Author: Jennifer Leman / Source: Science News
Traces of lead found in the molars of two young Neandertals found in southeast France provide the earliest recorded evidence of lead exposure in hominids.
Like tiny time capsules, chemical signatures in the 250,000-year-old chompers chronicle specific times — mostly during the winter months — when the two individuals were exposed to the element as children, researchers report online October 31 in Science Advances.
“There are clocks inside our mouths,” says Tanya Smith, a human evolutionary biologist at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia.
By analyzing fossilized teeth, “you get this incredible insight into what [life] was…The post Neandertal teeth reveal the earliest known signs of lead exposure appeared first on FeedBox.