An ancient child from East Asia grew teeth like a modern human
The youngster’s species is unknown for now
By Bruce Bower
An ancient child with a mysterious evolutionary background represents the oldest known case of humanlike tooth growth in East Asia, researchers say.
The child’s fossilized upper jaw contains seven teeth that were in the process of developing when the roughly 6½-year-old youngster died at least 104,000 years ago and possibly more than 200,000 years ago. Using X-rays to examine the teeth’s internal structure revealed that the first molar, which typically sprouts through the gums at around age 6 in kids today, had erupted a few months before death.