The two teeth excavated from the Pleistocene layers of the Stajnia Cave (Kraków-Częstochowa Upland) led the team led by dr. Wioletta Nowaczewska of the Department of Human Biology, University of Wrocław, examined and found traces left by a toothpick.
She said: “It appears that the owner of the tooth used oral hygiene. Probably between the last two teeth there were food scraps that had to be removed. We do not know from what he made a toothpick – a piece of twig, a piece of bone or herringbone. It had to be a fairly stiff, cylindrical object, which the individual used frequently enough to leave a clear trace. ‘
This is the second known example of such hygienic procedures practiced by Neanderthals from the Stajnia Cave. Similar traces have been preserved on another tooth found earlier in the cave.
Scientists also believe that the teeth, a wisdom tooth (third lower molar) and an upper pre-molar, belonged to an individual older than 30 years, and the other to a slightly younger man in his twenties.
However, they found no pathological changes indicating enamel growth disorders, hypoplasia or caries. They note that the wisdom tooth shows signs of severe wear and tear, associated with eating hard foods.
To determine if the tooth belongs to our immediate ancestor (Homo sapiens) or a fossil relative (Homo neanderthalensis), scientists assessed the structure of the dental crown, enamel thickness, dental surface contour and crown surface microtrauma.
They compared the data with other data on the teeth of Neanderthals, as well as fossils and contemporary representatives of our species.
Dr. Nowaczewska said: ‘A collection of features, ie the presence of a specific combination of features that are characteristic of Neanderthal people, indicates that further teeth from Stajnia Cave belonged to them. In the case of the lower molar, an intricate structure can be seen: a large number of tubers. In the anterior part of the crown there was also a characteristic depression and enamel formation.
“The good condition of the premolar has enabled us to assess 2D and 3D analysis of enamel thickness, digital reconstruction, virtual ‘pulling’ of the enamel shell and the enamel thickness, which is thinner in Neanderthal people than in H. sapiens. All these characteristics summarized indicate Neanderthal people. ”
The teeth were initially discovered in 2010, along with numerous remains of the fauna during excavations carried out under the supervision of Dr Mikołaj Urbanowski.
But it is only recently that they have been analyzed using mitochondrial DNA. Dr. Mateja Hajdinjak of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the tests along with additional analyzes to confirm that the teeth belong to Neanderthal people.
Neanderthal bone remains are rarely found in Central and Eastern Europe (there are slightly more sites associated with Neanderthal instruments). In present-day Poland such finds are collected in the south; Northern Poland remained within reach of the glacier for a long time and the conditions for survival were difficult.
Officially confirmed discoveries are small and small in size: four teeth. Three of them were also discovered in the Stajnia Cave, one in the Ciemna Cave (also in the Krakow-Częstochowa Upland).
Dr. Nowaczewska believes that this is not the end of the discoveries in the Krakow-Częstochowa Upland. She said: ‘When I consider these areas as a paleontropologist, I have the impression that time stands still … If there are still Neanderthal bones left, the focus should be on the Highlands and other southern sites. Due to the climatic conditions at the time, it was the area with the best living conditions. ”
The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Wrocław and the University of Silesia, the Institute of Systematics and Evolution of Animals of the Polish Academy of Sciences, the Polish Geological Institute, the University of Bologna (Italy), the Natural History Museum in London (Great Britain), the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany). The results are in the Journal of Human Evolution.
Virtual dental models were prepared by dr. Marcin Binkowski of the University of Silesia, with the technical support of Michał Walczak and Martyna Czaja, as well as Professor Stefano Benazzi and Antonino Vazzana of the University of Bologna.
PAP – Science in Poland, Anna Ślązak
Head credit: M. Binkowski