Wisdom teeth are not involved in the process of chewing food, that is, they are rudiments. But with them everything is not so simple. They not only hurt, but they can tell scientists - from physiologists to paleontologists - a lot of interesting things.
Not everyone has wisdom teeth
Not everyone on Earth has the same number of teeth. The difference is in the wisdom teeth. Someone has them, someone does not. Why is that? There are several versions.
According to anthropologist Alan Mann (Princeton University), the division of people into "wise-toothed" and "non-wisetooth" began about 300-400 thousand years ago.
The scientist believes that the formation of wisdom teeth at that time was suspended by a certain mutation.
The most ancient fossil, indicating the absence of wisdom teeth in human ancestors, was found in China.
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92%
92% of the world's adult population has a full set of wisdom teeth. A quarter of earthlings do not have wisdom teeth. As a rule, this is due to a lack of space in the dentition.
Inuit
According to American statistics for 2014, 10-25% of European Americans do not have at least one third molar; for African and Asian Americans, this figure is 11% and 40%, respectively. Inuit living in the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland and Alaska rarely erupt wisdom teeth, 45% of them are missing one or more wisdom teeth.
Prejudice
Prejudice and harmful stereotypes about wisdom teeth include the opinion that teething in adulthood is normal. Wisdom teeth are already formed by the age of 21-22 (rarely - by the age of 27). False teething later in life can be a symptom of another problem. In any case, you need to consult a dentist.
Do we owe wisdom teeth to the brain?
Anthropologists believe that evolutionary changes associated with the enlargement of the brain and the parallel narrowing of the jaws influenced the change in the number of teeth and the development of the jaw. In the course of the history of our species, the human bite has lost 12 teeth: one incisor and two premolars on each side. By the way, the process of reducing the human occlusion continues today, which is a trump card in the sleeve of the supporters of the evolutionary theory.
Hunters vs Tillers
Paleontologist Noreen von Cramont-Taubadel (University of Kent) has done a lot of research: having analyzed the structure of 322 skulls and about 300 jaws of Cro-Magnons from different continents, she made a map of the distribution of people with different jaws.
According to her classification, all ancient people were divided into two anatomical groups - "hunters" and "farmers".
This is evidenced by the differences in the structure of the lower jaw and palatomaxilla - the junction of the upper jaw and palatine bone.
The lower jaws of the "farmers" were slightly shorter and wider, and the upper part of this bone was longer and thinner than similar fragments of the skull of Cro-Magnon "hunters".
According to Noreen von Cramont-Taubadel, the change in jaws was caused by a difference in the diet of Cro-Magnon groups. With the softening of food, the jaw of our ancestors also changed. Thus, according to the expert, the factor of "wisdom teeth" was a consequence of changes in nutrition in some groups of ancient people.