Interdisciplinary research has benefitted the fields of anthropology and engineering for
decades: a classic example being the application of material science to the field of feeding …

Researchers have suggested that fallback foods (FBFs) shape primate food processing
adaptations, whereas preferred foods drive harvesting adaptations, and that the dietary …

Physical anthropologists use the term “fallback foods” to denote resources of relatively poor
nutritional quality that become particularly important dietary components during periods …

The Middle Awash Ardipithecus ramidus sample comprises over 145 teeth, including
associated maxillary and mandibular sets. These help reveal the earliest stages of human …

Dental microwear has long been used as evidence concerning the diets of extinct species.
Here, we present a comparative baseline series of dental microwear textures for a sample of …

The diet of early human ancestors has received renewed theoretical interest since the
discovery of elevated δ 13 C values in the enamel of Australopithecus africanus and …

Diminished bite force has been considered a defining feature of modern Homo sapiens, an
interpretation inferred from the application of two-dimensional lever mechanics and the …

This book describes one of our closest relatives, the orangutan, and the only extant great
ape in Asia. It is increasingly clear that orangutan populations show extensive variation in …

Recent humans and their fossil relatives are classified as having thick molar enamel, one of
very few dental traits that distinguish hominins from living African apes. However, little is …

Determining the diet of an extinct species is paramount in any attempt to reconstruct its
paleoecology. Because the distribution and mechanical properties of food items may impact …