¹Department of Anthropology, University of Indianapolis, ²Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, ³Department of Sociology, Quinnipiac University

Saturday All day, Clinch Concourse

The site of Tell Dothan has been occupied continuously from the Neolithic to Hellenistic periods. In addition to biblical and historical accounts, archaeological material suggests an agricultural subsistence strategy. However, diet, the food that is actually consumed, must be determined osteologically; therefore, Dental Microwear Texture Analysis is employed. Epoxy-resin casts of permanent lower second molars are examined with a white light confocal profiler at a magnification of 100x. Microwear patterns located on Phase II are analyzed using scale-sensitive fractal analysis software. Three variables are selected for comparison: anisotropy (epLsar), surface complexity (Asfc), and textural fill volume (Tfv); the results for Tell Dothan are: 1.22, 0.0033, and 38532, respectively. The results are compared to data from foragers and farmers collected through the DENTALWEAR project for geographical and subsistence-related context. These sites include several from Israel (Natufian:12,500-10,250 bp and Neolithic: 10,250-7,500 bp) and other areas (including the Bronze through Iron Age from England; Mebrak, Nepal: ~2,000 bp; and Middle Woodland, United States: ~2,000-1,500 bp). Tell Dothan exhibits a somewhat high complexity and a somewhat low anisotropy, but is distinct from foragers. Microwear at Tell Dothan is similar to early agriculturists, who have less processed and/or more heterogeneous diets than later agriculturists.