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Age‐related tooth wear in African rainforest hunter‐gatherers
Author(s) -
Romero Alejandro,
RamirezRozzi Fernando V.,
CuestaTorralvo Elisabeth,
PérezPérez Alejandro
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.23934
Subject(s) - tooth wear , foraging , rainforest , sexual dimorphism , biology , molar , ecology , zoology , dentistry , medicine , paleontology
Objectives Central African small‐scale foragers subsist primarily on hunting game activities and wild plant‐food gathering. Starch‐rich tubers are underground storage organs (USOs) and staple food resources in savanna and tropical rainforests. However, little is known about the effect of USO consumption on tooth wear development in living hunter‐gatherers. We report age‐ and sex‐dependent tooth wear rates in forest‐dwelling Baka Pygmies with well‐documented wild‐yam‐tuber‐based diet to explore the long‐term impact of USO mechanical hardness and abrasiveness on the wearing down of the teeth. Materials and Methods Percentages of dentine exposure (PDEs) of permanent left mandibular first molars (M 1 ) were recorded using in vivo high‐resolution replicas of Baka individuals (aged 8–33 years), inhabiting Le Bosquet district in Cameroon (Western Africa). Regression and covariance analyses were used to test the effect of individual aging by sex on PDE rates. Results We found a strong increase of PDE by age among Baka individuals. No evidence of sexual dimorphism in wear patterns suggests similar sex‐related dietary and masticatory demands during growth. Overall, greatest dentine exposure values ≈4% denote unexpected slow wear down rates for foraging diets relying on USO consumption. Discussion The low molar wear rates with age found in Baka Pygmies contrast with extensive wear rates in savanna‐dwelling foragers, reflecting differences in thermal processing techniques affecting fracture toughness and grittiness of mechanically challenging foods. Our findings reveal that culture‐specific dietary proclivities influence tooth wear among foraging behaviors with important implications in hominin dietary versatility and abrasive stress on chewing surfaces.