Simulation of dental microwear: Characteristic traces by opal phytoliths give clues to ancient human dietary behavior

In order to further evaluate the process of microwear formation on human de ntal enamel, microwear was experimentally produced by a chewing simulation with an Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam (ACTA) device. For this sim ulation, several cereal species were processed according to historical mill ing techniques, the experimental results of which were compared with those obtained from cereals processed after modern techniques, and also with natu ral microwear on early medieval human molars. Comparison of simulated micro wear pits with natural microwear pits showed that the simulation led to tra ces which matched those found on the historical teeth in terms of both size and shape. Experimentally produced microwear pits were especially characte ristic for the cereal species used in the simulations, and both pit morphol ogy and enamel loss were a function of cereal phytolith content. Despite th e high variability of phytolith size and shape, certain types are character istic for certain cereals, which in turn are capable of producing cereal-sp ecific microwear. This experimental approach is likely to further define an cient human dietary behavior, including food processing. (C) 2001 Wiley-Lis s, Inc.