Teeth

Mammoth and elephant tusks are elongated incisors, so they're made of the same materials as other teeth.

Male Woolly Mammoths Had Testosterone-Fueled Aggressive Episodes

By studying preserved tusks, scientists suggest the mammals experienced a yearly condition known as musth, like male elephants do today

A portrait of Anne d’Alégre, a 17th-century French noblewoman who masked her poor dentition with gold wire and an elephant ivory false tooth

What Secrets Lie Beneath This 17th-Century French Aristocrat's Smile?

New research suggests noblewoman Anne d’Alégre used gold wire to keep her decaying teeth in place

Researchers analyzed teeth from a carp-like fish.

New Research

Early Humans May Have Cooked Fish 780,000 Years Ago

New research adds to the debate about when humans began cooking with fire

An artist’s reconstruction of Qianodus duplicis, the earliest known fish that had a mouth with teeth

Haul of Fossil Fish Pushes Back the Origin of Teeth and Jaws

The unexpected finds illustrate life during a critical and little-understood time period

Researchers found chewing gum can increase metabolic rates by up to 15 percent.   

Chewing Uses More Energy Than You'd Think

And it may have influenced the way our jaws and teeth evolved

A Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton named STAN is one of the most complete specimens ever found.

Study Refutes Controversial Research That Divided the T. Rex Into Three Species

Scientists published a rebuttal article that found “insufficient evidence for multiple species of Tyrannosaurus”

The tooth from Laos thought to belong to a Denisovan girl

Ancient Molar Found in Laos Could Help Fill in a Gap in Human History

Researchers believe the tooth belongs to a Denisovan girl, making it the first fossil evidence of these hominins in Southeast Asia

Reconstruction of a full-scale megalodon and a set of teeth at the Museo de la Evolución de Puebla in Mexico.

The Biggest Megalodons Likely Lived in Cold Waters

The common idea that the giant sharks could reach over 60 feet in length should be applied mostly to populations that lived in frigid environments

Scientists counted more than 10,000 teeth to find out how quickly the fish regrows its lost chompers.

This Fish Loses and Regrows 20 Teeth Each Day

The Pacific lingcod replaces its 500-plus teeth at a rapid pace, according to new research

Scientists studied ancient teeth for their findings.

New Research

New Research Dispels Theory That First Americans Came From Japan

Scientists found no distinct relationship after examining ancient teeth of both populations

Researchers say the incisors' removal may have served as an indicator of social status or membership in a specific group.

Why Are These Medieval-Era Skulls Found in Gabon Missing Their Front Teeth?

Intact, 500-year-old upper jaws discovered in an African cave bear evidence of deliberate facial modification

A snowflake moray eel peers out from its hiding spot.

New Research

To Capture Prey on Land, This Eel Has an Extendable, Extra Jaw Hidden Inside Its Throat

This second set of teeth allows some moray eels to more effectively feed in the intertidal zone when the tide is low

Scholars used a newly developed technique to test skeletons' teeth for the presence of Yersinia pestis, the pathogen responsible for the plague.

Cool Finds

Why Weren't These Black Death Victims Buried in Mass Graves?

New research suggests some Europeans who died of the bubonic plague were individually interred with care

Adult male from grave 76a in Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov, drawn as if alive during a dance session, with 140 elk teeth on his chest, waist, pelvis and thighs

Cool Finds

Stone Age People Donned Elk-Tooth Ornaments During Spirited Dance Sessions

Thousand of animal incisors discovered at an 8,000-year-old Russian cemetery may have been valued for their role in keeping a beat

Illustration of Smilodon fatalis cubs playing together.

The Softer Side of Sabercats

The iconic fanged predators may have raised their young for years—dragging baby mastodon bones home for them and slowly teaching them how to hunt

The defeated Carthaginians constructed this Temple of Victory at Himera, Sicily, following the first Battle of Himera in 480 B.C.

Contrary to Popular Lore, Ancient Greek Armies Relied on Foreign Mercenaries

Scientists studying fifth-century B.C. soldiers' teeth found evidence of military support from faraway lands

Western lowland gorilla Baraka forages in the outdoor gorilla habitat at the Smithsonian's National Zoo. The silverback takes mealtime seriously, say his keepers.

Smithsonian Voices

How Do You Help a Gorilla With a Toothache?

When primate keepers at the Smithsonian's National Zoo noticed Baraka wasn't eating his meals, they wondered if this masked something more serious

Could humans be visiting Venus in the future?

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Both sides of a shark tooth from Rio do Meio, an artifact which may have been used as a cutting tool. Archaeologists think it was bound to a wooden shaft by cord, strung through the drilled holes.

Why Did Ancient Indigenous Groups in Brazil Hunt Sharks?

New studies show that shark meat may have constituted half of their diet and that the beasts' teeth were used as arrow tips and razor blades

An artist's rendering of a new species of mosasaur named Xenodens calminechari. The marine reptile was about the size of a porpoise and had serrated shark-like teeth.

New Research

Newly Discovered Marine Reptile Sawed Prey With Serrated Teeth

Researchers say the new species of mosasaur had teeth unlike those of any known reptile

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