A recently published theory links the current human teeth and facial structure with a history of physical fighting. Two researchers have proposed that, over time, our faces gradually differentiated themselves from our ape ancestors to help deflect and minimize the damage caused by fist-fighting.
Our robust jaws, large molar teeth and strong cheek muscles had previously been linked to the need to chew and crush hard foods such as nuts.
However, University of Utah biologist David Carrier and University of Utah physician Michael H. Morgan have published an alternate theory in the journal Biological Reviews:
“We suggest that many of the facial features that characterize early hominins evolved to protect the face from injury during fighting with fists,” said Carrier and Morgan.
For example, the large molar teeth of australopiths may have developed so the impact of an upper blow to the jaw could be more easily absorbed.
In analyzing the facial bone structures of other hominins, including our early ancestor Australopithecus, Carrier and Morgan found that the parts of the skull most likely to be damaged in a fist fight were also the parts that had developed the most dramatically.
They also discovered the changes in our facial structure occurred at the same time early hominins began to clench their fists. This fighting technique was a stark departure from the scratching and biting used by fighting apes:
"Importantly, these facial features appear in the fossil record at approximately the same time that our ancestors evolved hand proportions that allow the formation of a fist. Together these observations suggest that many of the facial features that characterize early hominins may have evolved to protect the face from injury during fighting with fists," Carrier explained.
The differences in the facial bones of males and females supports the view that males evolved to buttress the face against impact according to their higher prevalence of physical fights.
“These are also the bones that show the greatest difference between women and men in both australopiths and modern humans. In both apes and humans, males are much more violent than females and most male violence is directed at other males. Because males are the primary target of violence, one would expect more protective buttressing in males and that is what we find.”
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