Archived Abstracts
Analysis of the Evolution of the Hominin Jaw & Dentition
Location
Room 232, Schewel Hall
Access Type
Open Access
Entry Number
74
Start Date
4-8-2020 2:15 PM
End Date
4-8-2020 2:30 PM
Department
Environmental Science
Abstract
The food an organism consumes impacts the evolution of its dentition and facial morphology. As the teeth of early hominins are often some of the only parts of the skeleton to be fossilized their morphological changes throughout time are better documented and understood than many other body parts. A literature review of articles focusing on the evolution of the dentition and mandibular morphology of members of the tribe Homininae was conducted. We deduced the ways in which tool use and cooking directly affected the teeth of hominins from the late Pleistocene to Pliocene from this information. The tangible ways that changing dietary patterns acted as selective forces throughout the course of hominin evolution are discussed.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Dr. Brook Haiar Dr. Takashi Maie Dr. Nancy Cowden
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Analysis of the Evolution of the Hominin Jaw & Dentition
Room 232, Schewel Hall
The food an organism consumes impacts the evolution of its dentition and facial morphology. As the teeth of early hominins are often some of the only parts of the skeleton to be fossilized their morphological changes throughout time are better documented and understood than many other body parts. A literature review of articles focusing on the evolution of the dentition and mandibular morphology of members of the tribe Homininae was conducted. We deduced the ways in which tool use and cooking directly affected the teeth of hominins from the late Pleistocene to Pliocene from this information. The tangible ways that changing dietary patterns acted as selective forces throughout the course of hominin evolution are discussed.