Two-million-year-old teeth (four sets, in fact) tell new stories in a newly posted preprint paper that strips them of enamel and analyzes what the proteins have to say. This "proteomic" approach, which relied on the more rugged protein molecules instead of fragile DNA, revealed their relationship to the wider family tree of early humans.
Taken from a sediment-filled cave in South Africa, the fossilized teeth once formed the dentition of an ancient hominin, Paranthropus robustus.
This species was diminutive by modern standards, measuring about three and a half feet tall, but it was relatively sturdy in build and weighed about 100 pounds. While P. robustus doesn’t appear to have used stone tools, the species did use bones to dig into termite mounds and its large teeth to chew on nuts and other tough foods.
