LONDON: Tartar from 400,000-year-old human teeth reveals the earliest evidence of man-made air pollution, according to a new study.
The tartar — hardened dental plaque that is also known as calculus — on teeth found at Qesem Cave near Tel Aviv, Israel, contains possible respiratory irritants, including traces of charcoal possibly from indoor fires used to roast meat.
This air pollution may have posed a health threat to these early humans, the study authors said.
The tartar also shows evidence of plants that may have been part of the diet and fibers that might have been used to clean teeth or were remnants of raw materials.
“Human teeth of this age have never been studied before for dental calculus, and we had very low expectations because of the age of the plaque,” said study co-author Avi Gopher, a professor in the department of archaeology and ancient near Eastern civilizations at Tel Aviv University.
“However, our international collaborators, using a combination of methods, found many materials entrapped within the calculus. Because the cave was sealed for 200,000 years, everything, including the teeth and its calculus, were preserved exceedingly well,” Gopher added in an American Friends of Tel Aviv University news release.
Tesla driverless system to use updated radar technology
WASHINGTON: Electric carmaker Tesla announced Sunday it was upgrading its Autopilot software to use more advanced radar technology. In a...
