title: On dental wear, dental work, and oral health in the type specimen (LB1) of Homo floresiensis.
abstract: The claim that the lower left first mandibular molar of LB1, the type specimen of Homo floresiensis, displays endodontic work, and a filling is assessed by digital radiography and micro-CT scanning. The M(1) tooth crown is heavily worn and exhibits extensive dentine exposure that is stained white, but there is no trace of endodontic treatment or a dental filling in this Indonesian fossil dated to 17.1-19.0 kya. Dental calculus (commonly observed in foragers) is present on the teeth of LB1, but there are no observable caries. The pattern of dental attrition in the mandibles of both LB1/2 and LB6/1 (moderate to extensive flat wear across the entire arch) is consistent with that seen in Plio-Pleistocene Homo fossils and in modern hunter-gatherers, and is not typical of most agriculturalists. We conclude that the dental-work and farming hypotheses are falsified and therefore irrelevant to the debate over the taxonomy and phylogeny of H. floresiensis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University Medical Center, Stony Brook, NY 11794-8081, USA. william.jungers@stonybrook.edu
authors.forename: William L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Jungers
authors.forename: Yousuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kaifu
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D003728:Dental Calculus; D003731:Dental Caries; D003793:Dental Restoration, Permanent; D004708:Endodontics; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae; D006801:Humans; D008334:Mandible / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D009790:Occupations; D009909:Oral Health; D011859:Radiography; D012107:Research Design; D014070:Tooth / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology; D057085:Tooth Wear