A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)

Dental microwear is a widely used technique to infer the diet of ancient populations. This method allows to determine not only the physical properties of the food, such as abrasiveness or hardness, but also informs about how food was processed before being consumed. This technique is applied, in bot...

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Main Authors: Raquel Hernando, Juan Ignacio Morales, Francesc Xavier Oms, Artur Cebrià, Marina Lozano
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques 2019-09-01
Series:UISPP Journal
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author Raquel Hernando
Juan Ignacio Morales
Francesc Xavier Oms
Artur Cebrià
Marina Lozano
author_facet Raquel Hernando
Juan Ignacio Morales
Francesc Xavier Oms
Artur Cebrià
Marina Lozano
author_sort Raquel Hernando
collection DOAJ
description Dental microwear is a widely used technique to infer the diet of ancient populations. This method allows to determine not only the physical properties of the food, such as abrasiveness or hardness, but also informs about how food was processed before being consumed. This technique is applied, in both buccal and occlusal dental surfaces, by means of the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM). However, there are no extensive studies comparing the information obtained by both surfaces in the same individuals. Different features can be found depending on the surface observed. The buccal microwear pattern is presented as striations while on the occlusal surface, microwear pattern is conformed by striations and pits, given that this surface is not only affected by the abrasiveness of the diet, but also depend on the “tooth to tooth wear” contact during chewing. The aim of this study is the use of both approaches’ methodologies in the same individuals to compare the microwear pattern in the two surfaces, and test if the pattern of the diet inferred depends on the observed surface. Buccal pattern has a slower renewal than occlusal pattern, this means that it provides information about the diet of an individual for longer time periods, while occlusal pattern due to its fast renewal provides information about the diet during the last days or weeks before the individual's death. This is called “the last supper effect”.
format Article
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institution OA Journals
issn 2612-2782
language deu
publishDate 2019-09-01
publisher Union Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et Protohistoriques
record_format Article
series UISPP Journal
spelling doaj-art-7a5e4bca8580406285c19a5459a9c5392025-08-20T02:32:04ZdeuUnion Internationale des Sciences Préhistoriques et ProtohistoriquesUISPP Journal2612-27822019-09-0122545910.62526/58CUT3A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)Raquel Hernando0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4873-0657Juan Ignacio Morales1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8253-414XFrancesc Xavier Oms2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1642-548XArtur Cebrià3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5674-4135Marina Lozano4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6304-7848Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució SocialUniversitat de BarcelonaUniversitat de BarcelonaUniversitat de BarcelonaInstitut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució SocialDental microwear is a widely used technique to infer the diet of ancient populations. This method allows to determine not only the physical properties of the food, such as abrasiveness or hardness, but also informs about how food was processed before being consumed. This technique is applied, in both buccal and occlusal dental surfaces, by means of the Environmental Scanning Electron Microscope (ESEM). However, there are no extensive studies comparing the information obtained by both surfaces in the same individuals. Different features can be found depending on the surface observed. The buccal microwear pattern is presented as striations while on the occlusal surface, microwear pattern is conformed by striations and pits, given that this surface is not only affected by the abrasiveness of the diet, but also depend on the “tooth to tooth wear” contact during chewing. The aim of this study is the use of both approaches’ methodologies in the same individuals to compare the microwear pattern in the two surfaces, and test if the pattern of the diet inferred depends on the observed surface. Buccal pattern has a slower renewal than occlusal pattern, this means that it provides information about the diet of an individual for longer time periods, while occlusal pattern due to its fast renewal provides information about the diet during the last days or weeks before the individual's death. This is called “the last supper effect”.dental microweardietlate neolithic
spellingShingle Raquel Hernando
Juan Ignacio Morales
Francesc Xavier Oms
Artur Cebrià
Marina Lozano
A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
UISPP Journal
dental microwear
diet
late neolithic
title A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
title_full A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
title_fullStr A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
title_full_unstemmed A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
title_short A methodological approach to infer the diet: the case of the children from Cova de la Guineu (Font-Rubí, Barcelona, Spain)
title_sort methodological approach to infer the diet the case of the children from cova de la guineu font rubi barcelona spain
topic dental microwear
diet
late neolithic
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