Abstract
AbstractAbscesses and other periapical lesions are found in abundance in recent archeological samples, yet are scarce in the fossil hominin record. Periapical voids commonly develop after exposure of a tooth’s pulp chamber and are commonly associated with heavy crown wear, trauma or caries. In this study, all available maxilla and mandible fragments from the South African fossil hominin collections were studied, including specimens assigned toHomo naledi, Paranthropus robustus, Australopithicus africanus, A. sedibaand earlyHomo. Only one specimen displayed voids consistent with periapical lesions, and a differential diagnosis of these voids was undertaken. The specimen, SK 847, is described as earlyHomoand has been dated to 2.3-1.65MA. There is one definite abscess, and likely at least two more with postmortem damage, all on the anterior aspect of the maxilla and associated with the incisors. The abscesses originate from the apices of the incisor roots and are therefore unlikely to represent a systemic disease such as multiple myeloma. They best fit the description of an abscess rather than a cyst or granuloma, with one showing a rounded thickened rim around the lesion. The abscesses highlight that this individual used their anterior dentition extensively, to the point that the pulp chambers were exposed on multiple teeth. This is one of the earliest hominin examples of a dental abscess and shows that this individual was able to cope with several concurrent abscesses, clearly surviving for an extended period. Therefore, this finding adds additional information to the history of dental pathology in our genus.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Reference32 articles.
1. Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa
2. Clarke, R. J. 1979. The cranium of the swartkrans hominid, sk 847 and its relevance to human origins (Doctoral dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg).
3. Affinities of the Swartkrans 847 hominid cranium
4. What is dental ecology?
5. ‘Abscess cavity’—a misnomer;International Journal of Osteoarchaeology,1997
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献
1. Head and Neck Infections;The History of Maxillofacial Surgery;2022