Abstract
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd, 2016. Analysis of dental calculus is increasingly important in archaeology, although the focus has hitherto been on dietary reconstruction. Non-edible material has, however, recently been extracted from the dental calculus of a Neanderthal population from the 49 000-year-old site of El Sidrón, Spain, in the form of fibre and chemical compounds that indicate conifer wood. Associated dental wear confirms that the teeth were being used for non-dietary activities. These results highlight the importance of dental calculus as a source of wider biographical information, and demonstrate the need to include associated data within research, in particular tooth wear, to maximise this valuable resource.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 290-301 |
Journal | Antiquity |
Volume | 90 |
Issue number | 350 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 1 Apr 2016 |
Keywords
- conifer
- dental calculus
- El Sidrón
- gas chromatography
- mass spectrometry
- microscopy
- Neanderthals
- Spain
- wood