Figure 1
A) Pan troglodytes lower right deciduous central incisor (specimen MER ii 27); B) Paranthropus robustus lower right central incisor (specimen SKX 3559); C) Gorilla gorilla gorilla lower left first premolar (specimen M 786); D) Pan troglodytes mandible (specimen M 425); E) Australopithecus africanus lower left teeth (specimen STS 7); F) Gorilla mandible (specimen ZI 17). White arrows indicate positon of tertiary dentine.
Figure 2
Paranthropus robustus left upper first molar (specimen SK 57). Postmortem coloration covering a dentine island (white arrow).
Table 1
Number of permanent teeth for all samples studied, split by mandible and maxilla, as well as tooth type. M: molars; PR: premolars; C: canines; I: incisors.
| Species | Maxilla | Mandible | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | PM | C | I | M | PM | C | I | |
| Pan troglodytes | 501 | 292 | 136 | 315 | 497 | 300 | 140 | 320 |
| Gorilla gorilla gorilla | 409 | 247 | 110 | 271 | 411 | 241 | 113 | 288 |
| Paranthropus robustus | 78 | 63 | 15 | 38 | 117 | 58 | 10 | 23 |
| Australopithecus africanus | 81 | 55 | 20 | 31 | 153 | 65 | 36 | 36 |
| Homo naledi | 31 | 21 | 13 | 14 | 28 | 19 | 11 | 19 |
Table 2
Frequencies of tertiary dentine in permanent teeth. Only teeth with dentine exposed through wear on the occlusal surface included.
| Species | Tertiary dentine present | No tertiary dentine | Tertiary dentine % |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. africanus | 12 | 78 | 13.33 |
| P. robustus | 9 | 66 | 12.00 |
| H. naledi | 5 | 26 | 16.13 |
| P. troglodytes | 448 | 501 | 47.21 |
| G. g. gorilla | 917 | 67 | 93.19 |
Table 3
Frequencies of tertiary dentine in deciduous teeth. Only teeth with dentine exposed through wear on the occlusal surface included.
| Species | Tertiary dentine presen | No tertiary dentine | Tertiary dentine % |
|---|---|---|---|
| P. troglodytes | 113 | 128 | 46.89 |
| G. g. gorilla | 131 | 61 | 68.23 |
Table 4
Combined maxilla and mandible mean wear scores for each species split by tooth type. Anterior teeth and premolars are recorded following Smith (1984) and molars following Scott (1979).
| Species | I1 | I2 | C | PM3 | PM4 | M1 | M2 | M3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P. troglodytes | 4.69 | 4.30 | 3.67 | 2.88 | 2.85 | 4.01 | 3.99 | 3.60 |
| G. g. gorilla | 3.86 | 3.36 | 3.35 | 2.61 | 2.68 | 4.36 | 3.67 | 3.47 |
| P. robustus | 3.32 | 3.00 | 2.82 | 2.83 | 2.95 | 4.04 | 3.64 | 2.98 |
| A. africanus | 3.60 | 2.85 | 3.28 | 2.85 | 2.88 | 4.10 | 3.67 | 2.89 |
| H. naledi | 4.13 | 2.56 | 2.96 | 3.11 | 3.40 | 3.92 | 3.11 | 3.19 |