Teeth of hominids suggests early cavemen had foreign brides?

Scientists have unlocked more secrets about our evolutionary past by using new techniques to extract information from the fossilised teeth of our ancient human ancestors. By testing the tooth enamel of 19 hominids found in cave sites in South Africa, a new study involving researchers at the University of Oxford provides surprising evidence of how individuals dating back more than 2 million years once lived. The study while male hominids preferred to stay within close range of home. This pattern of female dispersal can still be observed in chimpanzees and bonobos, but is unlike other primates including gorillas, which have harems dominated by one male with young males needing to leave the family group. The international research team tested the fossilised teeth dated from 2.4 to 1.7 million years ago from two australopith species - eight Australopithecus africanus individuals and 11 Paranthropus robustus individuals. The researchers found only about ten per cent of the male hominid teeth were from outside the range of their local area, compared with more than half the female teeth indicating that the males stayed close to home. The teeth were from the Sterkfontein and Swartkans cave sites in South Africa, two archaeologically significant sites in hominid evolution.