My research is primarily dental anthropology.  I reconstruct dental development from the microscopic structures and markings in tooth enamel.  I have two current projects. 

1) ‘Enamel crown formation times for human deciduous maxillary molars’.  This Royal Society funded project will produce a method for estimating juvenile age-at-death.

2) ‘Deciduous enamel development and life history’.  I have shown that human ‘milk’ teeth do not develop in the same way as adult teeth.  Enamel develops quickly in a child’s front teeth, and then slows in molars.  This is linked to the eruption sequence, as is the proportion of time taken for ‘milk’ teeth to develop before birth.  This project will examine these variables in the context of primate life history. 

I have another research interest in bioarchaeology.  I collaborate on ancient human dietary reconstructions for Anglo Saxon Kent, and Bronze Age Britain.

Recent publications on deciduous enamel development

Mahoney P.  2012.  Incremental enamel development in modern human deciduous anterior teeth. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 147: 637-51.

Mahoney P.  2011.  Human deciduous mandibular molar incremental enamel development.  American Journal of Physical Anthropology 144: 204-14.

Mahoney P.  2010.  Two dimensional patterns of human enamel thickness on deciduous and permanent first mandibular molars. Archives of Oral Biology 55:115-126

Full list of publications

Teaching Interests: Skeletal Biology; Human Osteology; Palaeopathology; Forensic Anthropology.

I usually teach on the following modules however I will be on study leave for the Autumn Term:

• SE533: Project in Anthropological Science
• SE566 Human Osteology (convenor)
• SE569 Palaeopathology (convenor)
• PS509 Forensic Archaeology

PhD.  Tess Luetchford.  Diet and disease in Medieval Canterbury: an isotopic approach

PhD. Justyna J. Miszkiewicz. Ancient human bone histology and behaviour.

MSc by research (submitted).  Katherine Scane.  Diet-isotope reconstruction for the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in Kent.

MSc by research (submitted).  Elizabeth Rowing.  Diet-isotope reconstructionfor the Anglo-Saxon period in Kent.

MSc by research (awarded).  Claire Barrett.  Dental microwear and orofacial morphology in Pan and Papio.

• Manager of the Biological Anthropology Research Laboratory, which is equipped for dental casting, sectioning hard tissue, thin section preparation, high resolution microscopy, image analysis, and collagen isolation for isotopic analysis.
• Curator of the Biological Anthropology human skeletal collection.
• Director of the University commercial osteology unit (KORA).
• Trustee and Board Member for the Powell Cotton Museum.