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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Early Human Had "Nutcracker" Jaws


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A model (above right) of a skull (left) of the early hominin Australopithecus africanus shows in bright colors where strains occur in the skull when force is applied to the premolars, the teeth just behind the canines.

This facial structure may have been adapted for cracking open large, hard nuts and seeds during periods of scarcity, a January 2009 study found.

Picture courtesy of Gerhard Weber