Physical Anthropology in Dentistry

Physical anthropology focuses on human biological variation through time and space. Except for those who work in primate paleontology, the temporal bounds of the field are set by hominid origins some five to eight millions years ago and extended across time through a diversity of hominid fossil species to modern members of Homo sapiens. The geographic bounds extend to all parts of the globe habitable by human populations. Methods employed for conducting research on human variation run the gamut from anatomical measurements and observations to physiological parameters and DNA.