The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy
Zinc is incorporated into enamel, dentine and cementum during tooth growth. This work aimed to distinguish between the processes underlying Zn incorporation and Zn distribution. These include different mineralisation processes, the physiological events around birth, Zn ingestion with diet, exposure...
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MDPI AG
2023-11-01
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| author | M. Christopher Dean Jan Garrevoet Stijn J. M. Van Malderen Frédéric Santos Marta Mirazón Lahr Robert Foley Adeline Le Cabec |
| author_facet | M. Christopher Dean Jan Garrevoet Stijn J. M. Van Malderen Frédéric Santos Marta Mirazón Lahr Robert Foley Adeline Le Cabec |
| author_sort | M. Christopher Dean |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Zinc is incorporated into enamel, dentine and cementum during tooth growth. This work aimed to distinguish between the processes underlying Zn incorporation and Zn distribution. These include different mineralisation processes, the physiological events around birth, Zn ingestion with diet, exposure to the oral environment during life and diagenetic changes to fossil teeth <i>post-mortem</i>. Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence (SXRF) was used to map zinc distribution across longitudinal polished ground sections of both deciduous and permanent modern human, great ape and fossil hominoid teeth. Higher resolution fluorescence intensity maps were used to image Zn in surface enamel, secondary dentine and cementum, and at the neonatal line (NNL) and enamel–dentine–junction (EDJ) in deciduous teeth. Secondary dentine was consistently Zn-rich, but the highest concentrations of Zn (range 197–1743 ppm) were found in cuspal, mid-lateral and cervical surface enamel and were similar in unerupted teeth never exposed to the oral environment. Zinc was identified at the NNL and EDJ in both modern and fossil deciduous teeth. In fossil specimens, diagenetic changes were identified in various trace element distributions but only demineralisation appeared to markedly alter Zn distribution. Zinc appears to be tenacious and stable in fossil tooth tissues, especially in enamel, over millions of years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:59:24Z |
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| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:59:24Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
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| series | Biology |
| spelling | doaj.art-20252c9f4a3f4e24821716801fca1fb22023-12-22T13:54:19ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372023-11-011212145510.3390/biology12121455The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and TaphonomyM. Christopher Dean0Jan Garrevoet1Stijn J. M. Van Malderen2Frédéric Santos3Marta Mirazón Lahr4Robert Foley5Adeline Le Cabec6Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UKDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, GermanyDeutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Notkestraße 85, 22607 Hamburg, GermanyUniv. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, FranceLeverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UKLeverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, UKUniv. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, FranceZinc is incorporated into enamel, dentine and cementum during tooth growth. This work aimed to distinguish between the processes underlying Zn incorporation and Zn distribution. These include different mineralisation processes, the physiological events around birth, Zn ingestion with diet, exposure to the oral environment during life and diagenetic changes to fossil teeth <i>post-mortem</i>. Synchrotron X-ray Fluorescence (SXRF) was used to map zinc distribution across longitudinal polished ground sections of both deciduous and permanent modern human, great ape and fossil hominoid teeth. Higher resolution fluorescence intensity maps were used to image Zn in surface enamel, secondary dentine and cementum, and at the neonatal line (NNL) and enamel–dentine–junction (EDJ) in deciduous teeth. Secondary dentine was consistently Zn-rich, but the highest concentrations of Zn (range 197–1743 ppm) were found in cuspal, mid-lateral and cervical surface enamel and were similar in unerupted teeth never exposed to the oral environment. Zinc was identified at the NNL and EDJ in both modern and fossil deciduous teeth. In fossil specimens, diagenetic changes were identified in various trace element distributions but only demineralisation appeared to markedly alter Zn distribution. Zinc appears to be tenacious and stable in fossil tooth tissues, especially in enamel, over millions of years.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/12/1455trace elementsneonatal lineenamelSXRFenamel thicknessmineralisation process |
| spellingShingle | M. Christopher Dean Jan Garrevoet Stijn J. M. Van Malderen Frédéric Santos Marta Mirazón Lahr Robert Foley Adeline Le Cabec The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy Biology trace elements neonatal line enamel SXRF enamel thickness mineralisation process |
| title | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| title_full | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| title_fullStr | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| title_short | The Distribution and Biogenic Origins of Zinc in the Mineralised Tooth Tissues of Modern and Fossil Hominoids: Implications for Life History, Diet and Taphonomy |
| title_sort | distribution and biogenic origins of zinc in the mineralised tooth tissues of modern and fossil hominoids implications for life history diet and taphonomy |
| topic | trace elements neonatal line enamel SXRF enamel thickness mineralisation process |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/12/12/1455 |
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