Journal
SCIENCE ADVANCES
Volume 7, Issue 41, Pages -Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abj0335
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [BCS-1540338]
- Leakey Foundation
- Wenner-Gren Foundation
- James F. Nacey Fellowship
- Sigma Xi
- Institute of Human Origins' Elizabeth H. Harmon Research Endowment
- Donald C. Johanson Paleoanthropological Research Endowment
- Graduate and Professional Student Association, ASU
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, ASU
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This study uses three-dimensional data to quantify masticatory form in ontogenetic samples of 21 primate species, and finds that the location and timing of molar emergence are constrained to avoid potentially dangerous distractive forces at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) throughout growth. The research shows that the rate and cessation age of jaw growth is related to life history.
The strong relationship between M1 emergence age and life history across primates provides a means of reconstructing fossil life history. The underlying process that leads to varying molar emergence schedules, however, remains elusive. Using three-dimensional data to quantify masticatory form in ontogenetic samples representing 21 primate species, we test the hypothesis that the location and timing of molar emergence are constrained to avoid potentially dangerous distractive forces at the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) throughout growth. We show that (i) molars emerge in a predictable position to safeguard the TMJ, (ii) the rate and duration of jaw growth determine the timing of molar emergence, and (iii) the rate and cessation age of jaw growth is related to life history. Thus, orofacial development is constrained by biomechanics throughout ontogeny. This integrative perspective on primate skull growth is consistent with a long sought-after causal explanation underlying the correlation between molar emergence and life history.
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