34 35 DENTAL MORPHOLOGY 2001: PROCEEDINGS OF THE 11TH INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON DENTAL MORPHOLOGY. Edited by Alan Brook. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press Ltd. (hardback), 2001. 350 pp. ISBN 1-84127-289-2. A symposium provides an arena for scientists to forge new syntheses based on their most recent research findings and methodologies. Unfortunately, the reality of most published symposium proceedings is that the information is no longer cutting edge once the papers are published one (to two) years later. The organizers of the 12th International Symposium on Dental Morphology attempted to address this problem by publishing the peer-reviewed papers in Dental Morphology 2001 at the time of the symposium. However, because only those papers submitted well in advance of the conference could be included in Dental Morphology 2001, many of the papers presented at the symposium were left out of the volume. Consequently, the resulting volume is timely, but incomplete. As with the past symposium publications, the volume is divided into six sections consisting of: Dental Anthropology, Dental Evolution, Ontogeny, Technology, Morphological Integration within the Dental and Craniofacial Complex, and Dental Genetics. In comparison to the previous volume, Dental Anthropology 1998, there are substantially fewer papers included in each section. In the present volume, seven papers comprise the Dental Evolution section. The Dental Anthropology portion of the book is the second largest with six papers. Three subjects, Ontogeny, Technology, and Dental Genetics, have four articles each. Finally, the Morphological Integration within the Dental and Craniofacial Complex segment has five papers. By contrast, in the previous volume, Dental Anthropology had 23 papers, Dental Evolution consisted of 11, Ontogeny was comprised of seven papers, Technology had four, and Morphological Integration within the Dental and Craniofacial Complex had seven papers. The Dental Genetics section was the only section to increase in number, from two to four papers, from the earlier volume to the present one. The scope and depth of the papers also seem to be diminished in comparison to the previous volumes of the series, and again, this may be the result of the early publication deadline. Several papers seem to be overviews of the research performed or pilot studies for further research. On the other hand, while the volume does not have the complete proceedings of the symposium, several articles are of note. P. M. Butler ’s “What happened to the field theory” provides a unique opportunity to appreciate the background and logic behind one of the earliest and most significant theories in Dental Anthropology. In this article, Butler traces the influence of experimental work in the induction of limbs in urodele larvae on his speculations regarding the development of the dentition evolving as part of an integrated system across the mammalian order (p.4). The field theory has influenced numerous research endeavors, such as AA Dahlberg’s study dental morphological variation in human populations, experimental histology work on the enamel organs, and Osborne’s clone theory. Butler notes that while there have been great advances in the field of Dental Anthropology over the last 60 years, fundamental questions, such as what determines the distribution of cusps between teeth and among species, remain unanswered. Other articles of note include EF Harris’s contribution, “Deciduous tooth size distributions in recent humans: A world-wide survey.” Previous comparative studies conducted in this manner have been performed primarily on the permanent dentition. This overview is one of the first comparative studies performed strictly on the deciduous dentition in recent human populations. Besides providing a forum for research and comparative studies, the symposium also introduced various methodology papers. Brook et al.’s article, “The development of a new index to measure enamel defects” proposed the basis for a new Enamel Defects Index for common usage. The pilot study of the index showed promising results for a quick and straightforward method for data collection, and is being further developed. Kelley and co-researchers expanded the information regarding the reconstruction of primate species’ life histories in “Molar growth in the late Miocene hominoid, Dryopithecus laietanus.” In this paper, the authors discuss the life history of a Miocene hominoid using comparative data on first molar development in other extinct and extant primates. The physical format of the book was a bit awkward. Unlike the previous volume, there are no color images in the 2001 volume and the majority of the tables, graphs, and images follow the papers. As a result, it is some times necessary to hunt for a particular figure or image, which can be distracting. Accompanying the volume is a CD of the papers in PDF format. While the papers themselves and their associated graphs and photos are clear, the format of the file is cumbersome to use. Each page is bookmarked, rather than each paper, within a section. In order to find particular papers out of order, the reader must scroll back to the Table of Contents constantly. On computers with slower speeds, this can be a frustrating exercise. Overall, while the organizers of the symposium tackle the issue of data relevancy by the early publishing of the proceedings, the result, unfortunately, is an unfinished record of the presented papers. Regrettably, this volume is not on a par with the previous editions of the series, such as the 1978 volume Development, Function and Evolution of Teeth and the 1982 volume Teeth: Form, BOOK REVIEW Continued on page 36. col 2. 36 Function and Evolution. While the reviewer can appreciate the need for timeliness, the volume could have been improved through the inclusion of the additional papers presented and by employing a more user-friendly CD format. As problems associated with the early publication of the volume are smoothed out, future volumes of the Dental Anthropology series will return to the high standards of the past. LOREN R. LEASE SOUTHWEST FOUNDATION FOR BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH Changing of the Guard The American Journal of Physical Anthropology has about a score of Associate Editors who facilitate the anonymous peer review process. These people are listed on the inside of the front cover of the AJPA. Each handles the papers submitted to the Journal specific to his or her topical area of expertise. Terms run for four years, and the outgoing Associate Editor for matters dental, Edward Harris, has recently been replaced by Dr. John R. Lukacs (photo above) at the University of Oregon. John took over from Edward this April at the meeting of the editorial group at the AAPA meetings in Tampa. John is a founding member of the Dental Anthropology Associaton. Dr. Paul R. Sciulli (The Ohio State University), also a founding member of the DAA, served in this editorial role before Edward. Among the Associate Editor’s duties are to suggest appropriate reviewers to the Editor- in-Chief, Clark Spencer Larsen (The Ohio State University), collect these reviews and provide Clark with a summary review and suggested disposition for the article. Normally, the whole review process occurs electronically using a web-based program supplied by Wiley-Liss. The work load varies with the seasons (and when authors get to do some writing during the academic year), but there always is plenty to do. The DAA wishes John the best as he takes on these numerous duties in addition to his normal work load. The Editor