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Dental Topography And Microwear Texture In Sapajus Apella, Peter S. Ungar, Claire L. Hartgrove, Alexa N. Wimberly, Mark F. Teaford

Faculty Publications & Research of the TUC College of Osteopathic Medicine

Dental microwear texture pattern has been associated with aspects of diet for a broad range of mammalian taxa. The basic idea is that soft, tough foods are sheared with a steeper angle of approach between opposing occlusal surfaces, whereas hard, brittle items are crushed with forces perpendicular to those surfaces; and this difference is manifested in anisotropic, striated microwear textures for tough foods, and complex, pitted ones for hard objects. Other factors may, however, influence microwear texture pattern and confound diet signals. For example, if tooth surface slope influences angle of approach between opposing teeth, then perhaps wear-related changes in …