The dentognathic material of the Neanderthals from Chagyrskaya (Altai, Russia): Morphology and paleobiology

Gicqueau A. Maureille B. Costamagno S. Kolobova K. Rendu W. Markin S. Viola B.
March 2026 Academic Press

Journal of Human Evolution
2026 #212

Located in the northernmost part of Central Asia, the western foothills of the Altai Mountains (Western Siberia) represent to date the easternmost known boundary of Neanderthal distribution, far from their main cultural areas currently known in Western Eurasia. This geographic situation suggests the possibility of distinct cultural and biological traits in Altai Neanderthals. In this region, Chagyrskaya Cave contains the most substantial paleoanthropological collection, with 75 remains, including 20 craniodental elements attributed to at least eight individuals of varying ages (22 permanent teeth and four deciduous teeth), dating to between approximately 59 and 51 ka BP. Previous paleogenetic analyses suggest several individuals from this site are closely related. Our study is the first to comprehensively analyze the morphology of the entire set of dentognathic elements. In this study, we document the phenotypic variability of the Chagyrskayas individuals by examining the dimensions and proportions of the crown and root tissues, the nonmetric traits of the outer enamel surface, and the enamel-dentine junction of the 26 teeth from this site and by comparing them to published data of both fossil and more recent material. Furthermore, we explore aspects related to their lifestyle and behavior describing the antemortem lesions affecting their dentognathic elements. Our results show that the dental traits of these human remains fall within the known Neanderthal phenotypic variability while also presenting certain specificities, the origins of which we discuss. In addition, the identification of several lesions on some of these fossils allows us to document their oral health and the use of their teeth for paramasticatory activities.

Altai mountains , Antemortem lesions , Dental morphometrics , Eastern Neanderthals

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Univ. de Toulouse Jean Jaurès, CNRS, Ministère de La Culture, TRACES, UMR5608 CNRS, Toulouse, F-31058, France
Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, Ministère de la Culture, PACEA, UMR5199, Pessac, F-33600, France
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, 630090, Russian Federation
ZooStan, Archeozoological Center for the Study of Central Asia, CNRS, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, International Research Laboratory, Almaty, 050040, Kazakhstan
Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, M5S 2S2, Canada

Univ. de Toulouse Jean Jaurès
Univ. Bordeaux
Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography
ZooStan
Department of Anthropology

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