Dental development of known‐age chimpanzees, Pan troglodytes (primates, pongidae)

Bibliographic Data

ID8313477
AuthorsRobert L Anemone (0000-0003-2838-968X, SUNY Geneseo, corresponding author), Elizabeth S Watts (Tulane University), Daris R Swindler (University of Washington)
Year1991
Volume86
Issue2
Pages229-241
Publication date1991-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.1330860211
OpenAlexW2084302724
LanguageEN
Citations received65
References cited30

Interpretation of dental development of fossil hominids requires understanding of and comparison with the pattern and timing of dental development among living humans and pongids. We report the first study of crown and root calcification in the lower permanent molar teeth among chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) of known chronological age. A series of 99 lateral head radiographs of 16 captive‐born chimpanzees were analyzed. Radiographs were taken at irregular intervals throughout the entire postnatal period of dental development from birth to 13 years of age. Permanent mandibular molars were rated on an eight‐point maturation scale from initial radiographic appearance through crown and root calcification and apical closure of the root canals. In addition, we were able to document initial crown calcification and completion, as well as root completion and apical closure in incisors, canines, and premolars. Our results show several differences from the widely cited developmental schedule for pongid dentitions of Dean and Wood ( Folia Primatol . 36 :111–127, 1981). We found a much greater degree of temporal overlap in calcification of the crowns of adjacent molars, a pattern very unlike that usually seen in human dental development, which is characterized by delays between the onset of crown calcification in the molar series. Also, the ages and durations of crown and root formation in our chimp sample differ from the estimates proposed by Dean and Wood. By more clearly establishing the nature of developmental schedules and the timing of major events in the pongid dentition, these results should aid in the ongoing controversies concerning the human or pongid nature of dental development among Plio‐Pleistocene hominids

Biology · Calcification · Crown (dentistry) · Dentition · Molar · Pathology · Tooth eruption · Troglodytes · Zoology · dental development and anomalies · Dentistry · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Medicine · Orthodontics · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology

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