Few European sites have yielded human dental remains safely dated to the end of MIS 4/beginning of MIS 3. One of those sites is Marillac (Southwestern France), a collapsed karstic cave where archeological excavations (1967-1980) conducted by B. Vandermeersch unearthed numerous faunal and human remains, as well as a few Mousterian Quina tools. The Marillac sinkhole was occasionally used by humans to process the carcasses of different prey, but there is no evidence for a residential use of the site, nor have any hearths been found. Rare carnivore bones were also discovered, demonstrating that the sinkhole was seasonally used, not only by Neanderthals, but also by predators across several millennia. The lithostratigraphic units containing the human remains were dated to ∼60 kyr. The fossils consisted of numerous fragments of skulls and jaws, isolated teeth and several post-cranial bones, many of them with traces of perimortem manipulations. For those already published, their morphological characteristics and chronostratigraphic context allowed their attribution to Neanderthals. This paper analyzes sixteen unpublished human teeth (fourteen permanent and two deciduous) by investigating the external morphology and metrical variation with respect to other Neanderthal remains and a sample from modern populations. We also investigate their enamel thickness distribution in 2D and 3D, the enamel-dentine junction morphology (using geometric morphometrics) of one molar and two premolars, the roots and the possible expression of taurodontism, as well as pathologies and developmental defects. The anterior tooth use and paramasticatory activities are also discussed. Morphological and structural alterations were found on several teeth, and interpreted in light of human behavior (tooth-pick) and carnivores' actions (partial digestion). The data are interpreted in the context of the available information for the Eurasian Neanderthals.

中文翻译：

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Marillac（法国西南部夏朗德省）的尼安德特人牙齿：形态学、比较和古生物学。

很少有欧洲遗址能够安全地找到可追溯到 MIS 4 结束/MIS 3 开始的人类牙齿遗骸。其中一个遗址是 Marillac（法国西南部），这是一个坍塌的岩溶洞穴，由 B. Vandermeersch 进行考古发掘（1967-1980）出土了许多动物和人类遗骸，以及一些穆斯特里安奎纳工具。Marillac 天坑偶尔被人类用来处理不同猎物的尸体，但没有证据表明该地点有住宅用途，也没有发现任何壁炉。还发现了稀有的食肉动物骨头，这表明下沉洞是季节性使用的，不仅是尼安德特人，还有几千年来的食肉动物。包含人类遗骸的岩石地层单位的年代为~60 kyr。化石由无数头骨和颌骨的碎片组成，孤立的牙齿和几块后颅骨，其中许多带有死前处理的痕迹。对于已经发表的那些，他们的形态特征和年代地层背景允许他们将其归因于尼安德特人。本文通过研究与其他尼安德特人遗骸和现代人口样本的外部形态和度量差异，分析了十六颗未公开的人类牙齿（十四颗恒牙和两颗乳牙）。我们还研究了它们在 2D 和 3D 中的牙釉质厚度分布、一磨牙和两颗前磨牙的牙釉质-牙本质连接形态（使用几何形态测量学）、牙根和可能的牛牙症表现，以及病理和发育缺陷。还讨论了前牙的使用和寄生活动。在几颗牙齿上发现了形态和结构改变，并根据人类行为（牙签）和食肉动物的行为（部分消化）进行解释。这些数据是在欧亚尼安德特人可用信息的背景下解释的。