Evolution's Bite: A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins

Book: Evolution's Bite: A Story of Teeth, Diet, and Human Origins (Look inside) / Link 2
Peter S. Ungar
Hardcover: 248 pages
Publisher: Princeton University Press (May 9, 2017)

Teeth are a unique, enduring archive of a lifetime's experiences, stretching back to before birth. They can reveal childhood hardship, seasonal migration, exposure to pollution, radiation or congenital syphilis, cultural modification, and age at death — as well as a wealth of information about diet. Thus, the teeth of our hominin predecessors in the archaeological and fossil record are a prodigious store of evidence. It's hardly surprising that many scientists dedicate their careers to unlocking the evidence from modern and fossil teeth.

In Evolution's Bite, palaeoanthropologist Peter Ungar offers a compelling account of how the interaction of teeth, diet and environment has shaped human evolution. This tale ranges from the formidable dentition of early hominin Paranthropus boisei, which roamed eastern Africa between 2.3 million and 1.3 million years ago, to the mismatched jaws and teeth of many living humans. The book also takes us on a fascinating tour of the fossil and archaeological record, climate history, field observations and lab-based analysis. [...]  Nature