Dental remains from Dmanisi (Republic of Georgia): morphological analysis and comparative study

Abstract

The systematic excavation of the Dmanisi site (Republic of Georgia) has provided the earliest evidence of hominins outside Africa, dating back to ca. 1.8 Ma. The analysis of the hominin remains has mainly focused on the morphology of the crania and mandibles. We present the first detailed morphological analysis and comparison of the Dmanisi teeth. The dental evidence from Dmanisi shows a unique combination of primitive and derived traits. In general, although the Dmanisi dental fossils show primitive morphology that resembles that seen in Australopithecus and H. habilis, they also display some derived characteristics, particularly in relation to dental reduction, resembling that seen in the dentition of H. erectus from the Far East.