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Micro-wear patterns found on the teeth of long-extinct specimens of the primate

游客2024-01-12  19
问题 Micro-wear patterns found on the teeth of long-extinct specimens of the primate species australopithecine may provide evidence about their diets. For example, on the basis of tooth micro-wear patterns, Walker dismisses Jolly’s hypothesis that australopithecines ate hard seeds. He also disputes Szalay’s suggestion that the heavy enamel of australopithecine teeth is an adaptation to bone crunching, since both seed cracking and bone crunching produce distinctive micro-wear characteristics on teeth. His conclusion that australopithecines were frugivores (fruit eaters) is based upon his observation that the tooth micro-wear characteristics of east African australopithecine specimens are indistinguishable from those of chimpanzees and orangutans, which are commonly assumed to be frugivorous primates.
However, research on the diets of contemporary primates suggests that micro-wear studies may have limited utility in determining the foods that are actually eaten. For example, insect eating, which can cause distinct micro-wear patterns, would not cause much tooth abrasion in modern baboons, who eat only soft-bodied insects rather than hard-bodied insects. In addition, the diets of current omnivorous primates vary considerably depending on the environments that different groups within a primate species inhabit; if australopithecines were omnivores too, we might expect to find considerable population variation in their tooth micro-wear patterns. Thus, Walker’s description of possible australopithecine diets may need to be expanded to include a much more diverse diet. [br] The author of the passage mentions the diets of baboons and other living primates most likely in order to
选项 A、provide evidence that refutes Walker’s conclusions about the foods making up the diets of australopithecines
B、suggest that studies of tooth micro-wear patterns are primarily useful for determining the diets of living primates
C、suggest that australopithecines were probably omnivores rather than frugivores
D、illustrate some of the limitations of using tooth micro-wear patterns to draw definitive conclusions about a group’s diet
E、suggest that tooth micro-wear patterns are caused by persistent, as opposed to occasional, consumption of particular foods
答案 D
解析 Evaluation
The passage discusses the diets of baboons and other living primates mainly in the second paragraph, which is concerned with explaining the limited utility of micro-wear studies.
A The author raises some doubts about Walker’s conclusions but does not go as far as to try to refute them outright. The author argues only that, as the final sentence of the passage states, they may need to be expanded.
B The author discusses the diets of baboons and other living primates in relation to micro-wear research on extinct primates. Nothing in the discussion suggests that micro-wear studies would be more useful for determining the diets of living primates than for providing evidence regarding the diets of earlier primates or of other types of animals. Furthermore, the mention of baboon diets suggests that micro-wear studies may not be very useful for determining the diets of some living primates.
C The author leaves open the question of whether australopithecines were omnivores or frugivores. The passage suggests that some australopithecines might have been omnivores, if australopithecines’ diets varied according to the environments they inhabited. Walker’s conclusion regarding east African australopithecines’ being frugivores might still hold, however.
D Correct. The author refers to baboons’ diets and those of current omnivorous primates in order to suggest that there might be limitations to Walker’s use of tooth micro-wear patterns to determine australopithecines’ diet.
E The passage does not make a distinction between persistent and occasional consumption of particular foods.
The correct answer is D.
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