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Neanderthal Research Paper

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What do teeth mean to you? Have you ever thought about teeth outside the clinical context? Renowned paleoanthropologist Tim D. White recently unearthed a Neanderthal’s mandible in Spy cave, Belgium. The mandible’s left condyle was broken at the neck, and some cracks were present in the body of the mandible but was otherwise intact. All the dentition was present except the left lateral incisor and canine, with the developing third molars confirmed through radiography. This was fortunate as, to no surprise, the study of teeth was one of the vital keys to uncovering the specimen’s life.
Enamel of teeth have the highest percentage (95%) of mineral content in the body (Gwinnett, 1992). This allows the teeth to resist decomposition after the death of the individual, highly preserving the structure and hence the information of the individual. Furthermore, calculus around the teeth also proves to be an important reservoir of information.

Introduction to Neanderthals
Neanderthals are archaic humans considered to be a separate species (Homo neanderthalensis) from modern humans (Homo …show more content…

Synchrotron X-ray imaging allowed researchers to virtually and non-destructively study the histology of the teeth (Tafforeau et al., 2006). The increments in enamel were studied in detail.
The long-period increments in enamel (striae of Retzius) are observed as brown lines (Eli, Sarnat, & Talmi, 1989). These lines can become accentuated when the enamel-producing ameloblasts are under stressful conditions, causing the rhythm of amelogenesis to change temporarily (Eli et al., 1989). An example of such stress is at birth – the metabolic stress caused as the fetus transitions from intrauterine to extrauterine life (Canturk, Atsu, Aka, & Dagalp, 2014). This birth stress leads to the formation of a neonatal line (NL) in the enamel (Eli et al.,

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