we show how occlusal contacts are created and how it is possible to distinguish between masticatory and non-masticatory wear facets by using an innovative digital approach called Occlusal Fingerprint Analysis. Statistical results from the analysis of comparative modern samples clearly demonstrate that described para-facets in Skhul and Qafzeh could not have been produced by dental occlusal anomalies such as malocclusions and crossbites. Moreover, dental pathologies in prehistoric humans were extremely rare. Only with the adoption of the modern lifestyle between 18th and 19th centuries, did the emergence of malocclusions become significantly more common. Because more than 50% of the Skhul and Qafzeh individuals analysed in our study are characterised by this distinctive type of wear, it is highly unlikely that their para-facets occurred as a result of dental pathologies.
将牙齿用作操纵物体的工具以及采用简单的食物加工方法，在史前和现代的狩猎采集人群中很常见。牙齿的副咀嚼用途经常会导致牙釉质剥落和独特类型的牙齿磨损，这些磨损很容易与特定的工具功能相关联。特别是，在史前、历史时期和现代狩猎采集者的上颌牙齿上出现的异常咬合磨损区域（称为副小面），与涉及大量使用牙齿的文化习惯有关（菲奥伦扎等人，2011年；菲奥伦扎和库尔默，2013年）。然而，萨里格和蒂利耶（2014年）认为，这种磨损是由病理性咬合关系引起的，而不是由于将牙齿用作工具。在本论文中，我们展示了咬合接触是如何形成的，以及如何通过一种名为咬合指纹分析的创新数字方法来区分咀嚼磨损面和非咀嚼磨损面。对现代比较样本分析的统计结果清楚地表明，斯虎尔人和卡夫泽人牙齿上所描述的副小面不可能是由诸如错颌和反颌等牙齿咬合异常产生的。此外，史前人类的牙齿疾病极其罕见。只有在18世纪至19世纪采用现代生活方式之后，错颌的出现才变得明显更加普遍。由于在我们的研究中分析的斯虎尔人和卡夫泽人个体中超过50%都具有这种独特的磨损类型，所以他们的副小面极不可能是由牙齿疾病导致的。
