Diet is key to understanding the past, present, and future of our species. Much of human evolutionary success can be attributed to our ability to consume a wide range of foods. On the other hand, recent changes in the types of foods we eat may lie at the root of many of the health problems we face today. To deal with these problems, we must understand the evolution of the human diet.

Studies of traditional peoples, non-human primates, human fossil and archaeological remains, nutritional chemistry, and evolutionary medicine, to name just a few, all contribute to our understanding of the evolution of the human diet. Still, as analyses become more specialized, researchers become more narrowly focused and isolated. This volume attempts to bring together authors schooled in a variety of academic disciplines so that we might begin to build a more cohesive view of the evolution of the human diet. The book demonstrates how past diets are reconstructed using both direct analogies with living traditional peoples and non-human primates, and studies of the bones and teeth of fossils. An understanding of our ancestral diets reveals how health relates to nutrition, and conclusions can be drawn as to how we may alter our current diets to further our health.

In this field there has been an explosion of information generated by scientific research. One of the beneficiaries of this has been the study of morphology, where new techniques and analyses have led to insights into a wide range of topics. Advances in genetics, histology, microstructure, biomechanics and morphometrics have allowed researchers to view teeth from alternative perspectives. However, there has been little communication between researchers in the different fields of dental research. This book brings together overviews on a wide range of dental topics linking genes, molecules and developmental mechanisms within an evolutionary framework. Written by the leading experts in the field, this book will stimulate co-operative research in fields as diverse as paleontology, molecular biology, developmental biology and functional morphology.