Article2005

Brief communication: Early hominin variability in first molar dental trait frequencies

Debbie Guatelli‐Steinberg · Joel D. Irish

44 citations0/0 files storedAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology

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Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies Morphological variations and asymmetry

Abstract

This report documents greater variability in early hominin first molar dental trait frequencies than previous research indicated. Specifically, frequencies of several M1 dental traits that previously appeared to uniquely characterize Paranthropus are shown here to resemble those of the A. afarensis sample from Hadar. Like Paranthropus, A. afarensis from Hadar has a high frequency of cusp 6 and a low frequency of the protostylid. Paranthropus and A. afarensis are also not statistically significantly different in their frequencies of LM1 cusp 7, although this cusp is actually absent in the latter. Both groups differ significantly from A. africanus in their frequencies of these traits. Based on the developmental biology of molar cusp patterns, we suggest that the morphological similarities between Paranthropus and the Hadar sample may be homoplasies.

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References

1991Advances in dental anthropology 1983The Hunters or the Hunted?: An Introduction to African Cave Taphonomy 2002An Introduction to Human Evolutionary Anatomy 1997The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth 1992Origin and evolution of the genus Homo 1990Major features of Sundadonty and Sinodonty, including suggestions about East Asian microevolution, population history, and late Pleistocene relationships with Australian Aboriginals 1987Late Pleistocene and Holocene population history of east Asia based on dental variation 1988Analysis of the dental morphology of Plio-Pleistocene hominids. IV. Mandibular postcanine root morphology.

Cited by

2015Early Homo at 2.8 Ma from Ledi-Geraru, Afar, Ethiopia 2009“Lucy” redux: A review of research on Australopithecus afarensis 2007Dental trait expression at the enamel-dentine junction of lower molars in extant and fossil hominoids 2005Early hominid dental remains from Members 4 and 5 of the Sterkfontein Formation (1966–1996 excavations): Catalogue, individual associations, morphological descriptions and initial metrical analysis 2008Enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) morphology distinguishes the lower molars of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus

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