The Tales Teeth Tell is an accessible, personal, often funny and occasionally controversial look into the murk of human evolution.[the book] is chock full of fascinating science, but it's also the personal story of a woman of science immersed in her work.-- Shelf Awareness -- In a time when people are more interested than ever in where they came from, The Tales Teeth Tell gives readers a way to look beyond a DNA cheek swab for information about their pasts, both recent and deep.By the end of her tooth-centric tour through childhood, the distant past, and modern cultures, Smith will have convinced you that your teeth are time machines. -- Massive Science -- The Tales Teeth Tell might make you more impressed by what's in your mouth -- or put a smile on your face with its weird facts about primate dentistry and the shrinking grins of modern-day humans. The book is written by an academic and has plenty of notes. But it's accessible to science-minded readers. -- Washington Post -- Biological anthropologist Tanya Smith drills into what disinterred teeth, as "sophisticated time machines", can tell us about individuals, our species and the deep past.

Her study -- technically chewy yet thoroughly engaging -- examines the human story through dental development, evolution and related behaviour, interlacing vivid anecdotes from her scientific career. The result is a mix of fascinating findings at all scales, from scanning electron microscopy displaying the exquisite geometry of enamel prisms, to toothpick use among hominins some 2 million years ago. -- Nature -- A mix of fascinating findings at all scales, from scanning electron microscopy displaying the exquisite geometry of enamel prisms, to toothpick use among hominins some 2 million years ago. -- Nature -- Smith's writing is informative, absorbing, and manages to elegantly cover a wide range of topics. -- The Inquisitive Biologist --.