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Diet also dictates the shape of jaw. Harder diet makes your jaw wide, as you need to exert more force to chew harder diet.
The group chose to study the Arikara and Point Hope American Indian populations, since they were genetically isolated from other groups and ate different diets. They investigated bones from the regions dating back to the 1600s and 1700s, times for which the diets are known from other records. The Point Hope population in Alaska ate a "hard" diet that included tough dried meat. They also used their teeth for a variety of nonfood-related tasks, such as stripping leather. The Arikara, from the Dakota area of the United States, ate a softer diet, which consisted of farming supplemented with light hunting.
The researchers precisely measured jaw bones from 63 members of the Point Hope population and 42 individuals from the Arikara population using an X-ray gun as well as calipers, and they used those measurements to extrapolate the proportions of the entire jaw. "The jaw bones were similar in children before they were old enough to start chewing, but different in adulthood, which implies that this divergence is likely a functional result of their diet and the use of their jaw, rather than genetics," says Holmes.
The changes to the jaw bones were explained using a theory drawn from engineering, which directly relates the geometry of a bone to the stresses put on it during use. The team was able to investigate very specific parts of the jaw bones and relate them to specific dietary habits. In the Point Hope population, for example, they found round, wide jaw bones -- a result of having to exert more force to chew a harder diet. The Arikara, on the other hand, did not show this expansion, which they attributed to the lighter chewing requirement of a softer diet.
The group chose to study the Arikara and Point Hope American Indian populations, since they were genetically isolated from other groups and ate different diets. They investigated bones from the regions dating back to the 1600s and 1700s, times for which the diets are known from other records. The Point Hope population in Alaska ate a "hard" diet that included tough dried meat. They also used their teeth for a variety of nonfood-related tasks, such as stripping leather. The Arikara, from the Dakota area of the United States, ate a softer diet, which consisted of farming supplemented with light hunting.
The researchers precisely measured jaw bones from 63 members of the Point Hope population and 42 individuals from the Arikara population using an X-ray gun as well as calipers, and they used those measurements to extrapolate the proportions of the entire jaw. "The jaw bones were similar in children before they were old enough to start chewing, but different in adulthood, which implies that this divergence is likely a functional result of their diet and the use of their jaw, rather than genetics," says Holmes.
The changes to the jaw bones were explained using a theory drawn from engineering, which directly relates the geometry of a bone to the stresses put on it during use. The team was able to investigate very specific parts of the jaw bones and relate them to specific dietary habits. In the Point Hope population, for example, they found round, wide jaw bones -- a result of having to exert more force to chew a harder diet. The Arikara, on the other hand, did not show this expansion, which they attributed to the lighter chewing requirement of a softer diet.
What shapes a bone? Diet and genetics dictate adult jaw shape
Researchers found that use over time and not just genetics informs the structure of jaw bones in human populations. The researchers say these findings may be used to predict the diet of an ancient population, even if little evidence exists in the fossil record. It can also make it easier for...
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