Software Simulates Chewing Biomechanics for Anthropology Study

Fossils of primates and early humans exhibit great diversity in the size and shape of the jaw, teeth, and facial skeleton. Anthro- pologists theorize that these different skull forms were evolutionary adaptations to chewing different types of food. Dr. David S. Strait, anthropologist and assistant professor at the New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), is testing these theories by simulating the chewing biomechanics of living primates with ALGOR finite element analysis (FEA) software. Dr. Strait’s research may help to explain why there is such diversity among living primates, and could lay the groundwork for future studies of extinct early humans.