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  3. Micro-wear patterns found on the teeth of long-extinct specimens of the primate species australopithecine may provide evidence a

Micro-wear patterns found on the teeth of long-extinct specimens of the primate species australopithecine may provide evidence a

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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.
According to the passage, Walker and Szalay disagree on which of the following points?
选项 A、The structure and composition of australopithecine teeth
B、The kinds of conclusions that can be drawn from the micro-wear patterns on australopithecine teeth
C、The idea that fruit was a part of the australopithecine diet
D、The extent to which seed cracking and bone crunching produce similar micro-wear patterns on teeth
E、The function of the heavy enamel on australopithecine teeth
答案E
解析 Supporting idea
This question refers to the first paragraph, which states that Walker does not agree with Szalay’s idea that the heavy enamel of australopithecine teeth is an adaptation to bone crunching.
A According to the passage, Walker and Szalay disagree about the function of heavy enamel on the teeth, not the structure and composition of the teeth.
B The passage does not indicate that Szalay has anything to say about the micro-wear patterns on the teeth.
C Walker does, according to the passage, believe that australopithecines ate fruit, but it gives no evidence about whether Szalay believes that they ate at least some fruit.
D According to the passage, Walker believes that seed cracking and bone crunching produce distinctive micro-wear patterns on teeth, but he does not necessarily believe that they are similar. The passage does not indicate Szalay’s position on the difference between micro-wear patterns.
E Correct. The function of the heavy enamel on the teeth is the only idea about which the passage clearly indicates that Walker and Szalay disagree.
The correct answer is E.
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