Date of Graduation
5-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Biological Sciences
Advisor/Mentor
Peter Ungar
Committee Member
Jeremy Bealieu
Second Committee Member
Andrew Alverson
Third Committee Member
Kim Stauss
Abstract
The Turkana Basin has undergone significant environmental changes over time and today represents a region of extensive fossil remains. Understanding the dietary patterns of species throughout this region provides valuable insight into evolutionary and ecological conditions through time. This study focuses on applying dental microwear texture analysis to non-primate mammals from the Neogene to identify these dietary patterns. Identifying the diets of species can aid in an environment reconstruction of the region as well, particularly when diet is tied to food availability and, by extension, habitat. The Lothagam locality is especially notable for the discovery of very early hominin remains, making it an important site for understanding the environmental and ecological conditions present during early hominin evolution. In this study, fossil bovid teeth were scanned using confocal profilometry, and complexity and anisotropy microwear texture parameters were calculated. The data collected from the fossil bovids was compared to an extant baseline set of data. The results of this comparison showed that Lothagam bovids tend to have a mixed-feeder diet. This indicates a mosaic environment consisting of woodlands and open woodlands/grassland, which is consistent with previous environmental reconstructions of the area.
Keywords
Lothagam; Bovid; Dental Microwear; Dietary Reconstruction
Citation
Dunagan, L. (2026). Dental Microwear Comparison of Non-primate Mammals of the Turkana Basin. Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/biscuht/153
