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

by Peter Ungar

Overview

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 with new approaches to uncovering dietary clues from fossil teeth. The result is a remarkable investigation into the ways that teeth—their shape, chemistry, and wear—reveal how we came to be. 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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780691182834
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	12/18/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Peter S. Ungar is Distinguished Professor and director of the Environmental Dynamics Program at the University of Arkansas.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction 1

Chapter 1 How Teeth Work 5

Chapter 2 How Teeth Are Used 34

Chapter 3 Out of the Garden 60

Chapter 4 Our Changing World 87

Chapter 5 Foodprints 110

Chapter 6 What Made Us Human 140

Chapter 7 The Neolithic Revolution 169

Chapter 8 Victims of Our Own Success 198

Notes 209

Index 229

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“I dug [Evolution’s Bite]. Sink your teeth into it.”—Steve Mirsky, Scientific American

“Evolution’s Bite combines personal anecdotes from Ungar’s own career with vivid historical accounts of the work of some of the pioneers in the fields of paleoanthropology, primatology, dental functional anatomy, and paleoclimatology…. Written in an easy-to-read style.”—K. Christopher Beard, Science

“The revelation of not only how the science is done, but also what a huge difference a tangential idea such as Ungar’s topographic analysis can make, is one of the great delights and strengths of the book. Our mouths are full of history. Evolution’s Bite will change forever how you see your early morning smile.”—Adrian Barnett, New Scientist

“In Evolution’s Bite, palaeoanthropologist Peter Ungar offers a compelling account of how the interaction of teeth, diet and environment has shaped human evolution.”—Louise Humphrey, Nature

“From the start, Mr. Ungar places the evolutionary changes of teeth within the history of scientific discovery. Researchers and their methods have as much presence as the facts they discovered and the hypotheses they developed, providing readers with a short course on the deep science of dental anatomy.”—Brian Switek, Wall Street Journal

Editorial Reviews

"Fascinating."

Engineering & Technology

"This is a wonderful book! Ungar is a world-class researcher on dental evolution 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 analysis."

Choice

One of CHOICE’s Outstanding Academic Titles for 2017

From the Publisher

"A compelling narrative of what our teeth, and those of our ancestors, can tell us about our past diets, and how we came to be the species we are today."

NHBS Review