Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2008 Apr 30;3(4):e2044.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0002044.

Dental microwear and diet of the Plio-Pleistocene hominin Paranthropus boisei

Peter S Ungar  1 , Frederick E Grine, Mark F Teaford
Affiliations

Dental microwear and diet of the Plio-Pleistocene hominin Paranthropus boisei

Peter S Ungar et al. PLoS One. .

Erratum in

Abstract

The Plio-Pleistocene hominin Paranthropus boisei had enormous, flat, thickly enameled cheek teeth, a robust cranium and mandible, and inferred massive, powerful chewing muscles. This specialized morphology, which earned P. boisei the nickname "Nutcracker Man", suggests that this hominin could have consumed very mechanically challenging foods. It has been recently argued, however, that specialized hominin morphology may indicate adaptations for the consumption of occasional fallback foods rather than preferred resources. Dental microwear offers a potential means by which to test this hypothesis in that it reflects actual use rather than genetic adaptation. High microwear surface texture complexity and anisotropy in extant primates can be associated with the consumption of exceptionally hard and tough foods respectively. Here we present the first quantitative analysis of dental microwear for P. boisei. Seven specimens examined preserved unobscured antemortem molar microwear. These all show relatively low complexity and anisotropy values. This suggests that none of the individuals consumed especially hard or tough foods in the days before they died. The apparent discrepancy between microwear and functional anatomy is consistent with the idea that P. boisei presents a hominin example of Liem's Paradox, wherein a highly derived morphology need not reflect a specialized diet.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Photosimulation montages of all Paranthropus boisei specimens known to preserve antemortem microwear.
Each montage is comprised of photosimulations of 3D point clouds for four adjacent fields representing a total of 276×204 µm of each original occlusal surface. (A) KNM-CH 1, (B) KNM-ER 729, (C) KNM-ER 3230, (D) KNM-ER 3952, (E) KNM-WT 17400, (F) OH 5, (G) Omo L7A-125.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Dental microwear comparisons of Paranthropus boisei individuals with (A) South African early hominins and (B) various extant species.
The x-axis and y-axis represent surface complexity (Asfc) and anisotropy (epLsar) respectively.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kay RF. Dental evidence for the diet of Australopithecus. Ann Rev Anthrop. 1985;14:315–341.
    1. Grine FE, Martin LB. Enamel thickness and development in Australopithecus and Paranthropus. In: Grine FE, editor. Evolutionary History of the “Robust” Australopithecines. New York: Aldine de Gruyter; 1988. pp. 3–42.
    1. Tobias PV. The Cranium and Maxillary Dentition of Australopithecus (Zinjanthropus) boisei. Cambridge 1967
    1. Rak Y. New York: Academic Press; 1983. The Australopithecine Face.
    1. Hylander WL. Implications of in vivo experiments for interpreting the functional significance of “robust” australopithecine jaws. In: Grine FE, editor. Evolutionary History of the “Robust” Australopithecines. New York: Aldine de Gruyter; 1988. pp. 55–83.

Publication types