Sign-oriented Dirichlet Normal Energy: Aligning Dental Topography and Dental Function in the R-package molaR

dc.contributor.author

Pampush, JD

dc.contributor.author

Morse, PE

dc.contributor.author

Fuselier, EJ

dc.contributor.author

Skinner, MM

dc.contributor.author

Kay, RF

dc.date.accessioned

2023-01-22T13:20:40Z

dc.date.available

2023-01-22T13:20:40Z

dc.date.issued

2022-12-01

dc.date.updated

2023-01-22T13:20:39Z

dc.description.abstract

Dirichlet normal energy (DNE) is a dental topography measurement aimed at capturing occlusal sharpness and has shown promise for its ability to sort primate molars according to perceived shearing ability. As initially implemented, this measurement does not differentiate concave versus convex contributions to surface sharpness. This is problematic because the DNE-signal derived from concave aspects of an occlusal surface measures a sharp ‘edge’ oriented inward towards the enamel dentine junction rather than outward towards food contact. The inclusion of concave DNE in dietary analyses of molars possessing deep occlusal sulci–such as those found among hominoids–inflates the perceived functional sharpness of these teeth. Concave-inflated DNE values can be misleading, being interpreted as indicating that a particular taxon is more adapted for processing fibrous food than is warranted. The modification of the DNE measurement introduced here ‘Sign-oriented DNE’ alleviates this problem by elimination of concave sharpness from analyses, allowing investigations to focus on features of occlusal surfaces plausibly linked to shearing, cutting, or shredding of food materials during Phases I and II of the masticatory power stroke. Convex DNE is just as effective at sorting non-hominoid primate molars into traditional dietary categories as the initial applications of the orientation-blind version of the measurement, and produces more theoretically coherent results from hominoid molars. Focusing on- and improving the connection between measurement and occlusal function will enhance the ability of dental topography to make meaningful contributions to our collective understanding of species’ dietary ecologies.

dc.identifier.issn

1064-7554

dc.identifier.issn

1573-7055

dc.identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10161/26487

dc.language

en

dc.publisher

Springer Science and Business Media LLC

dc.relation.ispartof

Journal of Mammalian Evolution

dc.relation.isversionof

10.1007/s10914-022-09616-6

dc.subject

DNE

dc.subject

Crenulated enamel

dc.subject

Occlusal sulci

dc.subject

Enamel furrows

dc.subject

Dental sharpness

dc.subject

Curvature sign orientation

dc.title

Sign-oriented Dirichlet Normal Energy: Aligning Dental Topography and Dental Function in the R-package molaR

dc.type

Journal article

duke.contributor.orcid

Morse, PE|0000-0003-3318-3862

duke.contributor.orcid

Kay, RF|0000-0002-4219-7580

pubs.begin-page

713

pubs.end-page

732

pubs.issue

4

pubs.organisational-group

Duke

pubs.organisational-group

Nicholas School of the Environment

pubs.organisational-group

Trinity College of Arts & Sciences

pubs.organisational-group

Staff

pubs.organisational-group

Evolutionary Anthropology

pubs.organisational-group

Earth and Climate Sciences

pubs.publication-status

Published

pubs.volume

29

Files

Original bundle

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name:
Pampush et al 2022.pdf
Size:
2.96 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Published version