Anthropology: the earliest toothless hominin skull.
The site of Dmanisi in the Eurasian republic of Georgia has yielded striking hominin, faunal and archaeological material as evidence for the presence of early Homo outside Africa 1.77 million years ago, documenting an important episode in human evolution. Here we describe a beautifully preserved skull and jawbone from a Dmanisi hominin of this period who had lost all but one tooth several years before death. This specimen not only represents the earliest case of severe masticatory impairment in the hominin fossil record to be discovered so far, but also raises questions about alternative subsistence strategies in early Homo.
Lordkipanidze
David
D
Georgian State Museum, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia.
Vekua
Abesalom
A
Ferring
Reid
R
Rightmire
G Philip
GP
Agusti
Jordi
J
Kiladze
Gocha
G
Mouskhelishvili
Alexander
A
Nioradze
Medea
M
Ponce de León
Marcia S
MS
Tappen
Martha
M
Zollikofer
Christoph P E
CP
D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils; D005846:Georgia (Republic); D049690:History, Ancient; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D008334:Mandible / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000473:pathology; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000473:pathology; D014070:Tooth / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D016388:Tooth Loss / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology