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Updated: May 25, 2026

Systematic Assessment of Mammalian Skull Specimens for Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology
Published on: August 22, 2022
Brief communication: two human fossil deciduous molars from the Sangiran dome (Java, Indonesia): outer and inner
Clément Zanolli1, Luca Bondioli, Lucia Mancini
1Département de Préhistoire, UMR 7194, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, 75005 Paris, France. clement.zanolli@mnhn.fr
Abstract:
Currently, the human deciduous dental record from the Pleistocene deposits of the Sangiran Dome, Java, consists of only eight specimens. Here we report two deciduous crowns collected near the village of Pucung. While their precise geo-chronological context remains unknown, a provenance from the Early-Middle Pleistocene Kabuh Formation, or from the Early Pleistocene "Grenzbank Zone," is very likely. These isolated specimens consist of an upper first molar (PCG.1) and a lower second molar (PCG.2). Taxonomic discrimination of the Indonesian tooth record is difficult because of the convergence in crown size and appearance between Pongo and Homo. Accordingly, as PCG.2 still bears a concretion masking most of its features, we coupled the outer analysis of the two specimens with an investigation of their inner morphology. In addition to external characteristics, virtual imaging and quantitative assessment of inner morphology and tissue proportions support an attribution to the taxon Homo, and we preliminary allocate both specimens toH. erectus.
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