Ungar P S, Grine F E, Teaford M F, Pérez-Pérez A
Department of Anthropology, Old Main 330, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA.
Arch Oral Biol. 2001 Apr;46(4):285-92. doi: 10.1016/s0003-9969(00)00128-x.
Interproximal (approximal) grooves at the cementum-enamel junction of premolar and molar teeth have been observed in a broad range of human ancestors and related extinct species from 1.84 million years ago to the present. Many hypotheses have been presented to explain the aetiology of these grooves, though their form and positioning are most consistent with tooth-picking behaviours. This paper reviews occurrences of interproximal grooves in the cheek teeth of modern and fossil humans, evaluates hypotheses on their cause, and reports on a previously undescribed groove found in OH 60, a molar tooth from Olduvai Gorge. This specimen is among the earliest to show such grooving, and is most likely attributable to Homo erectus. It is concluded that, because interproximal grooves have been observed only on Homo teeth, they probably reflect a behaviour or behaviours unique to that genus.
在从184万年前至今的广泛人类祖先及相关已灭绝物种中，均观察到前磨牙和磨牙牙骨质-釉质交界处存在邻面（近中面）沟。尽管这些沟的形态和位置与牙签剔牙行为最为相符，但人们还是提出了许多假说来解释其病因。本文回顾了现代人类和化石人类颊齿中邻面沟的出现情况，评估了关于其成因的假说，并报告了在奥杜威峡谷的一颗磨牙OH 60上发现的一条此前未描述过的沟。该标本是最早显示出这种沟纹的标本之一，很可能属于直立人。得出的结论是，由于仅在人类牙齿上观察到邻面沟，它们可能反映了该属特有的一种或多种行为。
