ArticleAnatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007)2015
The feeding biomechanics and dietary ecology of Paranthropus boisei.
Article in Anatomical record (Hoboken, N.J. : 2007), 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed.
- A (Bite) Force to Be Reckoned With.American journal of biological anthropology · 2025Review
- Evaluating the Evolvability of Paranthropus Cranial Morphology in Relation to Feeding Biomechanics.American journal of biological anthropology · 2025Article
- Bite force production and the origin ofRoyal Society open science · 2025Article
- Testing hypotheses of skull function with comparative finite element analysis: three methods reveal contrasting results.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Factors influencing cranial variation between prehistoric Japanese forager populations.Archaeological and anthropological sciences · 2024Article
- Does the model reflect the system? When two-dimensional biomechanics is not 'good enough'.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2023Article
- The cost of chewing: The energetics and evolutionary significance of mastication in humans.Science advances · 2022Article
- New site at Olduvai Gorge (AGS, Bed I, 1.84 Mya) widens the range of locations where hominins engaged in butchery.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- Mechanical compensation in the evolution of the early hominin feeding apparatus.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2022Article
- Finite element analysis relating shape, material properties, and dimensions of taenioglossan radular teeth with trophic specialisations in Paludomidae (Gastropoda).Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Comparative biomechanics of theInterface focus · 2021Article
- The cranial biomechanics and feeding performance ofInterface focus · 2021Article
- Molar biomechanical function in South African homininsInterface focus · 2021Article
- Anthroengineering: an independent interdisciplinary field.Interface focus · 2021Article
- Seed choice differs by sex in sooty mangabeys (Cercocebus atys).Primates; journal of primatology · 2021Article
- Biomechanics of the mandible of Macaca mulatta during the power stroke of mastication: Loading, deformation, and strain regimes and the impact of food type.Journal of human evolution · 2020Article
- The ontogeny of maximum bite force in humans.Journal of anatomy · 2020Article
- Broad-scale morpho-functional traits of the mandible suggest no hard food adaptation in the hominin lineage.Scientific reports · 2020Article
- Fracture mechanics, enamel thickness and the evolution of molar form in hominins.Biology letters · 2020Article
- The anatomy of a crushing bite: The specialised cranial mechanics of a giant extinct kangaroo.PloS one · 2019Article
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26 authors.
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Abstract
The African Plio-Pleistocene hominins known as australopiths evolved derived craniodental features frequently interpreted as adaptations for feeding on either hard, or compliant/tough foods. Among australopiths, Paranthropus boisei is the most robust form, exhibiting traits traditionally hypothesized to produce high bite forces efficiently and strengthen the face against feeding stresses. However, recent mechanical analyses imply that P. boisei may not have been an efficient producer of bite force and that robust morphology in primates is not necessarily strong. Here we use an engineering method, finite element analysis, to show that the facial skeleton of P. boisei is structurally strong, exhibits a strain pattern different from that in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and Australopithecus africanus, and efficiently produces high bite force. It has been suggested that P. boisei consumed a diet of compliant/tough foods like grass blades and sedge pith. However, the blunt occlusal topography of this and other species suggests that australopiths are adapted to consume hard foods, perhaps including grass and sedge seeds. A consideration of evolutionary trends in morphology relating to feeding mechanics suggests that food processing behaviors in gracile australopiths evidently were disrupted by environmental change, perhaps contributing to the eventual evolution of Homo and Paranthropus.
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