The study of dental morphology as a strategy for understanding human evolution: a comparative analysis

• Grant number: 23/15632-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Archeology - Prehistoric Archaeology
• Principal Investigator: Walter Alves Neves
• Grantee: Leticia Sartori Valota
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Since the emergence of Paleoanthropology, about 28 species of the hominin lineage have been recognized in the fossil record, covering approximately 7 million years of evolution. In spite of it, the scarcity and fragmentation of the fossil record makes it difficult to study the characteristics of these species and their evolutionary relationships, which is one of the great challenges of Paleoanthropology. Thus, over the years, the evolutionary history of the human lineage has been the target of several taxonomic revisions, which aim to establish secure and parsimonious classification proposals. These proposals can be based on various characteristics. In this regard, dentition is an extremely important trait because of its great preservation and capacity to provide information about individuals. Therefore, the present work intends to analyze, using dentition, the species of the human lineage and its evolutionary relationships, and investigate taxonomic problems still in debate in Paleoanthropology. To do so, we intend to form the most inclusive database possible using dental metrics, compiling the 7 million years of our evolutionary history, in order to provide representative and robust results. We will use a multivariate statistical analysis approach through Principal Component and Cluster Analysis. Through this, we hope to contribute to the paleoanthropological debate and insert Brazil into the international scenario in this area of study.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

WALTER NEVES; LETICIA VALOTA; CLOVIS MONTEIRO. Dental metrics of Sahelanthropus tchadensis: A comparative analysis with apes and Plio-Pleistocene hominins. S. Afr. j. sci., v. 120, p. 1-4, 2024-08-00. (23/06224-0, 23/15632-4)

NEVES, WALTER; VALOTA, LETICIA; MONTEIRO, CLOVIS. Dental metrics of Sahelanthropus tchadensis: A comparative analysis with apes and Plio-Pleistocene hominins. S. Afr. j. sci., v. 120, n. 7-8, p. 4-pg., 2024-07-01. (23/06224-0, 23/15632-4)