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Updated: Aug 11, 2026
Sampling and Pretreatment of Tooth Enamel Carbonate for Stable Carbon and Oxygen Isotope Analysis
Published on: August 15, 2018
Innovative methods for characterization of old human teeth, applied to Rhinocéros 4 chalcolithic cave (Péret, France)
Alban Desoutter1, Michel Ramonda2, Pierre-Yves Collart-Dutilleul3
1LBN, Univ. Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
Objective:
Bone and dental remains are key elements for the study of human evolution. This study aims to use nondestructive and noninvasive methods: micro-computed tomography (µCT) and interferometric microscopy to characterize chalcolithic mandibular premolars of the Rhinocéros 4 cave (Péret, Hérault, France - Rhino 4).
Design:
Ten chalcolithic mandibular premolars from Rhinocéros 4 cave (Péret, Hérault, France - Rhino 4) were selected and scanned with micro-tomography. Enamel thickness was measured in the sagittal plane on the buccal face. Then, the buccal enamel surfaces were mapped by optical interferometry (vertical resolution of 0.1 nm) to measure surface roughness parameters.
Results:
The average crown height is 7.28 mm (sd 0.35 mm). Maximum in-plane thickness is 1.39 mm (sd 0.09 mm), and cusp thickness is 0.75 mm (sd 0.30 mm). Interglobular dentine (IGD) marks were also found in seven out of ten samples, four of which were severe. The average RMS roughness measured in scanned zones was 0.67 μm (sd 0.37 μm).
Conclusions:
This pilot study may contribute to improving the characterization of archaeological tooth samples and study the surface morphology and internal structures of teeth, which is especially useful for populations comparisons.
