A World View of Bioculturally Modified Teeth

ISBN-13: 9780813054834 / Angielski / Miękka / 2017 / 336 str.

Scott E. Burnett; Joel D. Irish

Opis

"Brings together studies from diverse time periods and geographic regions to deliver a comprehensive biocultural treatment of dental modification. The volume amply documents the diversity of ways humans modify their teeth and the variety of reasons they may do so."--Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg, author of What Teeth Reveal about Human Evolution Tooth modification has been practiced throughout many time periods and places to convey information about individual people, their societies, and their relationships to others. This volume represents the wide spectrum of intentional dental modification in humans across the globe over the past 16,000 years. These essays draw on research from the Americas, Africa, Asia, Oceania, and Europe. Through archaeological studies, historical and ethnographic sources, and observations of contemporary people, they examine instances of tooth filing, inlays, dyeing, and removal. Contributors discuss how to distinguish between purposeful modifications of teeth and normal wear and tear or disease. This collection demonstrates what patterns of tooth modification can reveal about people and their cultures in the past and present. A volume in the series Bioarchaeological Interpretations of the Human Past: Local, Regional, and Global Perspectives, edited by Clark Spencer Larsen