What do teeth tell us about as fossil?

Question

What do teeth tell us about as fossil?

Answer 1

The types of teeth tell us about the animals feeding habits. For instance, flat teeth are used for grinding vegetation while fangs indicate a killing machine for prey.

As for humans, they tell us the persons age. Like in a desert region, sand would be in food which will cause the teeth to wear down much faster than normal.

Answer 2

it shows the history of the remains ie how long it has been there died or buried.cheers.

Answer 3

Some of the responders here have already hit upon some things, such as eating habits and age, but more than that, there's also disease (certain chronic diseases leave distinctive marks on the enamel), and, in humans, economic status. In societies where grain for bread is ground using a stone, the lower classes will often have worn down enamel from eating bread containing grit from a cheap grinding stone. The upper classes, however, would be able to afford better-quality stone, so the wear on the enamel wouldn't be as pronounced. Another status factor would be the availability/quality of dental care: when the Romanov skeletons were unearthed, the czar's wife was found to have absolutely beautiful dental work, which included all sorts of precious metals. So it was clear that she was of the upper class, and could therefore afford such dental work.

Teeth are nice things for anthropologists to find, basically. They give lots of detail and are very distinctive.

Answer 4

What type of food the being ate.

Answer 5

The type of food that may have been eaten and the wear is helpful in determining age.

Answer 6

Size of gums on animal, bone longevity, possible cavities, remaining enamel and decay on ancient animal teeth, carnivore/omnivorous, animal type or size, and location of other bones of animal.