Teeth Shape Revealed Human History: New Anthropology Research

Our teeth not only provide us with a fancy smile, but they are also a great source of evolutionary data, which scientists use to track the changes in human species over the centuries.

Thus, a collaborative research group from the US, Italy, and Germany found how exactly climate change affected the European populations 47,000 – 7,000 years ago by analyzing morphological traits of ancient fossilized teeth.

How did scientists make a discovery?

The research group analyzed different inherited tooth characteristics, such as:

• Shape of crown cusps
• Patterns on the chewing surface
• Presence of wisdom teeth

These traits allow scientists to track genetic relationships among proto-human species even without presented DNA sequencing.

Then, researchers made a special machine-learning algorithm – Pheno-ABC – which analyses all teeth's morphological data to reconstruct significant prehistoric demographic events.

What did scientists find?

The study's result showed that between 47 000 – 28 000 Western and Eastern European populations had a significant genetic connection. At this moment, as we know, the first modern humans arrived in 'Neanderthals-ruled' Europe from the South.

Dr. Judith Beier from the University of Tübingen – a research co-author – noted that these findings align with archeological studies that revealed various tools, hunting weapons, and portable art in these regions.

Also, research demonstrates that in the period between 28 000 – 14 700 years ago, Homo populations significantly reduced in size and genetic diversity, and Western and Eastern European populations had barely genetic connections.

According to the leading researcher – Dr. Hannes Rathmann – these shifts appeared due to dramatic climate changes – known as the Last Glacial Maximum, or the Last Ice Age (presented on picture above) – at that time, which caused extremely low temperatures in the region and covered with ice in northern and central Europe.

Check our other articles about the human nature:

• History of Wisdom Teeth: How did they become a problem?
• Ancient Human Teeth Provided Insights on Oral Microbiome Evolution

** Images obtained from Cambridge University website