Summary: "Late Pleistocene Human Skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa, and Modern Human Origins"

In Suwa’s and etc. article “Late Pleistocene Human Skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa, and Modern Human Origins, they detailed the record of dentition within the species Ardipithecus ramidus. In the early discovery of Ardipithecus ramidus, there was a minuscule skeletal record which made scientist rely on the dentition record for defining this species. Due to teeth providing great information on a species and teeth having great preservation it helped them with the discovery of the species by comparing other primate fossils. Over the years, the have accumulated 145 tooth crowns composed of 62 specimens in the species. Characteristics of Ardipithecus ramidus have been identified through the comparison of other hominids (i.e. Orrorin tugenesis). The distinguish characteristics shown most through the canine, which little distinguishable characteristics were identified through the incisors and post-canine teeth. The size of Ar. Ramidus canines are comparable to the female Pan troglodytes, while the whole dentition is comparable to chimpanzees. Dentition can lead us to understand several different things about species (i.e reproductive success, sexual dimorphism, and diet), based on the teeth found we can determine that sexual dimorphism was minimal (only 12% size difference in males) based on this male canine had more of a “feminized” shape. It is inferred that this was due to sexual selection within the species. On this hypothesis, it is further proof that reproductive and social behavior occurs before the growth of the size of brains and tool making. With analyses of the Ar. Ramidus’s enamel tissue and the wear on the molars, they inferred that Ar. Ramidus had a diet that consisted of foods that were less abrasive and that took a minuscule amount of grinding on the teeth (i.e. ripe fruits and plant foods). With a further examination of the enamel, the isotopic analysis pointed to a primarily plant-based diet (approximately 80% to 90%). However, this wasn’t a fault on their own but basically Ar. Ramidus enamel was not adapted thick enough yet to consume foods that required heavy chewing or were abrasive to the tooth. Even though in my previous classes, we have discussed the importance of dentition to understand further information of individuals. However, this article really showed how we can acquire in-depth information about an individual based on the teeth recovered alone.