Biological Sciences Division
Published January 4, 2024 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Dental morphology in Homo habilis and its implications for the evolution of early Homo

Creators

  • 1. Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
  • 2. University of Chicago
  • 3. Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority
  • 4. Collège de France
  • 5. Arizona State University
  • 6. Goethe University
  • 7. University of Kent
  • 8. Université de Bordeaux

Description

The phylogenetic position of Homo habilis is central to debates over the origin and early evolution of the genus Homo. A large portion of the species hypodigm consists of dental remains, but they have only been studied at the often worn enamel surface. We investigate the morphology of the H. habilis enamel-dentine junction (EDJ), which is preserved in cases of moderate tooth wear and known to carry a strong taxonomic signal. Geometric morphometrics is used to characterise dentine crown shape and size across the entire mandibular and maxillary tooth rows, compared with a broad comparative sample (n = 712). We find that EDJ morphology in H. habilis is for the most part remarkably primitive, supporting the hypothesis that the H. habilis hypodigm has more in common with Australopithecus than later Homo. Additionally, the chronologically younger specimen OH 16 displays a suite of derived features; its inclusion in H. habilis leads to excessive levels of variation.

Data availability

The geometric morphometric landmark data generated in this study have been deposited in the Publications section of The Human Fossil Record (https://human-fossil-record.org/index.php?/category/14230). The raw scan data used in this study are curated by the museums and institutes that curate the original fossil material. These data were used under a MOU for the current study, and so are not publicly available, but can be accessed by research application to the relevant curatorial institution (see Supplementary Data 21). The source data for Figs. 3, 4, 5, and Supplementary Figs. 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 are provided as a Source Data file. The source data for Fig. 6 and Supplementary Fig. 17 are available in Supplementary Data 21. Supplementary Tables 1 and 2 are based on previously published data, which is available in references listed in Supplementary Note 1. Source data are provided in this paper.

R code used for geometric morphometric analyses is available from: https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.1025528894.

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Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1038/s41467-023-44375-9
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:10328

Funding

Max Planck Society
European Research Council
819960
Calleva Foundation
Projekt DEAL

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Biological Sciences Division
Department(s)
Organismal Biology and Anatomy