IngentaConnect Enamel thickness and the topography of the enamel-dentine junctio...

Authors: Schwartz G.T.¹; Thackeray J.F.²; Reid C.³; van Reenan J.F.³

Source: Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 35, Number 4-5, October 1998 , pp. 523-542(20)

Abstract:

This study explores the internal morphology of early hominid teeth using high-resolution computed tomography. Data on Carabelli feature size, enamel thickness, and the topography of the enamel–dentine junction are considered together in order to examine the relationship among these variables in the maxillary molars of gracile and robust australopithecines from South Africa. In particular, one aim is to investigate the degree to which Carabelli feature size influences enamel thickness in the plane of the mesial cusps. The results demonstrate that maxillary molars attributed to Australopithecusafricanus from Sterkfontein, Taung and Makapansgat possess larger Carabelli features and thinner enamel along the lingual wall of the protocone than do specimens attributed to Paranthropus robustus from Swartkrans and Kromdraai. Distinct differences in the position of the Carabelli feature at the level of both the enamel-dentine junction and tooth crown surface between early hominid species may help explain the observed disparity in enamel thickness at that region of the tooth crown as well as offer clues to the functional role of Carabelli's cusp. As the size and position of the Carabelli feature affects the linear thickness of enamel at this one particular region of the tooth crown, future comparative studies focusing on taxa that possess moderate to strong development of the Carabelli complex should use the linear thickness of enamel taken close to the protoconal dentine horn or at the maximum projection of the Carabelli's cusp. Copyright 1998 Academic Press

Language: English

Document Type: Research article

Affiliations: 1: Evolutionary Anatomy Unit, Department of Anatomy & Developmental Biology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, U.K. 2: Department of Paleontology and Paleo-Environmental Studies, Transvaal Museum, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa 3: Department of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, 2193, South Africa

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Enamel thickness and the topography of the enamel–dentine junction in South African Plio-Pleistocene hominids with special reference to the Carabelli trait