Approximately 90% of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are right-handed. This handedness is related to laterality patterns of the upper limb due to habitual activity patterns which are known to leave marks on the bone structure. Various studies have shown that Neanderthals were also right-handed in very similar proportions to AMHs. Here, for the first time, 3D geometric morphometric techniques are used to study humeral laterality in a Spanish modern human population and to make a comparative study with a Neanderthal sample. Results obtained in the modern human population show a larger right humerus and clear differences in shape laterality. Shape differences in both epiphyses and in the complete humerus could be caused by non-allometric factors. This could suggest different activity pattern in both arms during life. Shaft shape laterality could be explained by allometric factors, i.e. shape variability is related to size variability. Neanderthals show a larger right humerus compared to the left and the mean shape comparison with the common anatomical regions presents a non-significant result. Finally, olecranon fossa width is the only feature that clearly differs between modern humans and Neanderthals, with geometric morphometric and linear measures being wider on the Neanderthal left side and wider on the modern human population right side. This difference may be due to a combination of different factors and behaviors that involve complete extension of the elbow joint.

Recent fossil finds have complicated the picture of East Asian Late Pleistocene hominin taxonomy and morphology, necessitating analysis of more fossils with secure dates and stratigraphic contexts to better contextualize human evolution during this epoch. Field excavations at the Laoya Cave in Guizhou Province, China in 2013 recovered two isolated human teeth (M₃ and dm²). The teeth date from ~21–24 kya, according to AMS radiocarbon dating. The present study provides detailed metric and non-metric descriptions of the Laoya teeth, and compares them with the dentition of other Late Pleistocene hominins (Neanderthals and fossil Homo sapiens from around the world) as well as chronologically earlier fossil hominins from the same geographical area (East Asian Early/Middle Pleistocene hominins). To achieve this, descriptive morphological observations, geometric morphometric analysis, and micro-computed tomography were employed. The lower third molar (LYC1) is characterized by several derived features, including the absence of a hypoconulid, the lack of C6 and C7, and an ‘X’-type cuspal arrangement. The combination of traits expressed by LYC1 is unique, but very similar to other recent H. sapiens. However, the LYC1 also displays a suite of dental features that are not common in other East Asian Late Pleistocene fossil H. sapiens: the absence of a hypoconulid, the presence of a middle trigonid crest, and a narrowed talonid relative to trigonid. This study of the Laoya teeth expands the known morphological diversity of East Asian Late Pleistocene hominin dentitions, and will contribute to a better understanding of the history of modern humans in this area.

The upper incisor lingual morphology of the late Miocene Greek hominoid Ouranopithecus macedoniensis was almost unknown, as the described earlier maxillary remains preserve only worn incisors. During the most recent excavations in the type locality of Ouranopithecus, Ravin de la Pluie (RPl) of Axios Valley (Macedonia, Greece), four little-worn upper central incisors were recovered. This material and a few additional worn upper incisors, discovered recently, are described and compared in this article. Even though a morphological comparison with the old RPl material, lacking unworn or little worn incisors, is impossible, the metrical comparison and the monospecific character of the RPl hominoid sample suggest that the described incisors can be assigned to Ouranopithecus macedoniensis. The described upper central incisors are separated in two size-groups which in general have similar morphology except for some minor differences such as the presence of a pronounced mesial lingual pillar in the small-sized specimens. The observed significant size difference among the studied incisors is attributed to the strong sexual dimorphism of Ouranopithecus, which is also well expressed in the other teeth. The lingual morphology of the upper incisors of Ouranopithecus are not identical to those of extant great apes, though they have some similarities with those of the African great apes (Gorilla and Pan), while they are clearly different from those of the Asian great ape (Pongo). Even though they have some morphological similarities, the O. macedoniensis central incisors are probably not identical to those of the Eurasian Miocene hominoids; the most similar central incisor is that of Ouranopithecus turkae. Among the known African Miocene hominoids, Nakalipithecus upper central incisor is quite similar in morphology and size to that of Ouranopithecus.

Torus mandibularis (TM), or mandibular tori, are nodular, excessive bony growths along the lingual side of the lower jaw. TM occurs in varying frequencies in different populations with a higher prevalence in Asiatic and circumpolar groups. The tori are associated with mechanical stress from masticatory and paramasticatory behaviors, heredity, sex, age, and environmental factors. We investigated the presence, location, symmetry, and degree of TM frequencies in two skeletal populations with cultural, biological, and geographical affinities: 15th–18th-century Joseon Dynasty Koreans (n = 119) and 20th–21st-century modern Koreans (n = 77). TM frequency is significantly higher among modern Koreans (54.6%) than Joseon Dynasty individuals (13.3%) for females and males. There are no sex differences in TM prevalence in the archaeological and modern groups and an age-related trend in the TM frequency is not observed in either sample. Our results are consistent with the literature, which reports a higher frequency in Asiatic populations, but contrary to the general worldwide trend of decreasing prevalence over time. Modern Koreans have not undergone significant dietary changes since the Joseon Dynasty, and the quasicontinuous model with external factors may be responsible for the development of TM.