B H Smith
Biographic Data
| ID | 921 |
|---|---|
| NAME | B H Smith |
| GIVEN NAMES | B H |
| FAMILY NAME | Smith |
| SIGNATURE | SMITH B H |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Michigan |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-5126-5445 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 30 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 993 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 30 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1982 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 11 |
Evolution of the Human Life Cycle, Revisited
We are honored to be among the “Invited Commentaries on Influential Papers” for the 50th Anniversary of the Human Biology Association. The AJHB Editor, Bill Leonard, wrote that “These contributions will span the broad scope of research encompassed by the field of human population biology, including theoretical advancements ... evolutionary/adaptive dimensions of human biology ... insights into human health disparities ... and methodological innov…
Don't throw the baby teeth out with the bathwater: Estimating subadult age using tooth wear in commingled archaeological assemblages
Commingled assemblages of fragmentary human skeletal remains are a common feature of many archaeological sites and pose significant analytical problems for bioarchaeologists. Such deposits often contain a high volume of the teeth of subadults for which it is challenging to estimate age, including developing permanent teeth with damaged roots, articulated teeth with roots obscured by alveolar bone, and deciduous teeth with completed root apices.He…
Life History: Evolution of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence
The human life cycle shows several novelties in comparison to our close primate relatives. Despite a prolonged juvenile period, humans abbreviate infancy and crowd interbirth intervals. “Childhood” is an extended period of postweaning dependence, depressed skeletal growth, and active brain maturation characterized by intense play and skills practice. In adolescence, skeletal growth rebounds sharply in a characteristic spurt not seen in other mamm…
Evolution of the Human Life Cycle
This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Human Growth and Human Biology Basic Principles of Human Growth and Development Stages in the Life Cycle Human Postnatal Growth in Comparative Perspective Why do New Life Stages Evolve? Life Cycle Trade - Offs and Risks for Children, Adolescents, and Postmenopausal Women Chapter Summary References Cited Recommended Readings
Mortality and the magnitude of the "wild effect" in chimpanzee tooth emergence
Darwinius masillae is a Haplorhine — Reply to Williams et al. (2010)
Bias and accuracy of age estimation using developing teeth in 946 children
Developing teeth are used to assess maturity and estimate age in several disciplines. The aim of the study was to determine which of the most well known dental age estimation methods was best at estimating age. The target sample of dental radiographs ( N = 946, ages 3–16) was described by Maber et al. (Forensic Sci Int 159 ( 2006 ) S68–S73). Seven mandibular permanent teeth (I 1 –M 2 ) were assessed, and dental age was calculated using four denta…
Dental development of the Taï Forest chimpanzees revisited
Growth and Development of the Nariokotome Youth, KNM-WT 15000
Obituary: Stanley Marion Garn (1922–2007)
Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article
The paleontology of growth and development
Evolution of the human life cycle
Social mammals have three basic stages of postnatal development: infant, juvenile, and adult. Some species also have a brief female post-reproductive stage. The human life cycle, however, is best described by five stages: infant, child, juvenile, adolescent, and adult. Women in both traditional and industrial societies may also have a long post-reproductive stage. Analyses of bones and teeth of early hominids who died as subadults suggest that th…
Evolution of the human life cycle
Social mammals have three basic stages of postnatal development: infant, juvenile, and adult. Some species also have a brief female post-reproductive stage. The human life cycle, however, is best described by five stages: infant, child, juvenile, adolescent, and adult. Women in both traditional and industrial societies may also have a long post-reproductive stage. Analyses of bones and teeth of early hominids who died as subadults suggest that th…
Toward A Life History of the Hominidae
Two new developments promise to greatly improve our ability to reconstruct the evolution of the human life cycle: 1. the introduction of the comparative methodology of life history into anthropology and 2. research on bone and dental development that reveals a world of life history preserved in the fossil record. Comparative study suggests that the human strategy depends on rich energy sources and low mortality and that our general rate of growth…
Toward a Life History of the Hominidae
Two new developments promise to greatly improve our ability to reconstruct the evolution of the human life cycle: 1. the introduction of the comparative methodology of life history into anthropology and 2. research on bone and dental development that reveals a world of life history preserved in the fossil record. Comparative study suggests that the human strategy depends on rich energy sources and low mortality and that our general rate of growth…
Ontogeny of australopithecines and early Homo: Evidence From Cranial Capacity and Dental Eruption
Sequence of emergence of the permanent teeth in Macaca , Pan , Homo , and Australopithecus: Its evolutionary significance
There are two main questions about the sequence of emergence of the permanent teeth in humans: 1) Why is there so much variation in sequence within human populations? (2) What is the adaptive or evolutionary significance of emergence sequence? Here, the human condition is considered by comparing us to other living primates and to our evolutionary past and considered in the light of Schultz's hypothesis that sequence of tooth emergence is adapted …
Ages of eruption of primate teeth: A compendium for aging individuals and comparing life histories
Sixty years ago, Adolph Schultz attempted to collect all available information on the ages at which primates erupt their teeth. His search recovered complete data for only two nonhuman primate species, both macaques (Schultz, 1935). Although dozens of studies of individual primate species have appeared since, many remain scattered in the primary literature. The present study takes another step towards the task that Schultz began by gathering toge…
Patterns of dental development in Homo, Australopithecus, Pan , and Gorilla
Smith ([1986] Nature 323 :327–330) distinguished patterns of development of teeth of juvenile fossil hominids as being “more like humans” or “more like apes” based on statistical similarity to group standards. Here, this central tendency discrimination (CTD) is tested for its ability to recognize ape and human patterns of dental development in 789 subadult hominoids. Tooth development of a modern human sample (665 black southern Africans) was sco…
The Physiological Age of KNM-WT 15000
Life history and the evolution of human maturation
The Taung child, like fossils of other individuals who died before reaching adulthood, is a piece of the puzzle of the evolution of human growth and development, the puzzle of when, how, and why human “life history” evolved into its modern form. With regard to Taung, interest focuses on both its rate of growth (maturation of the child in relation to its age) and its pattern of growth (synchrony of the elements of maturation). The meaning of rates…
Dental development and the evolution of life history in Hominidae
Development of the dentition is critically integrated into the life cycle in living mammals. Recent work on dental development has given rise to three separate lines of evidence on the evolution of human growth and aging; these three, based on several independent studies, are reviewed and integrated here. First, comparative study of living primate species demonstrates that measures of development (e.g., age of emergence of the first permanent mol…
Dental Development as a Measure of Life History in Primates
A. Sacher's comparative studies of the lifespan ofliving mammals led him to conclude that longevity is controlled by relative brain size and, further, that brain metabolism and energetics comprise the pace
Polymorphisms in eruption sequence of permanent teeth in American children
This study provides basic descriptive data on the frequency of pairwise eruption sequences ascertained in cross‐sectional examination of 6,000 black and white American children in the Ten State Nutritional Survey of 1968–1970. All sex and race groups share a distinct pattern of sequence polymorphisms in terms of location, number, and level. Teeth in eruption phase I (M1, I1, I2) rarely reverse in sequence with those in phase II (C, P1, P2, and M2…
Dental development in Australopithecus and early Homo
Patterns of molar wear in hunter–gatherers and agriculturalists
Tooth wear records valuable information on diet and methods of food preparation in prehistoric populations or extinct species. In this study, samples of modern and prehistoric hunter–gatherers and agriculturalists are used to test the hypothesis that there are systematic differences in patterns of tooth wear related to major differences in subsistence and food preparation. Flatness of molar wear is compared for five groups of hunter–gatherers (N …
Dental development and the evolution of life history in Hominidae
Development of the dentition is critically integrated into the life cycle in living mammals. Recent work on dental development has given rise to three separate lines of evidence on the evolution of human growth and aging; these three, based on several independent studies, are reviewed and integrated here. First, comparative study of living primate species demonstrates that measures of development (e.g., age of emergence of the first permanent mol…
Allometric scaling in the dentition of primates and prediction of body weight from tooth size in fossils
Tooth size varies exponentially with body weight in primates. Logarithmic transformation of tooth crown area and body weight yields a linear model of slope 0.67 as an isometric (geometric) baseline for study of dental allometry. This model is compared with that predicted by metabolic scaling (slope = 0.75). Tarsius and other insectivores have larger teeth for their body size than generalized primates do, and they are not included in this analysis…
Ages of eruption of primate teeth: A compendium for aging individuals and comparing life histories
Sixty years ago, Adolph Schultz attempted to collect all available information on the ages at which primates erupt their teeth. His search recovered complete data for only two nonhuman primate species, both macaques (Schultz, 1935). Although dozens of studies of individual primate species have appeared since, many remain scattered in the primary literature. The present study takes another step towards the task that Schultz began by gathering toge…
Patterns of dental development in Homo, Australopithecus, Pan , and Gorilla
Smith ([1986] Nature 323 :327–330) distinguished patterns of development of teeth of juvenile fossil hominids as being “more like humans” or “more like apes” based on statistical similarity to group standards. Here, this central tendency discrimination (CTD) is tested for its ability to recognize ape and human patterns of dental development in 789 subadult hominoids. Tooth development of a modern human sample (665 black southern Africans) was sco…
Dental development of the Taï Forest chimpanzees revisited
Ontogeny of australopithecines and early Homo: Evidence From Cranial Capacity and Dental Eruption
Mortality and the magnitude of the "wild effect" in chimpanzee tooth emergence
Problems of sampling and inference in the study of fluctuating dental asymmetry
Randomly distributed or “fluctuating” dental asymmetry has been accorded evolutionary meaning and interpreted as a result of environmental stress. However, except for congenital malformation syndromes, the determinants of human crown size asymmetry are still equivocal. Both a computer simulated sampling experiment using a combined sample size of N = 3000, and the requirements of adequate statistical power show that sample sizes of several hundred…
Development and evolution of the helicoidal plane of dental occlusion
The helicoidal plane of dental occlusion is a composite feature involving axial inclination of teeth and effects of dental attrition. Recent studies disagree on its distribution and significance in hominoid primates. The distribution, development, and functional basis of the helicoidal plane are investigated here, based on quantitative analysis of dental morphology and attrition in 667 human and 60 chimpanzee dentitions. Helicoidal planes are nea…
Bias and accuracy of age estimation using developing teeth in 946 children
Developing teeth are used to assess maturity and estimate age in several disciplines. The aim of the study was to determine which of the most well known dental age estimation methods was best at estimating age. The target sample of dental radiographs ( N = 946, ages 3–16) was described by Maber et al. (Forensic Sci Int 159 ( 2006 ) S68–S73). Seven mandibular permanent teeth (I 1 –M 2 ) were assessed, and dental age was calculated using four denta…
The paleontology of growth and development
Don't throw the baby teeth out with the bathwater: Estimating subadult age using tooth wear in commingled archaeological assemblages
Commingled assemblages of fragmentary human skeletal remains are a common feature of many archaeological sites and pose significant analytical problems for bioarchaeologists. Such deposits often contain a high volume of the teeth of subadults for which it is challenging to estimate age, including developing permanent teeth with damaged roots, articulated teeth with roots obscured by alveolar bone, and deciduous teeth with completed root apices.He…
Obituary: Stanley Marion Garn (1922–2007)
Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article
Problems of sampling and inference in the study of fluctuating dental asymmetry
Randomly distributed or “fluctuating” dental asymmetry has been accorded evolutionary meaning and interpreted as a result of environmental stress. However, except for congenital malformation syndromes, the determinants of human crown size asymmetry are still equivocal. Both a computer simulated sampling experiment using a combined sample size of N = 3000, and the requirements of adequate statistical power show that sample sizes of several hundred…
Allometric scaling in the dentition of primates and prediction of body weight from tooth size in fossils
Tooth size varies exponentially with body weight in primates. Logarithmic transformation of tooth crown area and body weight yields a linear model of slope 0.67 as an isometric (geometric) baseline for study of dental allometry. This model is compared with that predicted by metabolic scaling (slope = 0.75). Tarsius and other insectivores have larger teeth for their body size than generalized primates do, and they are not included in this analysis…
Patterns of molar wear in hunter–gatherers and agriculturalists
Tooth wear records valuable information on diet and methods of food preparation in prehistoric populations or extinct species. In this study, samples of modern and prehistoric hunter–gatherers and agriculturalists are used to test the hypothesis that there are systematic differences in patterns of tooth wear related to major differences in subsistence and food preparation. Flatness of molar wear is compared for five groups of hunter–gatherers (N …
Allometric Scaling in the Dentition of Primates and Insectivores
Dental development in Australopithecus and early Homo
Development and evolution of the helicoidal plane of dental occlusion
The helicoidal plane of dental occlusion is a composite feature involving axial inclination of teeth and effects of dental attrition. Recent studies disagree on its distribution and significance in hominoid primates. The distribution, development, and functional basis of the helicoidal plane are investigated here, based on quantitative analysis of dental morphology and attrition in 667 human and 60 chimpanzee dentitions. Helicoidal planes are nea…
Polymorphisms in eruption sequence of permanent teeth in American children
This study provides basic descriptive data on the frequency of pairwise eruption sequences ascertained in cross‐sectional examination of 6,000 black and white American children in the Ten State Nutritional Survey of 1968–1970. All sex and race groups share a distinct pattern of sequence polymorphisms in terms of location, number, and level. Teeth in eruption phase I (M1, I1, I2) rarely reverse in sequence with those in phase II (C, P1, P2, and M2…
Dental Development as a Measure of Life History in Primates
A. Sacher's comparative studies of the lifespan ofliving mammals led him to conclude that longevity is controlled by relative brain size and, further, that brain metabolism and energetics comprise the pace
Dental development and the evolution of life history in Hominidae
Development of the dentition is critically integrated into the life cycle in living mammals. Recent work on dental development has given rise to three separate lines of evidence on the evolution of human growth and aging; these three, based on several independent studies, are reviewed and integrated here. First, comparative study of living primate species demonstrates that measures of development (e.g., age of emergence of the first permanent mol…
Life history and the evolution of human maturation
The Taung child, like fossils of other individuals who died before reaching adulthood, is a piece of the puzzle of the evolution of human growth and development, the puzzle of when, how, and why human “life history” evolved into its modern form. With regard to Taung, interest focuses on both its rate of growth (maturation of the child in relation to its age) and its pattern of growth (synchrony of the elements of maturation). The meaning of rates…
The Physiological Age of KNM-WT 15000
Sequence of emergence of the permanent teeth in Macaca , Pan , Homo , and Australopithecus: Its evolutionary significance
There are two main questions about the sequence of emergence of the permanent teeth in humans: 1) Why is there so much variation in sequence within human populations? (2) What is the adaptive or evolutionary significance of emergence sequence? Here, the human condition is considered by comparing us to other living primates and to our evolutionary past and considered in the light of Schultz's hypothesis that sequence of tooth emergence is adapted …
Ages of eruption of primate teeth: A compendium for aging individuals and comparing life histories
Sixty years ago, Adolph Schultz attempted to collect all available information on the ages at which primates erupt their teeth. His search recovered complete data for only two nonhuman primate species, both macaques (Schultz, 1935). Although dozens of studies of individual primate species have appeared since, many remain scattered in the primary literature. The present study takes another step towards the task that Schultz began by gathering toge…
Patterns of dental development in Homo, Australopithecus, Pan , and Gorilla
Smith ([1986] Nature 323 :327–330) distinguished patterns of development of teeth of juvenile fossil hominids as being “more like humans” or “more like apes” based on statistical similarity to group standards. Here, this central tendency discrimination (CTD) is tested for its ability to recognize ape and human patterns of dental development in 789 subadult hominoids. Tooth development of a modern human sample (665 black southern Africans) was sco…
Toward A Life History of the Hominidae
Two new developments promise to greatly improve our ability to reconstruct the evolution of the human life cycle: 1. the introduction of the comparative methodology of life history into anthropology and 2. research on bone and dental development that reveals a world of life history preserved in the fossil record. Comparative study suggests that the human strategy depends on rich energy sources and low mortality and that our general rate of growth…
Toward a Life History of the Hominidae
Two new developments promise to greatly improve our ability to reconstruct the evolution of the human life cycle: 1. the introduction of the comparative methodology of life history into anthropology and 2. research on bone and dental development that reveals a world of life history preserved in the fossil record. Comparative study suggests that the human strategy depends on rich energy sources and low mortality and that our general rate of growth…
Ontogeny of australopithecines and early Homo: Evidence From Cranial Capacity and Dental Eruption
Evolution of the human life cycle
Social mammals have three basic stages of postnatal development: infant, juvenile, and adult. Some species also have a brief female post-reproductive stage. The human life cycle, however, is best described by five stages: infant, child, juvenile, adolescent, and adult. Women in both traditional and industrial societies may also have a long post-reproductive stage. Analyses of bones and teeth of early hominids who died as subadults suggest that th…
Evolution of the human life cycle
Social mammals have three basic stages of postnatal development: infant, juvenile, and adult. Some species also have a brief female post-reproductive stage. The human life cycle, however, is best described by five stages: infant, child, juvenile, adolescent, and adult. Women in both traditional and industrial societies may also have a long post-reproductive stage. Analyses of bones and teeth of early hominids who died as subadults suggest that th…
The paleontology of growth and development
Growth and Development of the Nariokotome Youth, KNM-WT 15000
Obituary: Stanley Marion Garn (1922–2007)
Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Please note: The publisher is not responsible for the content or functionality of any supporting information supplied by the authors. Any queries (other than missing content) should be directed to the corresponding author for the article
Darwinius masillae is a Haplorhine — Reply to Williams et al. (2010)
Bias and accuracy of age estimation using developing teeth in 946 children
Developing teeth are used to assess maturity and estimate age in several disciplines. The aim of the study was to determine which of the most well known dental age estimation methods was best at estimating age. The target sample of dental radiographs ( N = 946, ages 3–16) was described by Maber et al. (Forensic Sci Int 159 ( 2006 ) S68–S73). Seven mandibular permanent teeth (I 1 –M 2 ) were assessed, and dental age was calculated using four denta…
Dental development of the Taï Forest chimpanzees revisited
Biology (23 works) · Evolutionary biology (20 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (16 works) · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (13 works) · Human evolution (13 works) · Paleontology (13 works) · Paleontology (12 works) · Ecology (11 works) · Primate Behavior and Ecology (11 works) · Ecology (9 works)