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Notching and Anterior Beveling on Fossil Horse Incisors: Indicators of Domestication?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Richard A. Rogers
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588- 0368, and Vertebrate Paleontology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045
Laurine A. Rogers
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, Nebraska 68588-0368

Abstract

One of the lines of evidence cited for possible late Pleistocene human control of horses has been the presence of notching and anterior beveling on horse incisor teeth recovered from upper and middle Paleolithic sites in Europe. Similar forms of wear have been found on the incisor teeth of wild horses from early and middle Pleistocene deposits in North America. Notching appears partly due to malocclusion and chipping. The causes of beveling are less certain but may involve the eating of bark. Therefore, the presence of notching and anterior beveling on horse incisor teeth may not be a reliable indicator of human control.

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
University of Washington

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