Teeth preserve a record of a person's life and of human evolution. Enamel and dentine grow in daily layers, like tree rings, so counting incremental lines can reveal age in days. Wear patterns show what people ate, while isotopes of oxygen, nitrogen and carbon in tooth tissue reflect the water they drank as children, how much meat they ate and which plants were in their diet. Teeth also record evolution: smaller jaws after cooking became common led to impacted wisdom teeth, which is why about a third of people lack them.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.