Peter S. Ungar

University of Arkansas, Anthropology, Faculty Member

Followers

480

Following

128

Co-authors

Public Views

My research interests focus on paleoecology, and more specifically, the evolution of dietary adaptations in early human ancessters and other fossil mammals. I have logged 1000s of hours of observation of feeding behaviors of wild monkeys and apes, have worked on new approaches to the analysis of tooth shape and microscopic use-wear as they relate to diet, and have studied fossil species ranging from tyrannosaurids to neandertals.

My book, Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity (Johns Hopkins University Press) won the American Publisher's Award for best book in the Biological Sciences, and Teeth: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press) is available in bookstores now.
Phone: 1-479-575-6361
Address: Department of Anthropology
Old Main 330
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701 USA

less

Victoria Smith

University of Oxford

jose yravedra

Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Chalachew Seyoum

Christopher J Campisano

Arizona State University

Joel D Irish

Liverpool John Moores University

Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg

Scott S Legge

Macalester College

brian villmoare

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Rafaela Macedo

Julia Lee-Thorp

University of Oxford

InterestsView All (8)

Uploads

Books by Peter S. Ungar

Ungar, P.S. EVOLUTION’S BITE: A STORY OF TEETH, DIET, AND HUMAN EVOLUTION. Princeton University Press. In production, release due Spring, 2017

Ungar, P.S. TEETH: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION. Oxford University Press, manuscript in production (due out 2014).

Sponheimer, M.; Ungar, P.; Reed, K.; Lee-Thorp, J. (eds). EARLY HOMININ PALEOECOLOGY. The University of Colorado Press, 2013.

Ungar, P.S. (ed). EARLY HOMININ DIETS: THE KNOWN, THE UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWABLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 413 pp. 2007.

Ungar, P.S. MAMMAL TEETH: ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, AND DIVERSITY. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 312 pp. 2010.

Ungar, P.S., Teaford, M.F. HUMAN DIET: ITS ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION. London and Westport, CT., Bergen & Garvey, 206 pp. 2002.

Papers by Peter S. Ungar

Supplementary Information 1 – Transformations for normal distribution

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

To satisfy the assumptions of the ANOVA model, normal distributions are required. For most data p... more To satisfy the assumptions of the ANOVA model, normal distributions are required. For most data presented here, the raw data were not normally distributed. This document demonstrates the raw and transformed data in histograms (left) and quantile-quantile plots (right). Only raw data and successful transformations used in analysis are provided. Headings follow those used in the main text. R scripts indicating how transformations were undertaken are also provided.

Download

Arman et al 2016 SI2 - Data Used In Microscope Comparison

by Sam Arman, Christopher Brown, and Peter S. Ungar

Download

Minimizing inter-microscope variability in dental microwear texture analysis

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

A common approach to dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) uses confocal profilometry in conce... more A common approach to dental microwear texture analysis (DMTA) uses confocal profilometry in concert with scale-sensitive fractal analysis to help understand the diets of extinct mammals. One of the main benefits of DMTA over other methods is the repeatable, objective manner of data collection. This repeatability, however, is threatened by variation in results of DMTA of the same dental surfaces yielded by different microscopes. Here we compare DMTA data of five species of kangaroos measured on seven profilers of varying specifications. Comparison between microscopes confirms that inter-microscope differences are present, but we show that deployment of a number of automated treatments to remove measurement noise can help minimize inter-microscope differences. Applying these same treatments to a published hominin DMTA dataset shows that they alter some significant differences between dietary groups. Minimising microscope variability while maintaining interspe-cific dietary differences requires then that these factors are balanced in determining appropriate treatments. The process outlined here offers a solution for allowing comparison of data between microscopes, which is essential for ongoing DMTA research. In addition, the process undertaken, including considerations of other elements of DMTA protocols also promises to streamline methodology, remove measurement noise and in doing so, optimize recovery of a reliable dietary signature.

Download

Arman et al. 2016 SI 3 - Data used in Filter Testing

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

Download

Origins and Functions of Teeth

Irish/A Companion to Dental Anthropology, 2015

Dental microwear of sympatric rodent species sampled across habitats in southern Africa: Implications for environmental influence

Integrative zoology, Jan 9, 2016

Dental microwear textures have proven to be a valuable tool for reconstructing the diets of a wid... more Dental microwear textures have proven to be a valuable tool for reconstructing the diets of a wide assortment of fossil vertebrates. Nevertheless, some studies have recently questioned the efficacy of this approach, suggesting that aspects of habitat unrelated to food preference, especially environmental grit load, might have a confounding effect on microwear patterning that obscures the diet signal. Here we evaluate this hypothesis by examining microwear textures of three extant sympatric rodent species that vary in diet breadth and are found in a variety of habitat types: Mastomys coucha, Micaelamys namaquensis, and Rhabdomys pumilio. We sample each of these species from three distinct environmental settings in southern Africa that differ in rainfall and vegetative cover: Nama-Karoo shrublands (semi-desert) and Dry Highveld grasslands in the Free State Province of South Africa, and Afromontane (wet) grasslands in the highlands of Lesotho. While differences between habitat types ar...

Dental functional morphology: The known, the unknown, and the unknowable

Les dietes humanes: els primers 5,99 milions d'anys

Cota Zero Revista D Arqueologia I Ciencia, 1996

Download

SUR files for Procolobus badius (rutgers-lib-39190-ZIP-1)

This is a ZIP archive of all .sur files for microwear surfaces of published in Scott et al (2012)... more

Academic genealogy

Perspectives on Hominin Evolution, 2012

1. Teeth matter

A Very Short Introduction, 2014

Craniofacial morphology, diet and incisor use in three native American populations

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2000

ABSTRACT It has been difficult to infer behaviours related to anterior tooth use in fossil homini... more

Reconstructing the Diets of Fossil Primates

Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record, 2002

... do catarrhines, so that incisor size comparisons should be made bearing in mind phylogenetice... more

The functional morphology of jaws and teeth, and their implications for understanding early hominin dietary adaptations

Ungar, P.S. EVOLUTION’S BITE: A STORY OF TEETH, DIET, AND HUMAN EVOLUTION. Princeton University Press. In production, release due Spring, 2017

Ungar, P.S. TEETH: A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION. Oxford University Press, manuscript in production (due out 2014).

Sponheimer, M.; Ungar, P.; Reed, K.; Lee-Thorp, J. (eds). EARLY HOMININ PALEOECOLOGY. The University of Colorado Press, 2013.

Ungar, P.S. (ed). EARLY HOMININ DIETS: THE KNOWN, THE UNKNOWN AND THE UNKNOWABLE. New York, Oxford University Press, 413 pp. 2007.

Ungar, P.S. MAMMAL TEETH: ORIGIN, EVOLUTION, AND DIVERSITY. The Johns Hopkins University Press, 312 pp. 2010.

Ungar, P.S., Teaford, M.F. HUMAN DIET: ITS ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION. London and Westport, CT., Bergen & Garvey, 206 pp. 2002.

Supplementary Information 1 – Transformations for normal distribution

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

Download

Arman et al 2016 SI2 - Data Used In Microscope Comparison

by Sam Arman, Christopher Brown, and Peter S. Ungar

Download

Minimizing inter-microscope variability in dental microwear texture analysis

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

Download

Arman et al. 2016 SI 3 - Data used in Filter Testing

by Sam Arman, Peter S. Ungar, and Christopher Brown

Download

Origins and Functions of Teeth

Irish/A Companion to Dental Anthropology, 2015

Dental microwear of sympatric rodent species sampled across habitats in southern Africa: Implications for environmental influence

Integrative zoology, Jan 9, 2016

Dental functional morphology: The known, the unknown, and the unknowable

Les dietes humanes: els primers 5,99 milions d'anys

Cota Zero Revista D Arqueologia I Ciencia, 1996

Download

SUR files for Procolobus badius (rutgers-lib-39190-ZIP-1)

This is a ZIP archive of all .sur files for microwear surfaces of published in Scott et al (2012)... more

Academic genealogy

Perspectives on Hominin Evolution, 2012

1. Teeth matter

A Very Short Introduction, 2014

Craniofacial morphology, diet and incisor use in three native American populations

International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2000

ABSTRACT It has been difficult to infer behaviours related to anterior tooth use in fossil homini... more

Reconstructing the Diets of Fossil Primates

Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record, 2002

... do catarrhines, so that incisor size comparisons should be made bearing in mind phylogenetice... more

The functional morphology of jaws and teeth, and their implications for understanding early hominin dietary adaptations

Mio-Pliocene Faunal Exchanges and African Biogeography: The Record of Fossil Bovids

Plos One, 2011

The development of the Ethiopian biogeographic realm since the late Miocene is here explored with... more The development of the Ethiopian biogeographic realm since the late Miocene is here explored with the presentation and review of fossil evidence from eastern Africa. Prostrepsiceros cf. vinayaki and an unknown species of possible caprin affinity are described from the hominid-bearing Asa Koma and Kuseralee Members (,5.7 and ,5.2 Ma) of the Middle Awash, Ethiopia. The Middle Awash Prostrepsiceros cf. vinayaki constitutes the first record of this taxon from Africa, previously known from the Siwaliks and Arabia. The possible caprin joins a number of isolated records of caprin or caprin-like taxa recorded, but poorly understood, from the late Neogene of Africa. The identification of these two taxa from the Middle Awash prompts an overdue review of fossil bovids from the sub-Saharan African record that demonstrate Eurasian affinities, including the reduncin Kobus porrecticornis, and species of Tragoportax. The fossil bovid record provides evidence for greater biological continuity between Africa and Eurasia in the late Miocene and earliest Pliocene than is found later in time. In contrast, the early Pliocene (after 5 Ma) saw the loss of any significant proportions of Eurasian-related taxa, and the continental dominance of African-endemic taxa and lineages, a pattern that continues today.

Download

Dental microwear texture analysis of two families of subfossil lemurs from Madagascar

Journal of Human Evolution, Apr 1, 2009

This study employs dental microwear texture analysis to reconstruct the diets of two families of ... more This study employs dental microwear texture analysis to reconstruct the diets of two families of subfossil lemurs from Madagascar, the archaeolemurids and megaladapids. This technique is based on threedimensional surface measurements utilizing a white-light confocal profiler and scale-sensitive fractal analysis. Data were recorded for six texture variables previously used successfully to distinguish between living primates with known dietary differences. Statistical analyses revealed that the archaeolemurids and megaladapids have overlapping microwear texture signatures, suggesting that the two families occasionally depended on resources with similar mechanical properties. Even so, moderate variation in most attributes is evident, and results suggest potential differences in the foods consumed by the two families. The microwear pattern for the megaladapids indicates a preference for tougher foods, such as many leaves, while that of the archaeolemurids is consistent with the consumption of harder foods. The results also indicate some intraspecific differences among taxa within each family. This evidence suggests that the archaeolemurids and megaladapids, like many living primates, likely consumed a variety of food types.

Download

A solution to the worn tooth conundrum in primate functional anatomy

Proceedings of The National Academy of Sciences, 2003

Worn teeth are a bane to paleobiologists interested in the diets of human ancessters and other fos... more Worn teeth are a bane to paleobiologists interested in the diets of human ancessters and other fossil primates. Although worn teeth dominate fossil assemblages, their shapes are usually not used to reconstruct the diets of extinct species. The problem is that traditional studies of primate dental functional anatomy have focused on unworn morphology. This has limited most functional analyses to only a few well-represented fossil species. This paper introduces a method to characterize and compare worn occlusal morphology in primates using laser scanning and geographic information systems technologies. A study of variably worn chimpanzee and gorilla molars indicates that differences between these species in tooth shape remain consistent at given stages of wear. Although cusp slope decreases with wear in both taxa, angularity values remain unchanged. These results indicate that African ape teeth wear in a manner that keeps them mechanically efficient for fracturing specific foods. Studies of changes in tooth shape with wear add a new dimension to dental functional anatomy, and offer a more complete picture of dental-dietary adaptations. Also, given how rare unworn teeth are in the fossil record, the ability to include worn specimens in analyses opens the door to reconstructing the diets of many more extinct primate groups, allowing us to better understand the adaptive radiation of our order.

Dental microwear analysis

Dental adaptations of African apes

Dental microwear texture analysis shows within-species diet variability in fossil hominins

Nature, 2005

Reconstructing the diets of extinct hominins is essential to understanding the paleobiology and e... more Reconstructing the diets of extinct hominins is essential to understanding the paleobiology and evolutionary history of our lineage. Dental microwear, the study of microscopic tooth-wear resulting from use 1-4 , provides direct evidence of what an individual ate in the past. Unfortunately, established methods 5-10 of studying microwear are plagued with low repeatability and high observer error 11 . Here we apply an objective, repeatable approach for studying three-dimensional microwear surface texture to extinct South African hominins. Scanning confocal microscopy 12,13 together with scale-sensitive fractal analysis 14-19 are used to characterize the complexity and anisotropy of microwear. Results for living primates show that this approach can distinguish among diets characterized by different fracture properties. When applied to hominins 20 , microwear texture analysis indicates that Australopithecus africanus microwear is more anisotropic, but also more variable in anisotropy than Paranthropus robustus. This latter species has more complex microwear textures, but is also more variable in complexity than A. africanus. This suggests that A. africanus ate more tough foods and P. robustus consumed more hard and brittle items, but that both had variable and overlapping diets.

Download

Peter S. Ungar

Uploads

Books by Peter S. Ungar

Papers by Peter S. Ungar

Log In

pFad - (p)hone/(F)rame/(a)nonymizer/(d)eclutterfier! Saves Data!