Posted by Stephen Charchuk on December 31, 1996 at 00:16:01:
In Reply to: vestigial organs and instincts posted by Amanda on December 30, 1996 at 18:06:56:
: I'm trying to make a list here of the organs and instincts we possess that are remnants of our ancestors though no longer useful to a large degree - I've read that there are 180 odd such structures in the
There are the wisdom teeth. They are left over from a time when our ancestors ate a more grittier diet, and had longer jaws, and would wear our teeth down more quickly. By the time the wisdom teeth came in the older teeth were most likely already gone. In the last 50 years our diets have changed drastically to softer foods which are easier on the teeth in this regard. Some people are now being born without them, evolution at work.