Major
Anthropology
Anticipated Graduation Year
2025
Access Type
Open Access
Abstract
The study aims to experimentally examine the diet of the El Sidrón Neandertals. Previous dental microwear research suggests these individuals relied on Physcomitrella patens (forest moss), Schizophyllum commune (split-gill mushrooms), and Pinus koraiensis (pine nuts); however, the formation processes of microwear have recently been debated. Due to the lack of meat found in the calculus, it has been suggested that these ancestors were vegetarian. This experiment will create dental microwear using Artificial Resynthesis Technology using the foods aforementioned, shedding light on both the formation processes of microwear and the diet of these hominins.
Community Partners
N/A
Faculty Mentors & Instructors
Dr. Kristen Krueger, PhD, Department of Anthropology
Supported By
N/A
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Diet Reconstruction of El Sidrón Neandertals Using ART, an Experimental Approach
The study aims to experimentally examine the diet of the El Sidrón Neandertals. Previous dental microwear research suggests these individuals relied on Physcomitrella patens (forest moss), Schizophyllum commune (split-gill mushrooms), and Pinus koraiensis (pine nuts); however, the formation processes of microwear have recently been debated. Due to the lack of meat found in the calculus, it has been suggested that these ancestors were vegetarian. This experiment will create dental microwear using Artificial Resynthesis Technology using the foods aforementioned, shedding light on both the formation processes of microwear and the diet of these hominins.