Sir John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2021 May;175(1):292-299. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24232. Epub 2021 Jan 17.
A tooth chip occurs when a hard object forcefully contacts the surface of the tooth, typically removing enamel from the occlusal edge. In this study, chipping patterns in extant primates were compared, and hard-object-feeding assessed alongside other factors (e.g., grit mastication and dental properties), to elucidate dietary and behavioral inferences in archeological and paleontological samples.
Thirteen species of extant primates were studied, including eight species within the Cercopithecidae, two within the Ceboidea, and three within the Hominoidea. Four additional species were also incorporated from the literature for some of the analyses. The severity (Grade 1-3), position (buccal, lingual, mesial, and distal) and number of tooth fractures were recorded for each specimen.
Species considered hard-object-feeding specialists presented higher rates of chipping, with sakis, mandrills, sooty mangabeys and Raffles' banded langurs having high chipping rates (28.3%, 36.7%, 48.4%, and 34.7% of teeth, respectively). Species that seasonally eat harder foods had intermediate chipping frequencies (e.g., brown woolly monkeys: 18.5%), and those that less commonly consume hard food items had the lowest chipping frequencies (e.g., Kloss gibbon: 7.3%; chimpanzees: 4.4%).
The results suggest hard food mastication influences differences in chipping prevalence among the species studied. Although Homo fossil samples show high rates of chipping comparable to hard-object-feeding extant primates, they display a different pattern of chipping, supporting the hypothesis that these fractures are mostly non-food related (e.g., grit mastication in Homo naledi; non-masticatory tooth use in Neanderthals).
当坚硬的物体强力接触牙齿表面时，会发生牙磕损，通常会从咬合缘去除牙釉质。在这项研究中，比较了现生灵长类动物的磕损模式，并结合其他因素（例如，砂磨咀嚼和牙齿特性）评估了硬物体喂养，以阐明考古学和古生物学样本中的饮食和行为推论。
研究了 13 种现生灵长类动物，包括 8 种狨科动物、2 种松鼠科动物和 3 种人科动物。一些分析还纳入了来自文献的另外 4 种物种。记录了每个标本的严重程度（1-3 级）、位置（颊侧、舌侧、近中侧和远中侧）和牙齿骨折数量。
被认为是硬物体喂养专家的物种表现出更高的磕损率，倭黑猩猩、山魈、黑长尾猴和白颊猕猴的磕损率较高（分别为 28.3%、36.7%、48.4%和 34.7%的牙齿）。季节性食用更硬食物的物种具有中等的磕损频率（例如，褐毛吼猴：18.5%），而较少食用硬食物的物种具有最低的磕损频率（例如，克氏长臂猿：7.3%；黑猩猩：4.4%）。
结果表明，硬食物咀嚼会影响研究物种中磕损流行率的差异。尽管人化石样本显示出与硬物体喂养现生灵长类动物相当的高磕损率，但它们表现出不同的磕损模式，支持这些骨折主要与食物无关的假设（例如，在纳莱迪人中与砂磨咀嚼有关；在尼安德特人中与非咀嚼性牙齿使用有关）。
