Researchers in Germany and the US looked into the structure of tooth enamel of prehistoric humans and found that it was similar to those of sea otters’. Adding to those findings are the results of a study conducted at the George Washington University and the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, which discovered that teeth with this structure can withstand huge bite forces.
2. Researchers in Germany and the US looked into the structure of tooth enamel of
prehistoric humans and found that it was similar to those of sea otters’. Adding to those
findings are the results of a study conducted at the George Washington University and
the Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Germany, which discovered
that teeth with this structure can withstand huge bite forces.
Teeth like Sea Otters’
The study, which appeared in the journal Biology Letters, says that sea otter enamel
contained 19 crystal curved bands per millimetre. The researchers say this number is
comparable to that of the Parenthropus bosei, a hominin that existed in Africa millions of
years ago. They also found that fossilised teeth of Homo sapiens and modern humans
have 16 and 14 bands per millimetre, respectively.
Banding of crystals in the tooth, or decussation, allows the teeth to withstand pressure
without chipping. When the researchers tested the strength of otters’ teeth, they
concluded that these are three times stronger than modern human teeth.
3. Otters use their strong teeth to crack open clams and other shellfish. The researchers
suggest that our human ancestors’ powerful jaws allowed them to crack open nuts and
even bones, so they can get to the marrow inside.
Diet a Major Factor
According to a different study conducted by director of the Australian Centre for Ancient
DNA, Alan Cooper, prehistoric humans have strong teeth partly because of their diet.
The study also found that as diets transitioned from vegetables, nuts and meat to
include sugar and carbohydrates over time, the composition of bacteria in the mouth
changed, too. The change in the bacterial composition in the mouth led to oral
diseases, and a host of other health problems including obesity and diabetes.
‘Hunter-gatherers had really good teeth’, says Cooper, ‘[But] as soon as you get to
farming populations, you see this massive change. Huge amounts of gum disease. And
cavities start cropping up’.
