#  Christina Warinner | The Scientist: Ancient Dental Plaque Unearths Prehistoric People’s Lifestyle 

 





August 08, 2025

 

 

The Department of Anthropology at Harvard University is pleased to share a new publication from *The Scientist* magazine, which features the research of Archaeology Professor and Program Director [Christina Warinner](https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/people/christina-warinner).

> Millennia ago, when ancient people did not know what toothbrushes were, food particles and microbes clung stubbornly to their teeth. These plaques mineralized over time to form crusty, hard tartar.
> 
> Centuries later, scientists discovered that this calcified tartar was a goldmine of preserved ancient DNA.1 “It is like time travel in many ways,” said [Christina Warinner](https://anthropology.fas.harvard.edu/people/christina-warinner), a biomolecular archeologist at Harvard University and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
> 
> Over the last few years, Warinner and her team isolated DNA from the tartar of [excavated human remains](https://www.the-scientist.com/31000-year-old-skeleton-reveals-oldest-known-surgery-70464) and dug up a lost microbial world. Reconstructing ancient oral microbiomes revealed patterns of microbial diversity and identified bacterial enzymes produced thousands of years ago, offering a glimpse into prehistoric people’s health and lives.

[**Continue reading.**](https://www.the-scientist.com/ancient-dental-plaque-unearths-prehistoric-people-s-lifestyle-73245)



 

 

 



 

 

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