你是否曾经想过，你的牙齿除了能帮助你咀嚼食物之外，还保存了许多秘密？
没错，牙齿能够揭示我们的行为和健康状况，食物残渣、细菌、DNA都在诉说着一切。这本书所要介绍的，就是牙齿能够为我们讲述的那些故事。
牙齿这个我们每一天都会用到、再熟悉不过的器官，与我们人类的发育、演化和行为密切相关。它是精密复杂的时间机器，记录了生命的成长、饮食习惯以及演化的历史，就像大树的年轮一样清晰可见。大到人类祖先是怎样生活的、他们有怎样的饮食习惯，小到女性个体诞育下一代的时间趋势，这种“生物钟”是如何演化的……这些都能够从我们对古人类牙齿化石的发现和分析中破解一二。与此同时，牙齿还承载了我们人类在文化方面的演化痕迹，而且这种演化此时此刻依然在发生。
为了让这些神秘的化石“开口说话”，学者们付出了大量的艰苦努力。对牙齿的研究甚至提供了一种估算年龄的方法，它比任何其他的法医技术都更为强大。而且，我们甚至能够通过对牙齿的研究而对未来人类的模样做出一些预言呢。
听，牙齿要开始它的讲述了。
What teeth can tell us about human evolution, development, and behavior.
Our teeth have intriguing stories to tell. These sophisticated time machines record growth, diet, and evolutionary history as clearly as tree rings map a redwood’s lifespan. Each day of childhood is etched into tooth crowns and roots—capturing birth, nursing history, environmental clues, and illnesses. The study of ancient, fossilized teeth sheds light on how our ancestors grew up, how we evolved, and how prehistoric cultural transitions continue to affect humans today. In The Tales Teeth Tell, biological anthropologist Tanya Smith offers an engaging and surprising look at what teeth tell us about the evolution of primates—including our own uniqueness.
Humans’ impressive set of varied teeth provides a multipurpose toolkit honed by the diet choices of our mammalian ancestors. Fossil teeth, highly resilient because of their substantial mineral content, are all that is left of some long-extinct species. Smith explains how researchers employ painstaking techniques to coax microscopic secrets from these enigmatic remains. Counting tiny daily lines provides a way to estimate age that is more powerful than any other forensic technique. Dental plaque—so carefully removed by dental hygienists today—records our ancestors’ behavior and health in the form of fossilized food particles and bacteria, including their DNA. Smith also traces the grisly origins of dentistry, reveals that the urge to pick one’s teeth is not unique to humans, and illuminates the age-old pursuit of “dental art.” The book is generously illustrated with original photographs, many in color.
