Research Articles
Tooth use in Aboriginal Australia
Authors:
Anna Clement ,
UCL Institute of Archaeology, GB
Simon Hillson,
UCL Institute of Archaeology, GB
Ignacio de la Torre,
UCL Institute of Archaeology, GB
Grant Townsend
University of Adelaide Dental School, AU
Abstract
The study of dental casts taken from living people avoids the ethical problems of research into human remains, while providing valuable information about diet and life styles. This article describes a study of tooth wear in dental casts of three different groups of Australian Aborigines. The authors describe their methods of recording and report differential patterns of wear in the different groups. Preliminary interpretation relates the wear patterns both to diet and to the use of teeth as tools in a range of cultural activities, results which are potentially relevant to other groups of hunter-gatherers, past and present.
How to Cite:
Clement, A., Hillson, S., de la Torre, I. and Townsend, G., 2008. Tooth use in Aboriginal Australia. Archaeology International, 11, pp.37–40. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/ai.1111
Published on
01 Sep 2008.
Peer Reviewed
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