Masticatory-Function Essay

The changes in the cranial and facial form are linked to the food that was eaten and how it was made. The different types of food and the muscles used to chew the food resulted in different muscle features on the face. The types of food that became available to them was also a factor when looking at the skull. Masticatory-function hypothesis explains that the shape of the craniofacial was related to the consumption of soft food (Larsen 2014, 435). When food began to be cooked it changed the constancy. Food that was once hard and required more work to chew began to be a lot easier to eat. Hunter-gatherers had characteristics such as long cranial vault, large robust mandible, bigger teeth and tooth wear was normal. Agriculturalists had short skulls, small mandibles, smaller teeth and little wear on the teeth (Larsen 2014, 436).
In the world today, there are so many people with orthodontic issues (Larsen 2014, 436) the severity ranging from having an overbite to misaligned teeth. It all circles back to the kind of food that is eaten and the effect it has on the shape of the skull. Over the last 10,000yBP the skull size and teeth size has reduced (Larsen 2014, 436). The slow change is a great way to show the development of agriculture and how it can be linked, since that was also a gradual change as well. The bones of the skull are effected by environmental influences, thus young that are fed a softer diet will usually have a smaller jaw. The type of teeth and any issues that may come from them can also be linked to genes. Overall, the size of the jaw and the fact that it has only gotten smaller over time has led to crowding of the teeth. The issues really started when humans’ began eating foods that were much softer than before. The wear on teeth is infinitely less because softer foods do not put as much stress on the teeth or the bones in which the teeth