The New York Times Magazine - USA (2020-08-23)

knew how I felt about some of the Mews’ claims —

John’s absurd belief, for instance, that unattractive

criminals are less likely to reoff end if their faces

are made more beautiful. But in the weeks that

followed, I experienced a swift, overwhelming

change in vision — the kind the Mews’ patients

and viewers described undergoing. Suddenly, all

around me, people with tiny jaws appeared, their

chins merging with their necks, their lips hanging

open unconsciously as they read a book in a cafe

or stared out the window on the bus. Long faces,

tired eyes, crooked smiles. It began to feel as if the

Mews might be right on this single but essential

point, if on nothing else. Orthodontists’ unwilling-

ness to engage with this claim — that industrial-

ized life was shifting our teeth and reshaping our

jaws — showed, at the very least, a confounding

lack of curiosity about the causes of the problem

they were looking at. If the Mews were right, then

the implications were sweeping: Orthodontists

had made billions treating patients for a problem

that could have been prevented all along.

But I wasn’t sure if I trusted my eyes or

not, and I wanted a second opinion. Visiting

museums had been crucial in convincing John

that something was wrong with our jaws, so I

decided to make a visit of my own. On a Friday

in August, I met with an anthropologist named

Janet Monge in a ground-fl oor classroom at the

Penn Museum in Philadelphia. Monge is a warm

and voluble person, with a mane of gray-white

hair and an easy smile. Since the early 1990s, she

has been the keeper of one of the world’s largest

and most geographically diverse collections of

ancient skulls, housed at the University of Penn-

sylvania. The specimens had originally been

gathered by the physician Samuel Morton in the

19th century. Monge noted that Morton collect-

ed the skulls for racist purposes, measuring the

projection of his specimens’ jaws in an attempt

to assess their level of civilizational enlighten-

ment. The same large, forward-grown jaws the

Mews prize as signs of health and beauty, Mor-

ton disdained as markers of inherent cultural

and biological inferiority.

The Morton specimens sat in cases all around,

peering out at us with enormous, empty sockets

and gleaming teeth. In a plastic container, Monge

had placed skulls from the Middle East, West

Africa, Eastern Europe and beyond. When I asked

her if she’d ever seen an ancient specimen with

crooked teeth, she didn’t hesitate: ‘‘No, not one.

Ever.’’ Most of the skulls in the Penn collection

date from a 40,000-year period starting late in the

Stone Age and ending around 300 years ago, yet

‘‘they all have an edge-to-edge bite,’’ ‘‘robust’’ jaws

and ‘‘perfect’’ occlusion, Monge said.

But then, in specimens from people who lived

two centuries ago or less, Monge noted a striking

change: The edge-to-edge bite completely disap-

pears, and malocclusion suddenly runs rampant.

She pointed to a skull on a nearby shelf — that of

a woman who lived in 19th-century North Amer-

ica. Unlike the ancient skulls, this postindustrial

woman’s maxilla was crinkled and small; the

teeth that remained sat crammed together. ‘‘I

always told my students, ‘Something happened

200 years ago and nobody has an edge-to-edge

bite anymore — and I have no freaking idea

why,’ ’’ Monge said.

She took the skull of a preindustrial Siberian

man out of her container and clicked the man-

dible into place. The bone was thick; the teeth

met so neatly that they appeared pulled from an

Invisalign ad. Monge laughed, her open mouth

revealing a pair of missing molars. She cradled

the skull in her hand. ‘‘Isn’t that just perfect?’’

49

Orthotropics
(Continued from Page 47)

Answers to puzzles of 8.16.20

SPELLING BEE

Omnivore (3 points). Also: Evermore, moreover,

mover, movie, nerve, never, nevermore, ovine, remove,

remover, revere, reverie, revive, river, rover, veneer,

venom, vermin, verve, vireo, vroom. If you found other

legitimate dictionary words in the beehive, feel

free to include them in your score.

Answers to puzzle on Page 48

MAKING WAVES YIN-YANG

T O NEOL C

P Y R AIM D

D O OREM N

WO NKEI R

T I B EAT N

V G

KN

ACROSTIC

A. Tempera

B. Oblige

C. Nemesis

D. Inkjet

E. Mawkish

F. Omelet

G. Rubens

H. Right whale

I. Iceberg

J. Saucer

K. Orestes

L. Nimbus

M. Skittles

N. Obscurity

O. Niblick

P. Graying

Q. Obelisk

R. Flashy

S. Soignee

T. Oakley

U. Light-year

V. Osaka

W. Matching

X. Owlet

Y. Newcastle

TONI MORRISON, SONG OF SOLOMON — Saying

something is pitch black is like saying something is

green.... Green like a cucumber, lettuce, or green like

the sky is just before it breaks loose to storm? Well,

night black is the same way. May as well be a rainbow.

ALTERNATIVE CINEMA

MAO I S T S S T AMP S MOR A S S

UNP L A I T I AMTOO AVENUE

TWE L V E ANGR YME N R ANK E D

EAR ARRANT ICI ALDA

DRAWN THEAFR I CANQUE EN

ETTU DRI ED PAULS

FLAN UPI NI L ROTORS

DOC TOR S TRANGE S AT CAT

IGETIT DEPENDON ASKME

COROL L A NUYS PAC P S S T

BYEBYE B I RDI E

AM I E S OO SME E E DH E LMS

SANDL UNTHAWED RODEOS

PTA ACT WATERSHI PDOWN

SANR IO YRS L I V INNS

YELLS LOUI S TEVA

THE LADYVAN I SHE S ALUMS

RAV I BMI SAVOI R SAL

UNE EDA AME R I CANB E AUT Y

CONF I T NOLUCK GE S TAT E

KITSCH DRINKS STEELER

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