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Summary
Summary
What teeth can teach us about the evolution of the human species
Whether we realize it or not, we carry in our mouths the legacy of our evolution. Our teeth are like living fossils that can be studied and compared to those of our ancestors to teach us how we became human. In Evolution's Bite , noted paleoanthropologist Peter Ungar brings together for the first time cutting-edge advances in understanding human evolution and climate change with new approaches to uncovering dietary clues from fossil teeth to present a remarkable investigation into the ways that teeth--their shape, chemistry, and wear--reveal how we came to be.
Ungar describes how a tooth's "foodprints"--distinctive patterns of microscopic wear and tear--provide telltale details about what an animal actually ate in the past. These clues, combined with groundbreaking research in paleoclimatology, demonstrate how a changing climate altered the food options available to our ancestors, what Ungar calls the biospheric buffet. When diets change, species change, and Ungar traces how diet and an unpredictable climate determined who among our ancestors was winnowed out and who survived, as well as why we transitioned from the role of forager to farmer. By sifting through the evidence--and the scars on our teeth--Ungar makes the important case for what might or might not be the most natural diet for humans.
Traveling the four corners of the globe and combining scientific breakthroughs with vivid narrative, Evolution's Bite presents a unique dental perspective on our astonishing human development.
Reviews (2)
Choice Review
This is a wonderful book! Ungar (Univ. of Arkansas) is a world-class researcher on dental evolution (see his Mammal Teeth, CH, Mar'11, 48-3875) who also knows how to write captivatingly for a general reader. The book is hard to put down, blending stories about colleagues with clear explanations of scientific analyses. Teeth are important in tracking evolution because they are covered with enamel (the hardest substance in the body), and their surface features reflect diet and relationships among species. Ungar explains how teeth are used by living animals and how, in turn, they serve as guides to what extinct organisms ate from the "biospheric buffet," as he refers to the range of foodstuffs available for dietary choice. He then turns to the fossils, in chapters discussing the recovery of early ancestors of humans from Africa dating between three and one million years ago (and African climatic fluctuation over that time period, which led humans to adapt to environmental variation rather than a specific environment or diet), laboratory methods of dietary analysis, and testing hypotheses of human evolution related to diet and environmental pressures. He concludes with a "detour" into the Neolithic (or "agricultural revolution") of eight to five thousand years ago and the resulting changes in modern human diet. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers. --Eric Delson, CUNY Herbert H. Lehman College
Library Journal Review
Ungar (anthropology, director of the Environmental Dynamics program, Univ. of Arkansas; Teeth: A Very Short Introduction; Mammal Teeth: Origin, Evolution, and Diversity) has spent his career studying the evolution of teeth. This volume blends the results of his work with new research from many other disciplines to describe the impact of dentition on primate diets. While the author presents a dizzying array of research, the writing is accessible. He covers studies in fracture mechanics, materials science, and geographic information system modeling to understand tooth surfaces and the biomechanics of chewing. In addition, Ungar looks at how teeth age and the impact of wear on dental shape and internal structure. Though his focus is on fossils, he also examines studies to deduce what our human ancestors ate and to consider the future of human teeth. Verdict An excellent book for those with a serious interest in anthropology.-Margaret Henderson, Midlothian, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Table of Contents
| Acknowledgments | p. ix |
| Introduction | p. 1 |
| Chapter 1 How Teeth Work | p. 5 |
| Chapter 2 How Teeth Are Used | p. 34 |
| Chapter 3 Out of the Garden | p. 60 |
| Chapter 4 Our Changing World | p. 87 |
| Chapter 5 Foodprints | p. 110 |
| Chapter 6 What Made Us Human | p. 140 |
| Chapter 7 The Neolithic Revolution | p. 169 |
| Chapter 8 Victims of Our Own Success | p. 198 |
| Notes | p. 209 |
| Index | p. 229 |