BRIEF COMMUNICATION
A human lower third molar from the Acheulean site
of Cueva del
´
Angel (Lucena, C
ordoba, Spain)
Francisco J. Bermúdez
1
| Marina Martínez de Pinillos
2,3
|
Francisca Medina-Lara
1
| Cecilia Barroso-Medina
1,4
| Antonio L. Cabral-Mesa
1
|
Antonio Santiago-Pérez
1
| José Eugenio Ortiz
5
| Yolanda Sánchez-Palencia
5
|
Thibaud Saos
6
| Sophie Grégoire
6
| Véronique Pois
6
| Amélie Vialet
6
|
Guadalupe Monge
7
| Anne-Marie Moigne
6
| Miguel Caparr
os
6
|
Trinidad de Torres
5
| José María Bermúdez de Castro
2
| Cecilio Barroso-Ruiz
1
1
Fundaci on Instituto de Investigaci on de
Prehistoria y Evoluci on Humana, Lucena, Spain
2
Centro Nacional de Investigaci on sobre la
Evoluci on Humana, Burgos, Spain
3
Laboratorio de Evoluci on Humana,
Universidad de Burgos, Burgos, Spain
4
Centre for Archaeological Science and School
of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences,
University of Wollongong, Wollongong,
Australia
5
Laboratorio de Estratigrafía Biomolecular,
E.T.S.I. de Minas, Universidad Politécnica de
Madrid, Madrid, Spain
6
UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme
Préhistorique, CNRS-MNHN-UPVD, Paris,
France
7
Departamento de Cristalografía, Mineralogía
y Química Agrícola, Universidad de Sevilla,
Seville, Spain
Correspondence
Francisco J. Bermúdez, Fundaci on Instituto de
Investigaci on de Prehistoria y Evoluci on
Humana, Ctra. C ordoba-Málaga s/n, complejo
administrativo Los Santos, 14900, Lucena,
C ordoba, Spain.
Email: fbermudez@fipeh.org
Funding information
Ayuntamiento de Lucena; Fundaci on Instituto
de Investigaci on de Prehistoria y Evoluci on
Humana
Abstract
Objectives: To present a new dental specimen that will provide additional evidence
for a better understanding of early European Upper Pleistocene hominin morphologi-
cal variability.
Materials and Methods: We described the morphology of this human right lower
third molar at both the outer enamel surface and the enamel–dentine junction by
means of micro-computed tomography. In order to better understand hominin diver-
sity, our morphological and metrical results were compared with those of other homi-
nins obtained from published research. We provide a direct aspartic acid
racemization dating of the molar.
Results: The direct dating (104.3 ka) situates the molar within the Marine isotopic
stage 5d. The crown dimensions are comparable to those of the Sima de los Huesos
sample and modern humans. The combination of a continuous middle trigonid crest
and a well-developed anterior fovea lies within the range of morphological variation
reported for Neanderthal lower molars. The distal portion of the molar has a promi-
nent protostylid.
Discussion: Crown and root morphology of this molar fits within the Neanderthal
morphological pattern. However, both its dimensions and the absence of a hypoco-
nulid tend to position this specimen away from contemporaneous Neanderthals and
rather relate it more closely to some Middle Pleistocene populations.
Conclusions: A new dental specimen is added to the Iberian Peninsula fossil record
from the Marine isotopic stage 5, attesting to some degree of dental variability in the
early Upper Pleistocene.
KEYWORDS
European Upper Pleistocene, human evolution, lower third molar, micro-CT, morphology and
metric analysis
Received: 31 May 2022 Revised: 18 November 2022 Accepted: 1 December 2022
DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24677
Am J Biol Anthropol. 2022;1–15. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/ajpa © 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC. 1