Researchers have long had an interest in dental morphology as a genetic proxy to reconstruct population history. Much interest was fostered by the use of standard plaques and associated descriptions that comprise the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System, developed by Christy G. Turner, II and students. This system has served as the foundation for hundreds of anthropological studies for over 30 years. In recognition of that success, this volume brings together some of the world's leading dental morphologists to expand upon the concepts and methods presented in the popular The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth (Cambridge, 1997), leading the reader from method to applied research. After a preparatory section on the current knowledge of heritability and gene expression, a series of case studies demonstrate the utility of dental morphological study in both fossil and more recent populations (and individuals), from local to global scales.

All humans share certain components of tooth structure, but show variation in size and morphology around this shared pattern. This book presents a worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth morphology in recent populations. Research has advanced on many fronts since the publication of the first edition, which has become a seminal work on the subject. This revised and updated edition introduces new ideas in dental genetics and ontogeny and summarizes major historical problems addressed by dental morphology. The detailed descriptions of 29 dental variables are fully updated with current data and include details of a new web-based application for using crown and root morphology to evaluate ancestry in forensic cases. A new chapter describes what constitutes a modern human dentition in the context of the hominin fossil record.

All humans share certain components of tooth structure, but show variation in size and morphology around this shared pattern. This book presents a worldwide synthesis of the global variation in tooth morphology in recent populations. Research has advanced on many fronts since the publication of the first edition, which has become a seminal work on the subject. This revised and updated edition introduces new ideas in dental genetics and ontogeny and summarizes major historical problems addressed by dental morphology. The detailed descriptions of 29 dental variables are fully updated with current data and include details of a new web-based application for using crown and root morphology to evaluate ancestry in forensic cases. A new chapter describes what constitutes a modern human dentition in the context of the hominin fossil record.

This guide to scoring crown and root traits in human dentitions substantially builds on a seminal 1991 work by Turner, Nichol, and Scott. It provides detailed descriptions and multiple illustrations of each crown and root trait to help guide researchers to make consistent observations on trait expression, greatly reducing observer error. The book also reflects exciting new developments driven by technology that have significant ramifications for dental anthropology, particularly the recent development of a web-based application that computes the probability that an individual belongs to a particular genogeographic grouping based on combinations of crown and root traits; as such, the utility of these variables is expanded to forensic anthropology. This book is ideal for researchers and graduate students in the fields of dental, physical, and forensic anthropology and will serve as a methodological guide for many years to come.

Researchers have long had an interest in dental morphology as a genetic proxy to reconstruct population history. Much interest was fostered by the use of standard plaques and associated descriptions that comprise the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System, developed by Christy G. Turner, II and students. This system has served as the foundation for hundreds of anthropological studies for over 30 years. In recognition of that success, this volume brings together some of the world's leading dental morphologists to expand upon the concepts and methods presented in the popular The Anthropology of Modern Human Teeth (Cambridge University Press, 1997), leading the reader from method to applied research. After a preparatory section on the current knowledge of heritability and gene expression, a series of case studies demonstrate the utility of dental morphological study in both fossil and more recent populations (and individuals), from local to global scales.