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Patterns of dental development in Homo, Australopithecus, Pan, and Gorilla
1Museum of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109.
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
|July 1, 1994
Summary
This study validates a method for classifying fossil hominid dental development, finding it reliable for distinguishing human and ape patterns. The analysis suggests significant evolutionary changes in hominid growth, with early hominids resembling apes and later ones humans.
Area of Science:
- Paleoanthropology
- Developmental Biology
- Bioinformatics
Background:
- Assessing evolutionary relationships relies on understanding developmental patterns.
- Previous methods for classifying fossil hominid dental development have faced challenges in accuracy.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the reliability of central tendency discrimination (CTD) in classifying ape and human dental development patterns.
- To re-evaluate the efficacy of Smith's (1986) CTD method for fossil hominids.
Main Methods:
- Central tendency discrimination (CTD) was applied to dental development data from 789 subadult hominoids.
- Modern human and pongid samples were scored, with fossil hominids analyzed using CTD.
- Classification accuracy was assessed based on teeth sampled and age class.
Main Results:
- The CTD method demonstrated higher accuracy than previously claimed, with 87% for humans and 68% for apes.
- Accuracy varied significantly with teeth sampled and age; reliability increased with distant dental fields and juvenile subjects.
- Gracile australopithecines and Homo habilis dental patterns classified with apes; Homo erectus and Neanderthals with humans.
Conclusions:
- Central tendency discrimination (CTD) is a reliable tool for classifying hominoid dental development when applied appropriately.
- Fossil hominid dental development patterns show substantial evolutionary shifts within the Hominidae family.
- A standardized computer program for CTD is now available to facilitate future research.