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Gaboutchian AV, Knyaz VA, Maschenko EN, Dac LX, Maksimov AA, Emelyanov AV, Korost DV, Stepanov NV. Measuring Dental Enamel Thickness: Morphological and Functional Relevance of Topographic Mapping. J Imaging 2023; 9:127. [PMID: 37504804 PMCID: PMC10381522 DOI: 10.3390/jimaging9070127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2023] [Revised: 05/10/2023] [Accepted: 06/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The interest in the development of dental enamel thickness measurement techniques is connected to the importance of metric data in taxonomic assessments and evolutionary research as well as in other directions of dental studies. At the same time, advances in non-destructive imaging techniques and the application of scanning methods, such as micro-focus-computed X-ray tomography, has enabled researchers to study the internal morpho-histological layers of teeth with a greater degree of accuracy and detail. These tendencies have contributed to changes in established views in different areas of dental research, ranging from the interpretation of morphology to metric assessments. In fact, a significant amount of data have been obtained using traditional metric techniques, which now should be critically reassessed using current technologies and methodologies. Hence, we propose new approaches for measuring dental enamel thickness using palaeontological material from the territories of northern Vietnam by means of automated and manually operated techniques. We also discuss method improvements, taking into account their relevance for dental morphology and occlusion. As we have shown, our approaches demonstrate the potential to form closer links between the metric data and dental morphology and provide the possibility for objective and replicable studies on dental enamel thickness through the application of automated techniques. These features are likely to be effective in more profound taxonomic research and for the development of metric and analytical systems. Our technique provides scope for its targeted application in clinical methods, which could help to reveal functional changes in the masticatory system. However, this will likely require improvements in clinically applicable imaging techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Armen V Gaboutchian
- Medical Institute, Peoples' Friendship University (RUDN), 117198 Moscow, Russia
| | - Vladimir A Knyaz
- Phystech School of Applied Mathematics and Informatics, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (MIPT), 141701 Dolgoprudny, Russia
- State Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS), 125319 Moscow, Russia
| | - Evgeniy N Maschenko
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647 Moscow, Russia
| | - Le Xuan Dac
- Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, Hanoi 650000, Vietnam
- Institute of Tropical Ecology of the Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, Hanoi 650000, Vietnam
| | - Anatoly A Maksimov
- State Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS), 125319 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anton V Emelyanov
- State Research Institute of Aviation Systems (GosNIIAS), 125319 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitry V Korost
- Faculty of Geology, Moscow State University, 119991 Moscow, Russia
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2
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Oxilia G, Bortolini E, Marciani G, Menghi Sartorio JC, Vazzana A, Bettuzzi M, Panetta D, Arrighi S, Badino F, Figus C, Lugli F, Romandini M, Silvestrini S, Sorrentino R, Moroni A, Donadio C, Morigi MP, Slon V, Piperno M, Talamo S, Collina C, Benazzi S. Direct evidence that late Neanderthal occupation precedes a technological shift in southwestern Italy. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 179:18-30. [PMID: 36790758 PMCID: PMC9541503 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24593] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES During the middle-to-upper Paleolithic transition (50,000 and 40,000 years ago), interaction between Neanderthals and Homo sapiens varied across Europe. In southern Italy, the association between Homo sapiens fossils and non-Mousterian material culture, as well as the mode and tempo of Neanderthal demise, are still vividly debated. In this research, we focus on the study of two human teeth by using 3D geometric morphometric approaches for a reliable taxonomical attribution as well as obtaining new radiometric dates on the archeological sequence. MATERIAL AND METHODS This work presents two lower deciduous molars uncovered at Roccia San Sebastiano (Mondragone-Caserta, Italy), stratigraphically associated with Mousterian (RSS1) and Uluzzian (RSS2) artifacts. To obtain a probabilistic attribution of the two RSS teeth to each reference taxa group composed of Neanderthals and Homo sapiens, we performed and compared the performance of three supervised learning algorithms (flexible discriminant analysis, multiadaptive regression splines, and random forest) on both crown and cervical outlines obtained by virtual morphometric methods. RESULTS We show that RSS1, whose Mousterian context appears more recent than 44,800-44,230 cal BP, can be attributed to a Neanderthal, while RSS2, found in an Uluzzian context that we dated to 42,640-42,380 cal BP, is attributed to Homo sapiens. DISCUSSION This site yields the most recent direct evidence for a Neanderthal presence in southern Italy and confirms a later shift to upper Paleolithic technology in southwestern Italy compared to the earliest Uluzzian evidence at Grotta del Cavallo (Puglia, Italy).
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Archaeology and AnthropologyInstitució Milà i Fontanals de Investigación en Humanidades, CSICBarcelonaSpain
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | | | - Antonino Vazzana
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Matteo Bettuzzi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | | | - Simona Arrighi
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | - Federica Badino
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,CNR Institute of Environmental Geology and GeoengineeringMilanItaly
| | - Carla Figus
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Federico Lugli
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Chemical and Geological SciencesUniversity of Modena and Reggio EmiliaModenaItaly
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Sara Silvestrini
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Rita Sorrentino
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly
| | - Adriana Moroni
- Department of Physical Sciences, Earth and EnvironmentUniversity of Siena, U. R. Preistoria e AntropologiaSienaItaly
| | - Carlo Donadio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and ResourcesUniversity of Naples Federico IINaplesItaly
| | - Maria Pia Morigi
- Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi”University of BolognaBolognaItaly
| | - Viviane Slon
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Evolutionary GeneticsLeipzigGermany,Tel Aviv University, Department of Anatomy and Anthropology and Department of Human Molecular Genetics and BiochemistrySackler Faculty of MedicineTel AvivIsrael,Tel Aviv University, The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory ResearchTel AvivIsrael
| | | | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Chemistry “G. Ciamician”University of BolognaBolognaItaly,Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural HeritageUniversity of BolognaRavennaItaly,Department of Human EvolutionMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
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3
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Tejero JM, Bar-Oz G, Bar-Yosef O, Meshveliani T, Jakeli N, Matskevich Z, Pinhasi R, Belfer-Cohen A. New insights into the Upper Palaeolithic of the Caucasus through the study of personal ornaments. Teeth and bones pendants from Satsurblia and Dzudzuana caves (Imereti, Georgia). PLoS One 2021; 16:e0258974. [PMID: 34748581 PMCID: PMC8575301 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0258974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/09/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The region of western Georgia (Imereti) in the Southern Caucasus has been a major geographic corridor for human migrations during the Middle and Upper Paleolithic. Data of recent research and excavations in this region display its importance as a possible route for the dispersal of anatomically modern humans (AMH) into northern Eurasia. Nevertheless, within the local research context, bone-working and personal ornaments have yet contributed but little to the Upper Palaeolithic (UP) regional sequence's characterization. Here we present an archaeozoological, technological and use-wear study of pendants from two local UP assemblages, originating in the Dzudzuana Cave and Satsurblia Cave. The ornaments were made mostly of perforated teeth, though some specimens were made on bone. Both the manufacturing marks made during preparation and use-wear traces indicate that they were personal ornaments, used as pendants or attached to garments. Detailed comparison between ornament assemblages from northern and southern Caucasus reveal that they are quite similar, supporting the observation of cultural bonds between the two regions, demonstrated previously through lithic techno-typological affinities. Furthermore, our study highlights the importance attributed to red deer (Cervus elaphus) by the UP societies of the Caucasus in sharing aesthetic values and/or a symbolic sphere.
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Affiliation(s)
- José-Miguel Tejero
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Seminari d’Estudis I Recerques Prehistòriques, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guy Bar-Oz
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Ofer Bar-Yosef
- Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | | | | | | | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Anna Belfer-Cohen
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
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4
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Heydari-Guran S, Benazzi S, Talamo S, Ghasidian E, Hariri N, Oxilia G, Asiabani S, Azizi F, Naderi R, Safaierad R, Hublin JJ, Foley RA, Lahr MM. The discovery of an in situ Neanderthal remain in the Bawa Yawan Rockshelter, West-Central Zagros Mountains, Kermanshah. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0253708. [PMID: 34437543 PMCID: PMC8389444 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0253708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Neanderthal extinction has been a matter of debate for many years. New discoveries, better chronologies and genomic evidence have done much to clarify some of the issues. This evidence suggests that Neanderthals became extinct around 40,000–37,000 years before present (BP), after a period of coexistence with Homo sapiens of several millennia, involving biological and cultural interactions between the two groups. However, the bulk of this evidence relates to Western Eurasia, and recent work in Central Asia and Siberia has shown that there is considerable local variation. Southwestern Asia, despite having a number of significant Neanderthal remains, has not played a major part in the debate over extinction. Here we report a Neanderthal deciduous canine from the site of Bawa Yawan in the West-Central Zagros Mountains of Iran. The tooth is associated with Zagros Mousterian lithics, and its context is preliminary dated to between ~43,600 and ~41,500 years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Saman Heydari-Guran
- Stiftung Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, Germany
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- DiyarMehr Centre for Palaeolithic Research, Kermanshah, Iran
- * E-mail:
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Elham Ghasidian
- Stiftung Neanderthal Museum, Mettmann, Germany
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nemat Hariri
- Department of Prehistoric Archaeology University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran
| | - Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Samran Asiabani
- DiyarMehr Centre for Palaeolithic Research, Kermanshah, Iran
- Department of Architecture, Faculty of Art and Architecture, Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran
| | - Faramarz Azizi
- DiyarMehr Centre for Palaeolithic Research, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Rahmat Naderi
- DiyarMehr Centre for Palaeolithic Research, Kermanshah, Iran
| | - Reza Safaierad
- Department of Physical Geography, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Collège de France, 11 Place Marcelin Berthelot, Paris, France
| | - Robert A. Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Marta M. Lahr
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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5
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Romandini M, Oxilia G, Bortolini E, Peyrégne S, Delpiano D, Nava A, Panetta D, Di Domenico G, Martini P, Arrighi S, Badino F, Figus C, Lugli F, Marciani G, Silvestrini S, Menghi Sartorio JC, Terlato G, Hublin JJ, Meyer M, Bondioli L, Higham T, Slon V, Peresani M, Benazzi S. A late Neanderthal tooth from northeastern Italy. J Hum Evol 2020; 147:102867. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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6
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Oxilia G, Bortolini E, Badino F, Bernardini F, Gazzoni V, Lugli F, Romandini M, Radini A, Terlato G, Marciani G, Silvestrini S, Menghi Sartorio JC, Thun Hohenstein U, Fiorenza L, Kullmer O, Tuniz C, Moggi Cecchi J, Talamo S, Fontana F, Peresani M, Benazzi S, Cristiani E. Exploring late Paleolithic and Mesolithic diet in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy through multiple proxies. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 174:232-253. [PMID: 32914870 PMCID: PMC7918647 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Objectives The analysis of prehistoric human dietary habits is key for understanding the effects of paleoenvironmental changes on the evolution of cultural and social human behaviors. In this study, we compare results from zooarchaeological, stable isotope and dental calculus analyses as well as lower second molar macrowear patterns to gain a broader understanding of the diet of three individuals who lived between the end of the Late Pleistocene and the Early Holocene (ca., 17–8 ky cal BP) in the Eastern Alpine region of Italy. Materials and methods We analyze individuals buried at the sites of Riparo Tagliente (Verona), Riparo Villabruna, and Mondeval de Sora (Belluno). The three burials provide a unique dataset for diachronically exploring the influence of climatic changes on human subsistence strategies. Results Isotopic results indicate that all individuals likely relied on both terrestrial and freshwater animal proteins. Even though dental calculus analysis was, in part, hindered by the amount of mineral deposit available on the teeth, tooth macrowear study suggests that the dietary habits of the individuals included plant foods. Moreover, differences in macrowear patterns of lower second molars have been documented between Neanderthals and modern humans in the present sample, due to a prevalence of Buccal wear among the former as opposed to higher values of Lingual wear in modern human teeth. Discussion Isotopic analyses have emphasized the contribution of animal proteins in the diet of the three foragers from the Eastern Alpine region. The possible intake of carbohydrate‐rich plant foods, suggested by the retrieval of plant remains in dental calculus, is supported by the signal of macrowear analysis. Moreover, the latter method indicates that the distribution of macrowear in lower second molars (M2s) allows us to discriminate between Neanderthals and modern humans within the present reference sample. Overall, our results show these three prehistoric hunter‐gatherers were well adapted to the environment in which they lived exploiting many natural resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregorio Oxilia
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Eugenio Bortolini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Federica Badino
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,C.N.R. - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Milan, Italy
| | - Federico Bernardini
- Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.,Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Valentina Gazzoni
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Federico Lugli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Matteo Romandini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Anita Radini
- DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
| | - Gabriele Terlato
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Giulia Marciani
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Sara Silvestrini
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy
| | - Jessica C Menghi Sartorio
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Ursula Thun Hohenstein
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Luca Fiorenza
- Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.,Earth Sciences, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Claudio Tuniz
- Centro Fermi, Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.,Multidisciplinary Laboratory, The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.,Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Sahra Talamo
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Department of Chemistry "G. Ciamician", University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Federica Fontana
- Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Marco Peresani
- C.N.R. - Istituto di Geologia Ambientale e Geoingegneria, Milan, Italy.,Department of Humanities-Section of Prehistoric and Anthropological Sciences, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Emanuela Cristiani
- DANTE Diet and Ancient Technology Laboratory, Department of Oral and Maxillo Facial Sciences Sapienza University, Rome, Italy
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7
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Martín-Francés L, Martinón-Torres M, Martínez de Pinillos M, García-Campos C, Modesto-Mata M, Zanolli C, Rodríguez L, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Tooth crown tissue proportions and enamel thickness in Early Pleistocene Homo antecessor molars (Atapuerca, Spain). PLoS One 2018; 13:e0203334. [PMID: 30281589 PMCID: PMC6169863 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2018] [Accepted: 08/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Tooth crown tissue proportions and enamel thickness distribution are considered reliable characters for inferring taxonomic identity, phylogenetic relationships, dietary and behavioural adaptations in fossil and extant hominids. While most Pleistocene hominins display variations from thick to hyper-thick enamel, Neanderthals exhibit relatively thinner. However, the chronological and geographical origin for the appearance of this typical Neanderthal condition is still unknown. The European late Early Pleistocene species Homo antecessor (Gran Dolina-TD6 site, Sierra de Atapuerca) represents an opportunity to investigate the appearance of the thin condition in the fossil record. In this study, we aim to test the hypothesis if H. antecessor molars approximates the Neanderthal condition for tissue proportions and enamel thickness. To do so, for the first time we characterised the molar inner structural organization in this Early Pleistocene hominin taxon (n = 17) and compared it to extinct and extant populations of the genus Homo from African, Asian and European origin (n = 355). The comparative sample includes maxillary and mandibular molars belonging to H. erectus, East and North African Homo, European Middle Pleistocene Homo, Neanderthals, and fossil and extant H. sapiens. We used high-resolution images to investigate the endostructural configuration of TD6 molars (tissue proportions, enamel thickness and distribution). TD6 permanent molars tend to exhibit on average thick absolute and relative enamel in 2D and 3D estimates, both in the complete crown and the lateral enamel. This condition is shared with the majority of extinct and extant hominin sample, except for Neanderthals and some isolated specimens. However, while the total crown percentage of dentine in TD6 globally resembles the low modern values, the lateral crown percentage of dentine tends to be much higher, closer to the Neanderthal signal. Similarly, the H. antecessor molar enamel distribution maps reveal a relative distribution pattern that is more similar to the Neanderthal condition (with the thickest enamel more spread at the periphery of the occlusal basin) rather than that of other fossil specimens and modern humans (with thicker cuspal enamel). Future studies on European Middle Pleistocene populations will provide more insights into the evolutionary trajectory of the typical Neanderthal dental structural organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Martín-Francés
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199 F_33615, Pessac, France
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cecilia García-Campos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mario Modesto-Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Laura Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i, Burgos, Spain
- Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud. Universidad Isabel I, Burgos, Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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