Animal Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Microwear On Rodent Molars From Differing Species And A Wide Range Of Environments, Mikko Joiner

Anthropology Undergraduate Honors Theses

Dental microwear analysis is a very useful tool when trying to infer the diet of a particular organism. By studying the use-wear scars left on the enamel of the tooth due to eaten objects, one can infer the diet of the organism because certain types of food leave certain types of scars. For example, the consumption of tree parts produces pits, while the consumption of grasses produces striated scratches (Ungar et al., 2007). Thus, based on the type of microwear, the diet of the organism in question can be deduced, which indicates the type of environment that it lives in. …