Teeth

Teeth yield remarkable information on humans, animals and on the health, hygiene and diet of ancient communities. In this fully revised and up-dated edition of Teeth, Simon Hillson draws together a mass of information on dental studies in archaeology and related disciplines. He shows how teeth can help identify remains, estimate age and evaluate diet. The treatment of mammals is extended to include mammals of North America and northern Asia. The book introduces dental anatomy, variation in tooth size and shape and provides charts, tables and details of techniques.

Archaeological discoveries of teeth provide remarkable information on humans, animals and the health, hygiene and diet of ancient communities. In this fully revised and updated 2005 edition of his seminal text, Simon Hillson draws together a mass of material from archaeology, anthropology and related disciplines to provide a comprehensive manual on the study of teeth. The range of mammals examined has been extended to include descriptions and line drawings for 325 mammal genera from Europe, North Africa, western, central and northeastern Asia, and North America. The book also introduces dental anatomy and the microscopic structure of dental tissues, explores how the age or season of death is estimated and looks at variations in tooth size and shape. With its detailed descriptions of the techniques and equipment used and its provision of tables and charts, this book is essential reading for students of archaeology, zoology and dental science.

Introduction; 1. Tooth form in mammals; 2. Dental tissues; 3. Teeth and age; 4. Size and shape; 5. Dental disease; Appendix A. The Grant dental attrition age estimation method.

In this up-dated 2005 edition of Teeth, Simon Hillson examines the mass of information on dental studies in archaeology and offers an expanded treatment of mammals, giving descriptions and illustrations for 325 mammal genera. The work provides the student with charts, tables and details of techniques.

Simon Hillson is Professor of Bioarchaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. His previous publications include Teeth (Cambridge University Press, 1990), Mammals Bones and Teeth (Institute of Archaeology, 1992) and Dental Anthropology (Cambridge University Press, 1996).