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How large were the teeth of Homo erectus compared with those of Homo sapiens?

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Side-view illustration of a Homo erectus individual, depicted with a robust, upright body covered in hair, walking with one arm bent. A scale bar beside the figure shows measurements in inches and centimeters. — Homo erectus Artist's rendering of *Homo erectus*, which lived from approximately 1,700,000 to 200,000 years ago.

In the context of human evolution, the teeth of Homo erectus were, on the whole, larger than those of Homo sapiens.1

While the teeth of the genus Homo generally became smaller over time, the dental reduction observed in Homo erectus represents a transition toward the modern human condition. This trend of decreasing tooth size is widely believed to be related to changes in diet and the development of food preparation techniques, such as the use of tools for cutting and pounding, as well as the use of fire for cooking.2