Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER
10
D
ental Anthropolo
gy
Emily Hammerl
INTRODUCTION
With thewealth of information contained in the human skeleton, onemight ask the question,
“Why study teeth?” The answer is multifaceted as teeth can elucidate many interesting ques-
tions about living and past human populations. As teeth are the initial mechanism through
which we obtain nourishment, they are under strict genetic constraints governing their devel-
opment. After all, if you cannot eat, you cannot survive. Because of this, teeth are also less
susceptible to environmental stressors such as poor nutrition and prolonged illness, both of
which are well known to affect the completed length and form of the long bones.
Given the relative developmental stability of teeth in comparison to bone (
Kieser, 1990
;
Bogin, 1999
), it may seem that this would result in levels of variation too low to provide the
researcher with much valuable information. Fortunately, this is not the case. As we will see,
variation in tooth growth (e.g.
Demirjian et al., 1973
), form (e.g.
Turner et al., 1991
), size
(e.g.
Kieser, 1990
), and wear (e.g.
Gordon, 1988
or Unger et al., 2008) does exist at the species,
population, and individual levels that can provide researchers with a wealth of data.
So what can teeth tell us? In short, different aspects of tooth growth and shape allow for
the investigation of the basic age, sex, and ancestry aspects of the biological profile. As such,
they can be good indicators of an individual's unique life history.
1
They are also excellent
proxies for overall body growth and development. In this way, they are useful when attempt-
ing to interpret the life patterns of extinct species. Teeth can also provide insight into the
behavior of both extinct and extant species through analysis of sexual dimorphism (which
is strongly associated with the type of social organization in primates and other species),
size and shape differences between species, and both macro- and microwear analysis. Addi-
tionally, the hard outer enamel surface is the strongest material produced by the body. This
means that teeth (along with their associated “bony homes”
d
the maxilla and mandible), are
the single most commonly found elements in the mammalian fossil record. For the same
reasons, teeth and jaws are also more likely to be well preserved in various archaeological
1
All bolded terms are defined in the glossary at the end of this volume.
