Tanya Smith is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at Harvard University, and an Associated Scientist in the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Her primary research centers on the fundamental nature of dental microstructure, including its variation in hominoid primates, as well as applications for understanding primate ontogeny and phylogeny.
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Articles
New visions of dental tissue research: Tooth development, chemistry, and structure
Article first published online: 28 OCT 2008
DOI: 10.1002/evan.20176
Copyright © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Issue
Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews
Volume 17, Issue 5, pages 213–226, September/October 2008
Additional Information
How to Cite
Smith, T. M. and Tafforeau, P. (2008), New visions of dental tissue research: Tooth development, chemistry, and structure. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews, 17: 213–226. doi: 10.1002/evan.20176
Publication History
- Issue published online: 28 OCT 2008
- Article first published online: 28 OCT 2008
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- tooth microstructure;
- incremental feature;
- isotope;
- diagenesis;
- micro-computed tomography;
- micro-CT;
- synchrotron;
- phase contrast;
- virtual histology
Abstract
Teeth are one of the best preserved and most commonly recovered elements in primate fossil assemblages. Taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic hypotheses often rely on dental characters, despite considerable evidence of homoplasy in tooth form and large variation in tooth size within and among primates.1,2 Recent studies have led to new areas of research centered on incremental tooth development, chemical composition, and internal structure. Due to rapid technological developments in imaging and elemental sampling, these new approaches have the potential to increase our understanding of developmental biology, including not only changes in the pace of growth and reproduction, but also our assessments of diets, migration patterns, environments, and taxonomy. The integration of these temporal, chemical, and structural approaches heralds a bright future for the role of dental tissue research in evolutionary anthropology. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.