Tanya Smith
Department of Anthropology
Brandeis University
P.O. Box 549110, MS 006
Waltham, MA 02454-9110
tsmith@eva.mpg.de
(781) 736-2210
AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION
Biological anthropology. Paleoanthropology, dental development, and tooth structure.
Background and Description
Tanya Smith is a biological anthropologist whose research focuses on tooth development and structure in living and fossil apes and humans. Her current research applies histology and high resolution computed tomography to assess the evolutionary developmental biology of Middle Pleistocene hominin dentitions, which may shed insight into the distinctiveness of Neanderthals and the origins of modern human life history. Tanya is also engaged in a long-term study of Miocene hominoid dental development and tooth structure, as well as a study of chimpanzee and orangutan molar development. She has participated in paleoanthropological field work in Wyoming, and field studies of primates in Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Madagascar. She is currently a Research Scientist (Assistant Professor equivalent) in the Department of Human Evolution at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany. She is a member of the European Virtual Anthropology Network, has traveled and lectured throughout Europe, and has recently published research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, South African Journal of Science, Journal of Human Evolution, American Journal of Physical Anthropology, Journal of Archaeological Science, Archives of Oral Biology, and the Journal of Anatomy. Tanya received her Ph.D. and M.A. in anthropological sciences from Stony Brook University, and her B.S. in biology from the State University of New York at Geneseo. In her limited free time, she enjoys gardening and cooking, and is engaged in an amateur exploration of the anthropology of food. Website: http://www.eva.mpg.de/evolution/staff/smith/index.htm
