Sheehy, Haley V

English

Georgia State University

Dental Microwear Analysis of Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus from Makapansgat Cave, South Africa  
 
Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus taxa from Makapansgat cave, South Africa are dated to 2.9 million 
years ago.  These fossils are found in the same contexts as Australopithecus africanus, an early bipedal 
hominin, and the dietary proclivities of these fossil monkeys can provide a paleoecological context for 
early hominins from this cave.  Low-magnification stereomicroscopy was included to examine resin casts 
of the original fossil specimens, and a comparative sample, including Papio sp. (n = 6), Theropithecus 
gelada (n = 1), Gorilla gorilla (n = 2) and Pan troglodytes (n = 1) with known diets are utilized to interpret 
the dental microwear signature of the fossils.  The microwear features included small pits, large pits, 
fine scratches and coarse scratches.  The features were counted on the paracone of the second molar 
using an ocular reticle and an external light source.  Analysis of Variance demonstrates that the taxa can 
be distinguished on the basis of use-wear scars given the large F values (but non-significant p values).  
For example, Parapapio, Papio and Pan exhibit a greater number of small pits compared to Gorilla and 
Theropithecus, although the range of variation overlaps across the taxa.  For large pits, Parapapio is 
distinct from all other taxa except Theropithecus darti.  For fine scratches, Theropithecus gelada is 
distinct from all taxa except Gorilla and for coarse scratches, Parapapio is nearly distinct from Papio.  A 
discriminant function analysis shows a 56% overall classification rate for the taxa.  A canonical scores 
plot separates Theropithecus and Gorilla from Parapapio, Papio and Pan on the basis of fine scratches.  
My findings demonstrated that fossil papionins probably ate harder foods than their extant counterparts 
suggesting that the consumption of fruits with hard seeds and or underground storage organs 
characterized the diets of the fossil taxa.  The paleoecological inference is that Pliocene Makapansgat 
was more forested than the savanna habitats of extant baboons.    
 
Key Words: Anthropology, Dental Microwear, Makapansgat, Primates 


Dental Microwear Analysis of Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus from Makapansgat cave, South Africa

ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University

Dental Microwear Analysis of Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus from Makapansgat Cave, South Africa   Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus taxa from Makapansgat cave, South Africa are dated to 2.9 million years ago.  These fossils are found in the same contexts as Australopithecus africanus, an early bipedal hominin, and the dietary proclivities of these fossil monkeys can provide a paleoecological context for early hominins from this cave.  Low-magnification stereomicroscopy was included to examine resin casts of the original fossil specimens, and a comparative sample, including Papio sp. (n = 6), Theropithecus gelada (n = 1), Gorilla gorilla (n = 2) and Pan troglodytes (n = 1) with known diets are utilized to interpret the dental microwear signature of the fossils.  The microwear features included small pits, large pits, fine scratches and coarse scratches.  The features were counted on the paracone of the second molar using an ocular reticle and an external light source.  Analysis of Variance demonstrates that the taxa can be distinguished on the basis of use-wear scars given the large F values (but non-significant p values).  For example, Parapapio, Papio and Pan exhibit a greater number of small pits compared to Gorilla and Theropithecus, although the range of variation overlaps across the taxa.  For large pits, Parapapio is distinct from all other taxa except Theropithecus darti.  For fine scratches, Theropithecus gelada is distinct from all taxa except Gorilla and for coarse scratches, Parapapio is nearly distinct from Papio.  A discriminant function analysis shows a 56% overall classification rate for the taxa.  A canonical scores plot separates Theropithecus and Gorilla from Parapapio, Papio and Pan on the basis of fine scratches.  My findings demonstrated that fossil papionins probably ate harder foods than their extant counterparts suggesting that the consumption of fruits with hard seeds and or underground storage organs characterized the diets of the fossil taxa.  The paleoecological inference is that Pliocene Makapansgat was more forested than the savanna habitats of extant baboons.     Key Words: Anthropology, Dental Microwear, Makapansgat, Primates 

https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1043&amp;context=gsurc

Dental Microwear Analysis of Fossil Parapapio and Theropithecus from Makapansgat cave, South Africa

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