A new window into human history has been opened up by a global team of scientists who have discovered an innovative method to identify ancient seasonal climates using teeth.
The scientists have developed a novel way to establish the role that ancient seasonal climates and behaviours played in the development of both primates and humans, using microsamples of oxygen isotopes collected from fossilized teeth.
Prof. Tanya Smith from Griffith University and David Green from Columbia University said in a Conversation article that similar to trees growing outwards and leaving growth rings, teeth grow in microscopic layers during childhood. Since, seasonal climates and changes can alter the width of growth rings, it is discernible that the climates and changes experienced by the body can also be observed in the growth layers of teeth….