Enamel thickness and development in Australopithecus and paranthropus

Teeth comprise a significant portion of the hominid fossil record, and for this reason they have been the subject of numerous morphometric analyses. To date, almost all studies of early hominid dentitions have concentrated on aspects of crown size and morphology, root configurations and occlusal wear. Despite the importance that has been attached to tooth enamel thickness and structure in analyses of Miocene hominoid fossils and interpretations of hominid origins (e.g., Jolly, 1970; Pilbeam, 1972; Simons, 1972, 1976; Simons and Pilbeam, 1972; Szalay, 1972; Gantt, 1977, 1982, 1983, 1986; Gantt et al., 1977; Kay, 1981; Martin, 1983, 1985), these parameters have received surprisingly little attention in studies of the Plio-Pleistocene hominid fossil record.