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Teeth Evolution

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Teeth Evolution
Teeth fossils from millions of years ago can explain why we have the teeth in our mouths today. Teeth are very crucial to humans because our jaw and teeth act as a feeding mechanism for humans and if it were not for teeth, we would not be able to chew our food, voice our opinions, or even carry normal conversations like we do today. Humans have four different types of teeth: incisors, canines, premolars, and molars. Our incisors are the four front teeth that have a wide and flat shape. The purpose of these four front teeth is solely for cutting through food that we eat. Our canines are the teeth on each side of the incisors and have a very pointy sharp shape. We have two on the bottom of the jaw and two on the top. These four teeth help tear …show more content…
Alistair Evans, from Monash University, shows his readers how the teeth from humans evolved from hominins. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, Hominins are any member of the zoological “tribe” Hominini of which only one species exists today—Homo sapiens, or human beings. Dr. Alistair Evans and his colleagues based their study off of hominin tooth sizes while trying to figure out what rule governed the evolution and development of teeth in hominins. This study provides a development-based expectation to examine the evolution of the unique proportions of human teeth. While on their journey, Dr. Evans and his crew found two types of hominins: the species that we classify as Homo and australopiths. These scientists discovered an activator mechanism that affects tooth size in mammals, mainly post-canine teeth in hominins. Dr. Alistair Evans discovered that the tooth size remains constant with tooth size in australopiths, which is an extinct genus of hominins. Dr. Alistair Evans …show more content…
One main factor is the foods that we eat today versus the foods that hominin and our distant ancestors were eating when they were alive. As mentioned previously, “teeth as a feeding mechanism in an oral cavity (mouth) are functionally and locationally linked with jaws” (McCollum). Foods in modern society do not require the same chewing capabilities since the invention of utensils for cutting up bite-sized pieces for eating. Wisdom teeth indicate the evolution of humans over time. Most humans in today's world do not have room to accommodate the four additional wisdom teeth. The reason for this is lack of room includes changes in diet and living conditions in people
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