DIETARY INFERENCES THROUGH BUCCAL MICROWEAR ANALYSIS OF MIDDLE AND UPPER PLEISTOCENE HUMAN FOSSILS

Buccal microwear has been studied in a sample of 153 molar teeth from different modern hunter-gatherer, pastoralist, and agriculturalist gro ups, with different diets (Inuit, Fueguians, Bushmen, Australian abori gines, Andamanese, Indians from Vancouver, Veddahs, Tasmanians, Lapps, and Hindus), preserved at museum collections. Molds of an area of the buccal surface have been obtained and observed at 100x magnification in a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The length and orientation of each striation have been determined with a semiautomatic program of a n image analyzer system (IBAS). Results show that intergroup variabili ty is significantly higher than the intragroup variability. There exis ts a tendency toward fewer striations and a higher proportion of verti cal striations in the carnivorous groups than in the vegetarian ones. This microwear pattern is concordant with biomechanics (predominantly vertical mandible movements in meat eaters) and phytolith content in p lants (more abrasive particles in vegetarian diets). The variability f ound has been used in a multivariate analysis as a base to compare the microwear pattern of a sample of 20 Middle and Upper Pleistocene foss ils, mainly from Europe, analyzed with the same methodology. The sampl e includes specimens usually classified as archaic H. sapiens (Broken Hill, Banyoles, Montmaurin, La Chaise-Suard, La Chaise-Bourgeios et De launay), Neanderthal (La Quina V, Gibraltar 2, Tabun 1 and 2, Amud 1, Malarnaud, St. Cesaire, Marillac), and anatomically modern H. sapiens (Skhul 4, Qafzeh 9, Cro-Magnon 4, Abri-Pataud, Veyrier, La Madelaine, Rond-du-Barry). Results indicate that some of the Neanderthal specimen s have a microwear pattern close to that of the carnivorous groups (su ch as Inuit and Fueguians), suggesting that these individuals follow a hunter strategy. In contrast, archaic H. sapiens and H. sapiens sapie ns seem to have a more abrasive diet, probably more depending on veget able materials, than the Neanderthals. (C) 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.