Teeth as markers of phylogeny, subsistence and environment in modern human origins

• Applicants: Dr. Sireen El Zaatari; Professorin Dr. Katerina Harvati-Papatheodorou
• Subject Area: Prehistory and World Archaeology
• Term: since 2025
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 547258683

Dental morphological traits are highly significant in taxonomic classification of fossil human remains. Yet, most examinations of such traits to date have employed traditional methodologies, whereas applications of more detailed 3D scanning and virtual anthropological approaches remain limited. This project combines traditional and state-of-the-art methodologies to 1) better understand the range of variation in modern human dental morphology as well as the effects of population history, diet/subsistence, and environmental factors on this variation, and 2) use this new knowledge for taxonomic attributions of hitherto unclassified fossil later Homo specimens.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants