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Ultrastructural study of fossil human tooth tissue
M Restelli1, S Batista, M Bruno
1Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina. marant@way.com.ar
Summary
Fossil human tooth soft tissue from Argentina was studied using electron microscopy. Instantaneous phosphatization, a rapid calcium phosphate process, likely explains the remarkable preservation of tooth structures.
Area of Science:
- Paleontology
- Biomineralization
- Microscopy
Background:
- Fossilization studies often focus on hard tissues.
- Soft tissue preservation in human fossils is rare and poorly understood.
- Understanding preservation mechanisms provides insights into ancient life.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the preservation of fossil human soft tooth tissue.
- To investigate the microstructural details of preserved soft tissues.
- To elucidate the mineralization process responsible for preservation.
Main Methods:
- Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) for surface structure analysis.
- Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) for ultrastructural examination.
- Analysis of fossil human teeth from 14th-15th century Argentinian populations.
Main Results:
- SEM revealed preserved Tomes fibrils and odontoblastic processes surfaces.
- TEM showed dentin ducts filled with acellular material.
- Inner structures of odontoblastic processes were poorly preserved.
Conclusions:
- The preservation is attributed to "instantaneous phosphatization."
- Rapid calcium phosphate deposition immediately post-mortem is the proposed mechanism.
- This process explains the survival of soft tooth tissue components.