Do silica phytoliths really wear mammalian teeth?

The hardness results indicate that silica phytoliths do not contribute as much to mammalian dental microwear as previously reported and that exogenous grit and dust are a more likely cause. This premise has implications for interpretations of the causal agents of microwear phenomena in areas such as the evolution of high-crowned teeth in grazing mammals during the Miocene, and the inference of diet from fossilized mammal teeth as reported by some studies in physical anthropology and archaeology.