Cementochronology using synchrotron radiation tomography to determine age at death and developmental rate in the holotype of Homo luzonensis

Abstract

Homo luzonensis, a fossil hominin from the Philippines, is smaller than modern humans. At present, very little is known about the life history of this species. Cementochronology can answer life history questions, but usually involves destructive sampling. Here, we use synchrotron radiation to count the yearly cement lines of teeth belonging to a single individual. This approach allows us to determine that this individual was likely 31 years old at time of death and apparently had a developmental pattern comparable to chimpanzees. To our knowledge, this is the first time that cementochronology using synchrotron radiation tomography is used for life history and age-at-death estimation.