期刊
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
卷 288, 期 1963, 页码 -出版社
ROYAL SOC
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2079
关键词
human evolution; evolutionary biology; dental development; fossil hominins; virtual histology
资金
- Royal Society
- Leverhulme Trust [RG110435, RPG2018-226]
- Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions Individual Fellowship [H2020-MSCA-IF-2018-842812-WEAN IT]
- European Research Council [639286-HIDDEN FOODS]
- Australian National University
Research suggests that Neanderthals may have had a dental development pace similar to or relatively faster than modern humans, and the growth pattern of milk teeth can help determine their growth at birth. Neanderthal milk teeth formed quickly before birth and were fully developed shortly after birth, with early tooth emergence similar to extant human children. Overall, the advanced dental development aligns with expectations for Neanderthal infant feeding practices.
Modern humans have a slow and extended period of childhood growth, but to what extent this ontogenetic pathway was present in Neanderthals is debated. Dental development, linked to the duration of somatic growth across modern primates, is the main source for information about growth and development in a variety of fossil primates, including humans. Studies of Neanderthal permanent teeth report a pace of development either similar to recent humans or relatively accelerated. Neanderthal milk teeth, which form and emerge before permanent teeth, provide an opportunity to determine which pattern was present at birth. Here we present a comparative study of the prenatal and early postnatal growth of five milk teeth from three Neanderthals (120 000-130 000 years ago) using virtual histology. Results reveal regions of their milk teeth formed quickly before birth and over a relatively short period of time after birth. Tooth emergence commenced towards the earliest end of the eruption schedules displayed by extant human children. Advanced dental development is consistent with expectations for Neanderthal infant feeding.
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