Tanya Smith Colloquium Lecture: "How Teeth Shed Light On Our Evolutionary Past"

Dr. Tanya Smith (Associate Professor, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University) will be lecturing on "How Teeth Shed Light On Our Evolutionary Past".

Abstract: Teeth are the most abundant elements in primate fossil assemblages, are under a strong degree of genetic control, and contain the most precise developmental records of any physiological system in the body. Tooth microstructure, a primary focus of my research, is critically important for understanding development and evolution as incremental lines permanently record each day of enamel and dentine formation, remaining unchanged for millions of years. These tiny growth lines can be used to accurately determine age at death in juvenile dentitions, as well as the precise timing of childhood diet transitions, physiological stress (including birth), and environmental variation. Furthermore, dental development is correlated with primate life history, or the overall pace of growth and reproduction. In concert with an international collaborative network, including experts who recover great ape and human fossil material, pioneer imaging methods, and study living great apes in the wild, I employ powerful methods for the study of growth and mineralization that document how teeth grow, why they vary, and how this information can advance the field of human evolutionary biology. This talk will illustrate how paleoanthropology, oral biology, and elemental chemistry have helped to revise our understanding of dental development in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, demonstrate that living and fossil Homo sapiens have a prolonged period of dental development relative to Neanderthals and earlier hominins, and document the timing of diet transitions during infancy in living and fossil primates.

This event is free and open to the public.