Several studies have suggested that incisor microwear reflects diet an
d feeding adaptations of anthropoids. However, such studies have been
largely qualitative, and interpretations have relied on anecdotal refe
rences to diet and tooth use reported in the socioecology literature.
The current study relates incisor microwear in four anthropoid primate
s to specific ingestive behaviors and food types. Central incisor cast
s of wild-shot museum specimens of Hylobates lar, Macaca fascicularis,
Pongo pygmaeus, and Presbytis thomasi were examined by scanning elect
ron microscopy, and analyzed using a semiautomated image analysis proc
edure. Microwear patterns were used to generate predictions regarding
diet and anterior tooth use. These predictions were evaluated using da
ta collected during a 1 year study of feeding behavior of these same t
axa in the wild (Ungar, 1992, 1994a,b). Results suggest that (1) ename
l prism relief is associated with the effectiveness of etching reagent
s in foods, (2) dental calculus buildup results from a lack of incisor
use and perhaps the ingestion of sugar-rich foods, (3) striation dens
ity varies with degree of anterior tooth use in the ingestion of abras
ive food items, (4) striation breadth is proposed to relate to the rat
io of exogenous grit to phytoliths consumed; and (5) preferred striati
on orientation indicates the direction that food items are pulled acro
ss the incisors during ingestion. It is concluded that incisor microwe
ar studies can contribute to the understanding of diets and feeding be
haviors of extinct primates. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.