title: The early Pleistocene deciduous hominid molar FS-72 from the Sangiran Dome of Java, Indonesia: A taxonomic reappraisal based on its comparative endostructural characterization.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Among the ten fossil hominid deciduous teeth reported so far from the Pleistocene sediments of the Sangiran Dome of Java are two isolated lower second molars: specimens PCG.2 from the Kabuh Formation and FS-72 from the Pucangan Formation. While PCG.2 appears to be certainly attributable to Homo erectus, FS-72 is somewhat more problematic, even though it is commonly listed within the Indonesian H. erectus hypodigm. Largely because of its large size, it was originally attributed to Meganthropus paleojavanicus. Subsequent study highlighted a set of metric and nonmetric crown features also found in Australopith and African early Homo (notably H. habilis) homologues. An additional problem with the taxonomic assignment of isolated teeth from the Pleistocene of Java is the presence of Pongo in these same deposits.
  
  
  METHODS
  To assess the taxonomic affinity of FS-72, we investigated its inner structure (tissue proportions and enamel-dentine junction morphology) by using techniques of 2-3D virtual imaging coupled with geometric morphometric analyses.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results show that FS-72 has thinner enamel compared to fossil and recent humans and that its topographic repartition more closely follows the pongine pattern. It also exhibits a Pongo-like elongated morphology of the enamel-dentine junction, with proportionally lower and mesiodistally spaced dentine horns.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the morphological and metric similarities between fossil orangutan and H. erectus molars, we tested the hypothesis that its internal morphology more closely resembles the patterns evinced by PCG.2 and modern humans than Pongo. Accordingly, we consider that FS-72 more likely represents a dm2 of Pongo rather than Homo.
authors.affiliation: Multidisciplinary Laboratory, International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.
authors.forename: Clément
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zanolli
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.|Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY.
authors.forename: Frederick E
authors.initials: FE
authors.lastname: Grine
authors.affiliation: Department of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.
authors.forename: Ottmar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kullmer
authors.affiliation: Department of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany.|Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt, Germany.
authors.forename: Friedemann
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schrenk
authors.affiliation: Département De Préhistoire, UMR 7194, Muséum National D'histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.|Département Géosciences, Université De Poitiers, Poitiers, France.
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Macchiarelli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003743:Dental Enamel / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D005580:Fossils; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D007214:Indonesia; D008963:Molar / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D010161:Paleodontology; D057079:Pongo / Q000033:anatomy & histology
keywords: Early Pleistocene; Sangiran Dome; deciduous molar FS-72; hominid paleobiodiversity; internal structure