Shovel Teeth

Mutation has permitted practically every species to progress from where it began to where it is now. This is the premise of Darwin's theory of survival of the fittest. Beneficial mutations allow a life form to survive, whereas harmful mutations cause it to perish. Shovel teeth were one of the most intriguing mutations that allowed humans to advance as a species throughout history. Humans traveled from Siberia to Alaska around 20,000 years ago. Long before Europeans came, the Native American population all had shovel-shaped incisors. And scientists believe it was a survival mutation.

Genes in the human body generally perform multiple functions. The mutation that creates shovel teeth has also been linked to sweat glands, hair thickness, and branching ducts in mammary glands. While sweat and hair were unlikely to be of much use to the early Native American people, breast milk would have been critical. They would have had significantly less exposure to sunlight in northern portions of the earth. Babies would have been extremely vulnerable to vitamin D deficiency. Unless, of course, there was a mutation associated with improved nutritional transfer through breast milk.

Based on the facts, it appears that this mutation was part of a larger survival mutation to assure the species' survival. When children reached a certain age, they could obtain nutrition for survival through other sources. However, breastfeeding would have been essential in the early stages of life, and this mutation ensured that the children received the maximum quantity of nutrition possible.