Paper short abstract:

We report a distinctive dental wear pattern in Jomon individuals, who exhibit clear attritional facets on the lingual cervical regions of the maxillary molars. Macro- and micro-level comparisons may provide possible etiologies or meanings of this special type of wear.

Paper long abstract:

To date, a distinctive dental wear pattern known as LSMAT, or "lingual surface attrition of the maxillary anterior teeth," has been documented in world-wide prehistoric samples. We report here a different version of wear, lingual surface attrition of the maxillary molars, which were identified on a male and a female Jomon specimens, from Mukaidai shell mound along the Tokyo Bay, Japan. The male individual exhibits clear attritional facets on the mesio-lingual enamel-cement junctions of the maxillary M1 and M2, where the dentine patches are exposed. Although not conspicuous, the same attritional facets are observed in several Jomon specimens. We compare the macro- and micro-level observations on them and those of LSMAT etc, and discuss possible etiologies and the meanings of this peculiar type of attrition.