What Teeth Reveal about Human Evolution

This book shows what fossil hominin teeth can tell us about human evolution, integrating the latest research insights with current debates and issues in palaeoanthropology. Written in an accessible style, it will appeal to students and researchers in the fields of biological anthropology, evolutionary biology, palaeontology, dental science and oral biology.

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Over millions of years in the fossil record, hominin teeth preserve a high-fidelity record of their own growth, development, wear, chemistry and pathology. They yield insights into human evolution that are difficult, if not impossible, to achieve through other sources of fossil or archaeological data. Integrating dental findings with current debates and issues in palaeoanthropology, this book shows how fossil hominin teeth shed light on the origins and evolution of our dietary diversity, extended childhoods, long lifespans, and other fundamental features of human biology. It assesses methods to interpret different lines of dental evidence, providing a critical, practical approach that will appeal to students and researchers in biological anthropology and related fields such as dental science, oral biology, evolutionary biology, and palaeontology.