- Reddit user discovers jawbone embedded in limescale tile at family home
- Experts told DailyMail.com that it likely belonged to an ancient human ancestor.
- Several hominins have been discovered in a travertine quarry in Turkey.
- Read more: How to keep dirty bathroom tiles incredibly shiny in minutes
A dentist was surprised when he visited his parents' home and discovered a familiar anatomical structure embedded in the hallway of their newly renovated home.
Newly laid tiles just inside the threshold leading to the terrace appeared to contain a human jawbone, according to a post on Reddit where he shared his findings.
Reddit is full of fake posts, but several experts told DailyMail.com that it appears to be a real jawbone, likely from modern humans (Homo sapiens) or Homo erectus. He acknowledged that there is a high possibility that it belonged to an extinct human race. Like Neanderthals.
And if the fossils belong to the ancestors of these ancient humans, they would be between 24,000 and 1.9 million years old.
Redditor Kidipadeli75, who says he is a dentist, posted a photo of the tile on the r/fossils forum.
The tiles in question are made from travertine, a calcium-rich limestone that is often mined and cut for tile use.
“Fossils are often found in travertine, but hominin fossils are less common,” archaeologist Christina Killgrove told DailyMail.com. “This is definitely a human lower jaw bone cut transversely somewhere down the middle.”
As you can see from the photo, the jawbone was cut at an angle. On one side, part of the tooth's cross-section remains, but on the other side, the tooth has been cut away, exposing the fossilized interior of the lower jaw.
“It doesn't surprise me at all to see bones embedded in this type of stone,” Angelique Causals, associate professor of forensic anthropology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, told DailyMail.com.
“That's common. What's rare is that we're lucky enough to find an implanted human jaw,” she said.
Travertine is a common and desirable material for tiles, it's cheaper than marble, and the calcite crystal veins give it an interesting look.
They form near natural springs, such as Mammoth Springs in Yellowstone National Park.
Animals of all sizes live and die in these springs. And when they die, their bodies become trapped in sedimentary rock until they are dug up to be used as tiles for someone's home.
In this case, they ended up going to Kidipadeli75's parents' house, but they didn't notice the jawbone until he pointed it out.
“They chose 'second choice' travertine, meaning it has more imperfections than the first choice, is cheaper and less slippery,” Kidipadeli75 writes.
Kosals said many people must have missed that the jawbone was buried in the tiles of the newly renovated home.
When workers cut stone in quarries or when retailers cut stone for tiles, she says, no one tends to pay attention to the details. “Stone retailers are primarily concerned with the integrity and solidity of the stone, and don't really care what's inside the stone.”
In fact, some architects look for travertine stones in their tiles because they tend to contain fossils, but these tend to be mostly leaves and insects, and not hominins. Kosal says.
Neither Killgrove nor Kothal could say for sure what species the jaw belonged to, but Kothal had some ideas.
“The lower jaw is quite narrow. It could be human, but it's more hominid-like,” she said.
“Homo erectus and Homo heidelbergensis fossils have been unearthed in this type of stone before. It could be a Neanderthal, it could be anything. It could be any hominin,” Kosals added.
Kidipadeli75 wrote that the tiles were quarried in Turkey, and Kotarus confirmed that hominins were found in Turkish travertine quarries.
It may also be difficult for paleontologists to determine who the tiles came from because of the angle at which the jawbone was cut to make the tiles.
But there are some clues, Kosals said.
She pointed to the alveolar process, the thick bony ridge that holds the tooth socket.
In modern humans, this part of the bone is not as long from front to back. However, this jawbone has a large amount of material behind the front teeth.
This thickness is more characteristic of the lower jaw anatomy of Homo erectus.
“My money is on Homo erectus,” Kosals said. “There's much more space out there than Homo sapiens.”
The overall width of the lower jaw is also more similar to Homo erectus than Homo sapiens, she added.
If the jawbone belongs to a Neanderthal, it could be between 200,000 and 24,000 years old. And if it belongs to a member of Homo erectus, it could be between 1.9 million and 108,000 years old.
Causals noted that jaw bones tend to be relatively fragile, so the fact that the jaw bones are intact suggests that they were probably fossilized before being embedded in the travertine.
And since fossilization can take a long time, the jaw bones are also probably very old and unlikely to belong to modern humans, she said.
So, fortunately, this newly tiled house is probably not a crime scene. But it's quite a discovery.
