UR 501, the Plio-Pleistocene hominid from Malawi. Analysis of the microanatomy of the enamel

Abstract

The study of enamel microstructure characteristics was carried out in a mandible of a Plio-Pleistocene hominid (UR 501), found in Chiwondo Beds at Uraha (northern Malawi), dated around 2.5–2.3 Myrs, and attributed to Homo rudolfensis. It indicates that UR 501 dental development shares many patterns with other Plio-Pleistocene hominids, i.e. similar crown formation time in premolars and molars. Nevertheless, differences were found, especially in the lateral enamel thickness. In premolars, lateral enamel is as thin as in early Homo, and in molars it is as thick as in robust australopithecines from East Turkana. The difference between enamel lateral thickness in premolars and molars in UR 501, which is not found in another specimen attributed to H. rudolfensis (KNM-ER 1802), may indicate inter-populational variation in H. rudolfensis.