Hardy, K. , Buckley, S. and Copeland, L. (2018) Pleistocene dental calculus: Recovering information on Paleolithic food items, medicines, paleoenvironment and microbes. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 27(5), pp. 234-246. (doi: 10.1002/evan.21718) (PMID:30326183)
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Abstract
Dental calculus is now widely used to recover information on items ingested in the past. It is particularly valuable in the earlier Paleolithic, where recovered data may represent the only evidence for plant use. Several recovery methods are used and each one produces different results. Biomolecular markers and genetic material recovered from dental calculus is providing new data on identifiable dietary and medicinal items and human microbial communities. The recovery of microfossils, in particular, starch granules, has triggered a new awareness of the role of plants in the diet throughout the Paleolithic. However, the minute amount of material recovered has little relationship with food eaten during a person's life, while salivary amylase breaks down cooked starch. Therefore, broader dietary interpretations and detection of cooked food are problematic. The study of ancient dental calculus holds great potential to recover information about past lives, within realistic parameters.
| Item Type: | Articles |
|---|---|
| Status: | Published |
| Refereed: | Yes |
| Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: | Hardy, Professor Karen |
| Authors: | Hardy, K., Buckley, S., and Copeland, L. |
| College/School: | College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > Archaeology |
| Journal Name: | Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews |
| Publisher: | Wiley |
| ISSN: | 1060-1538 |
| ISSN (Online): | 1520-6505 |
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