All humans share certain components of tooth structure, but show variation in size and morphology around this shared pattern which is studied by dental anthropologists. This book presents the first worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth structure in recent populations. It: • describes the methods and assumptions used by dental anthropologists • discusses the genetic basis of nonmetric dental traits • portrays the geographic variation of tooth crown and root traits • analyzes dental variation on a global scale paralleling major genetic and craniometric analyses The book illustrates more than 30 tooth crown and root traits and reviews their biological and genetic underpinnings. This analysis links extinct and extant populations and so serves as a useful tool for elucidating population relationships and histories.
• Unique analysis of variation in teeth on a global scale • Richly illustrated with informative pictures • Relevant to hot topic of modern human origins
Contents
Acknowledgements; Prologue; 1. Dental anthropology and morphology; 2. Description and classification of permanent crown and root traits; 3. Biological considerations: ontogeny, asymmetry, sex dimorphism and intertrait association; 4. Genetics of morphological trait expression; 5. Geographic variation in toot crown and root morphology; 6. Establishing method and theory for using tooth morphology in reconstructions of late Pleistocene and Holocene human population history; 7. Tooth morphology and population history; Epilogue; Appendices; References; Index.
Reviews
'I found this book an absolute delight … it was packed with useful and interesting material.' D. R. Johnson, Dentomaxillofacial Radiology
' … a book that will interest a general biological anthropological readership as well as those involved in the study of modern human teeth.' Journal of Biosocial Science
'… the first worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth structure in recent population.' Human Evolution
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