Apparently, orthodontists repair the bad effects of
culinary invention on our dental morphology.
Peter Lucas says that there are two major events
that have affected the shape of our jaws, and the
consequent changes in tooth arrangement:
the use of fire for roasting food, and then
the advent of boiling.
Thus, we don't need large incisors, and our
wisdom teeth are redundant.
From the Ceeb, at:
http://radio.cbc.ca/programs/quirks/archives/04-05/feb26.htmlThe Origins of the Modern Human Diet: Report from the AAAS
Is this the best use of our teeth?
Last week’s American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting included a session on the origins of the modern human diet. Quirks & Quarks producer Pat Senson was there and joins Bob to discuss what he learned.
Most of the work on understanding the diets of early humans, dating as far back as 4 million years, comes from examinations of their teeth.
Dr. Peter Ungar, a professor of anthropology at the University of Arkansas, uses modern technologies to look at the surfaces of teeth. He’s built up pictures of different species, both living and dead, and can tell what an animal ate by the way its teeth are shaped. He’s determined our diet changed somewhere before 1.5 million years ago, probably by adding meat.
Dr. Peter Lucas, a professor of anthropology from George Washington University, is looking at the mechanics of the teeth and jaw. He thinks our modern teeth are a mess, thanks to the introduction of cooking. It’s caused the front and back teeth to shrink at different rates over time, leading to our current need for orthodontics.
Dr. Craig Stanford, a professor of anthropology and biological sciences at the University of Southern California, studies the interaction of gorillas and chimps that live in Uganda. He sees meat-eating as a key difference in the ecology of the two species. For him, this is a parallel to what was happening when early human species shared the planet.
Dr. Bernard Wood is the Henry R. Luce professor of human origins at George Washington University. He’s also interested in figuring out the diets of early humans, but doesn’t think it can be used to justify what we do or don’t eat today.
Related Links
Dr. Lucas’ recent book, _How Teeth Work_
http://www.cambridge.org/uk/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521562368The American Association for the Advancement of Science Session Page
http://php.aaas.org/meetings/MPE_01.php?detail=613
