Knowledge Tree
dental calculus
Also known as: tooth calculus
Facts (13)
Sources
The role of Plant Foods in the evolution and Dispersal of early Humans kernsverlag.com Jul 30, 2022 10 facts
claimStarch grains recovered from modern human dental calculus in Israel dating to 130,000–100,000 years ago show diagnostic processing damage, indicating the cooking and eating of starchy plant foods.
claimRecent research has revisited the importance of plant foods in Paleolithic diets due to new evidence, such as the analysis of plant microfossils in dental calculus, and a shift in focus toward understanding hominin macronutrient requirements.
referencePower et al. (2018) analyzed dental calculus to demonstrate widespread plant use within the dietary niche of Neanderthals.
claimStarch grains recovered from Neanderthal dental calculus in Israel dating to 50,000–46,000 years ago show diagnostic processing damage, indicating the cooking and eating of starchy plant foods.
referenceAnalysis of dental calculus from the Sima del Elefante site in Spain reveals the diet and environment of Europe's oldest hominin 1.2 million years ago, according to a 2017 study by K. Hardy et al.
claimDirect comparison of dental calculus from Middle and Upper Paleolithic Europe shows no obvious difference between modern humans and Neanderthals in the range of plant taxa consumed or in evidence for cooking practices.
claimPlant food remains are preserved in the archaeological record primarily as charred macrofossils resulting from cooking, burning fuel, or disposing of rubbish in hearths; as robust fossil remains like phytoliths and mineralized seeds; or in special environments such as water-logged sites or within dental calculus.
claimNeanderthals across Eurasia consumed a range of plant foods and fungi, including fruits, nuts, wild grass seeds, legumes, underground storage organs (USOs), and mushrooms, as evidenced by microfossils and eukaryotic aDNA preserved in dental calculus.
referenceNeanderthals consumed food, cooked meals, and medicinal plants, as evidenced by analysis of dental calculus, according to a 2012 study by J. et al. published in Naturwissenschaften.
referenceWeyrich et al. (2017) analyzed ancient DNA from Neanderthal dental calculus to infer information about their behavior, diet, and disease, as published in the journal Nature.
Reviewing the Prehistoric Menu | American Scientist americanscientist.org 1 fact
claimPhytoliths found in Neanderthal tooth calculus indicate that Neanderthals consumed cooked plant foods 60,000 years ago, specifically precursors to barley, rye, and wheat.
Paleolithic diet - Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org 1 fact
claimMicrofossils found in dental calculus from Neanderthal specimens Shanidar III (Iraq) and Spy I and II (Belgium) demonstrate that Neanderthals consumed plants and cooked foods.
Wild edible plants for food security, dietary diversity, and nutraceuticals frontiersin.org Nov 27, 2025 1 fact
claimD'Agostino et al. (2024) demonstrated that microparticles extracted from dental calculus can provide records of paleoenvironmental and palaeoecological data.