Ancient teeth raise new questions about the origins of modern man

Binghamton University ^ | February 9, 2011 | Unknown

[decimon]

BINGHAMTON, NY – Eight small teeth found in a cave near Rosh Haain, central Israel, are raising big questions about the earliest existence of humans and where we may have originated, says Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam. Part of a team of international researchers led by Dr. Israel Hershovitz of Tel Aviv University, Qaum and his colleagues have been examining the dental discovery and recently published their joint findings in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.

Excavated at Qesem cave, a pre-historic site that was uncovered in 2000, the size and shape of the teeth are very similar to those of modern man, Homo sapiens, which have been found at other sites is Israel, such as Oafzeh and Skhul - but they're a lot older than any previously discovered remains.

"The Qesem teeth come from a time period between 200,000 - 400,000 years ago when human remains from the Middle East are very scarce," Quam said. "We have numerous remains of Neandertals and Homo sapiens from more recent times, that is around 60,00 - 150,000 years ago, but fossils from earlier time periods are rare. So these teeth are providing us with some new information about who the earlier occupants of this region were as well as their potential evolutionary relationships with the later fossils from this same region."

The teeth also present new evidence as to where modern man might have originated. Currently, anthropologists believe that modern humans and Neandertals shared a common ancestor who lived in Africa over 700,000 years ago. Some of the descendants of this common ancestor migrated to Europe and developed into Neandertals. Another group stayed in Africa and evolved into Homo sapiens, who later migrated out of the continent. If the remains from Qesem can be linked directly to the Homo sapiens species, it could mean that modern man either originated in what is now Israel or may have migrated from Africa far earlier that is presently accepted.

But according to Quam, the verdict is still out as to what species is represented by these eight teeth, which poses somewhat of a challenge for any kind of positive identification.

"While a few of the teeth come from the same individual, most of them are isolated specimens," Quam said. "We know for sure that we're dealing with six individuals of differing ages. Two of the teeth are actually deciduous or 'milk' teeth, which means that these individuals were young children. But the problem is that all the teeth are separate so it's been really hard to determine which species we're dealing with."

According to Quam, rather than rely on individual features, anthropologists use a combination of characteristics to get an accurate reading on species type. For instance, Neandertal teeth have relatively large incisors and very distinctive molars and premolars whereas Homo sapiens teeth are smaller with incisors that are straighter along the 'lip' side of the face. Sometimes the differences are subtle but it's these small changes that make having a number of teeth from the same individual that much more important.

But even though Quam and the team of researchers don't know for sure exactly who the teeth belong to, these dental 'records' are still telling them a lot about the past.

"Teeth are evolutionarily very conservative structures," Quam said. "And so any differences in their features can provide us with all sorts of interesting information about an individual. It can tell us what they ate, what their growth and development patterns looked like as well as what their general health was like during their lifetime. They can also tell us about the evolutionary relationships between species, all of which adds to our knowledge of who we are and where we came from."

Excavation continues at the Qesem site under the direction of Professor Avi Gopher and Dr. Ran Barkai of Tel Aviv University. The archaeological material already recovered includes abundant stone tools and animal remains, all of which are providing researchers with a very informative 'picture' of daily life and hunting practices of the site's former inhabitants.

"This is a very exciting time for archeological discovery," Quam said. "Our hope is that the continuing excavation at the site will result in the discover of more complex remains which would help us pinpoint exactly which species we are dealing with."

Quam continues to be in touch with the on-site archeologists and hopes to collaborate in the project when and if more complete human remains are recovered.

###

For more information on the site and related research projects, visit http://www.tau.ac.il/humanities/archaeology/projects/qesem/index.html

For more Binghamton University research news, visit http://discovere.binghamton.edu/

[decimon]

Caption: Lower premolars and canine teeth found at the Qesem cave site in Israel are raising new questions about the origins of modern man. If linked directly to Homo sapiens, it could mean that modern man either originated in what is now Israel or may have migrated from Africa far earlier that is presently accepted, says Binghamton University anthropologist Rolf Quam.

Credit: Rolf Quam

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[decimon]

Time to chews ping.

[Sacajaweau]

So the time span is between 200,000 and 400,00 years ago. Close enough for government work!!

[frog in a pot]

Very interesting.

(What are the odds that the excavation would be conducted by a fellow named Gopher?)

[llevrok]

Yup. Teeth

[Cicero]

Very interesting.

The origin of humans in Africa has been the dominant theory for some time. First, I think, because it ties in with the Darwinian view of a rise from more primitive beginnings. And Africans were, in the Darwinian view, the most primitive peoples. Second, and more politically correct as the intellectual culture evolved, it makes Africa more important.

But the samples are really extremely small. It’s only blind luck that bones and teeth survive in one place but not in another, or happen to be found in one place but not another.

So, we should keep in mind that all these broad reconstructions are only theories, and theories without a really firm statistical basis.

The traditional understanding of the biblical account is that God created Adam and Eve around 4004 BC. So 200-400,000 years doesn’t fit that time pattern very well. But it would be interesting if they moved closer to the traditional geographical pattern.

[decimon]

(What are the odds that the excavation would be conducted by a fellow named Gopher?)

First there was Love Boat and then Congress and now this.

[Thermalseeker]

Nope, that’s a Wookie, genus Marxistificus. Completely different species. Given the known history of the Marxistificus it’s surprising that any survive.......

[frog in a pot]

Ok, you got me. Getting a headache trying to relate your response to anything I know, but then I missed all but a few minutes of Love Boat.

I plan to evaluate a new private label bottle of red wine this evening, so perhaps under the theory of in vino veritas it will come to me.

[decimon]

Sorry. Fred Grandy played a character called Gopher. He later entered politics and was a Republican congressman. It seems he is now a talk show host in D.C. Three jobs where all you do is talk. ;-)

[SunkenCiv]

· GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach · · join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·
	Antiquity Journal  & archive  Archaeologica  Archaeology  Archaeology Channel  BAR  Bronze Age Forum  Discover  Dogpile  Eurekalert  Google  LiveScience  Mirabilis.ca  Nat Geographic  PhysOrg  Science Daily  Science News  Texas AM  Yahoo  Excerpt, or Link only?	Thanks decimon. Excellent update to a couple of earlier topics, so pingin' it. Thanks for keeping FR on a roll of late, not just with GGG topics either. Seems like a perfect opportunity: The Neandertal Enigma by James Shreeve in local libraries Frayer's own reading of the record reveals a number of overlooked traits that clearly and specifically link the Neandertals to the Cro-Magnons. One such trait is the shape of the opening of the nerve canal in the lower jaw, a spot where dentists often give a pain-blocking injection. In many Neandertal, the upper portion of the opening is covered by a broad bony ridge, a curious feature also carried by a significant number of Cro-Magnons. But none of the alleged 'ancestors of us all' fossils from Africa have it, and it is extremely rare in modern people outside Europe." [pp 126-127] The Scars of Evolution: What Our Bodies Tell Us About Human Origins by Elaine Morgan "The most remarkable aspect of Todaro's discovery emerged when he examined Homo Sapiens for the 'baboon marker'. It was not there... Todaro drew one firm conclusion. 'The ancestors of man did not develop in a geographical area where they would have been in contact with the baboon. I would argue that the data we are presenting imply a non-African origin of man millions of years ago.'" To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
· History topic · history keyword · archaeology keyword · paleontology keyword · · Science topic · science keyword · Books/Literature topic · pages keyword ·

[SunkenCiv]

Hey, when you’re saddled with a name like that, there are only a few career choices to make. ;’)

[1010RD]

Take a closer look at Genesis 1.

Day isn’t and can’t be delimited by our Earth day http://strongsnumbers.com/hebrew/3117. as the earth doesn’t get a sun until the 4th Day (Yom - period of time) http://biblos.com/genesis/1-16.htm

Human’s come on the 6th Day (Yom) http://biblos.com/genesis/1-26.htm

Eden doesn’t happen until God rests for the 7th Day (Yom) and Adam get’s place there in Gen 2.

[null and void]

One could argue that we are still in the 7th day.

The descriptions of every one of the first days ends with “And the evening and the morning were the nth day.”

Every day save one:

There is no such closure for the seventh day.

[Cicero]

I’m not a Bible literalist. But the creation date of 4004 BC was traditional all through the middle ages and the Renaissance.

Millenarians associated three two-thousand year periods with the three Persons of the Trinity. As I used to tell my Milton class, in explaining some of the poet’s ideas, the world was due to end in 1996, according to that way of thinking. (There was a 4 year, or possibly a 7 year, error in establishing the year of Christ’s birth, when our current dating system, Anno Domini, was set up.)

[Cicero]

The traditional idea is that the six days work of creation correspond to all of history, and the seventh day to eternity in heaven. Spenser and Milton both build on the idea.

For instance, Spenser’s extant version of The Faerie Queene ends with the Mutability Cantos and two final verses:

WHen I bethinke me on that speech whyleare,
Of Mutability, and well it way:
Me seemes, that though she all vnworthy were
Of the Heav’ns Rule; yet very sooth to say,
In all things else she beares the greatest sway.
Which makes me loath this state of life so tickle,
And loue of things so vaine to cast away;
Whose flowring pride, so fading and so fickle,
Short Time shall soon cut down with his consuming sickle.

Then gin I thinke on that which Nature sayd,
Of that same time when no more Change shall be,
But stedfast rest of all things firmely stayd
Vpon the pillours of Eternity,
That is contrayr to Mutabilitie:
For, all that moueth, doth in Change delight:
But thence-forth all shall rest eternally
With Him that is the God of Sabbaoth hight:
O thou great Sabbaoth God, graunt me that Sabaoths sight.

[Uncle Miltie]

My daughter is one of Quam’s star anthropology undergraduate students.

She worked at The Mammoth Site in South Dakota last summer, she’s digging human bones in Peru this summer, and aiming for a Phd.

[decimon]

She worked at The Mammoth Site in South Dakota last summer, she’s digging human bones in Peru this summer, and aiming for a Phd.

Good. There's not much better than making a career of what you enjoy.

[Silentgypsy]

She needs a muzzle.

[Tallguy]

It’s only blind luck that bones and teeth survive in one place but not in another, or happen to be found in one place but not another.

Bones & teeth are found in areas where the conditions permit preservation through fossilization. This doesn't happen everywhere, so we tend to find the really old stuff in dry, desert areas. This doesn't mean that such things didn't exist in other areas where natural preservation did not take place.