% pubman genre = article
@article{item_3369625,
title = {{Post-mortem enamel surface texture alteration during taphonomic processes{\textemdash}do experimental approaches reflect natural phenomena?}},
author = {Weber, Katrin and Winkler, Daniela E. and Schulz-Kornas, E. and Kaiser, Thomas M. and T{\"u}tken, Thomas},
language = {eng},
issn = {2167-8359},
doi = {10.7717/peerj.12635},
year = {2022},
abstract = {{Experimental approaches are often used to better understand the mechanisms behind{\textless}br{\textgreater}and consequences of post-mortem alteration on proxies for diet reconstruction.{\textless}br{\textgreater}Dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) is such a dietary proxy, using dental wear{\textless}br{\textgreater}features in extant and extinct taxa to reconstruct feeding behaviour and mechanical{\textless}br{\textgreater}food properties. In fossil specimens especially, DMTA can be biased by post-mortem{\textless}br{\textgreater}alteration caused by mechanical or chemical alteration of the enamel surface. Here{\textless}br{\textgreater}we performed three different dental surface alteration experiments to assess the effect{\textless}br{\textgreater}of common taphonomic processes by simplifying them: (1) tumbling in sediment{\textless}br{\textgreater}suspension to simulate fluvial transport, (2) sandblasting to simulate mechanical{\textless}br{\textgreater}erosion due to aeolian sediment transport, (3) acid etching to simulate chemical{\textless}br{\textgreater}dissolution by stomach acid. For tumbling (1) we found alteration to be mainly{\textless}br{\textgreater}dependent on sediment grain size fraction and that on specimens tumbled with sand{\textless}br{\textgreater}fractions mainly post-mortem scratches formed on the dental surface, while specimens{\textless}br{\textgreater}tumbled with a fine-gravel fraction showed post-mortem formed dales. Sandblasting{\textless}br{\textgreater}(2) with loess caused only negligible alteration, however blasting with fine sand quartz{\textless}br{\textgreater}particles resulted in significant destruction of enamel surfaces and formation of large{\textless}br{\textgreater}post-mortem dales. Acid etching (3) using diluted hydrochloric acid solutions in{\textless}br{\textgreater}concentrations similar to that of predator stomachs led to a complete etching of the{\textless}br{\textgreater}whole dental surface, which did not resemble those of teeth recovered from owl pellets.{\textless}br{\textgreater}The experiments resulted in post-mortem alteration comparable, but not identical to{\textless}br{\textgreater}naturally occurring post-mortem alteration features. Nevertheless, this study serves{\textless}br{\textgreater}as a first assessment and step towards further, more refined taphonomic experiments{\textless}br{\textgreater}evaluating post-mortem alteration of dental microwear texture (DMT).}},
journal = {{PeerJ}},
volume = {10},
eid = {e12635},
}