Teeth are some of the best preserved and most commonly-recovered elements in human archaeological and fossil assemblages, leading to more than a century of comparative studies of their size and shape. It is also well established through experimental research that dental tissues preserve a permanent record of their development through time, represented by “tiny time lines” - incremental features in enamel and dentine microstructure. Counts and measurements of these features have been used to determine the precise rate and duration of tooth formation, stress experienced during development, and the age at death in juveniles. Traditionally these features have been assessed through physical (histological) sectioning followed by transmitted light microscopy, although new a new virtual approach has been recently developed using synchrotron X-ray phase contrast imaging. This has facilitated fine-scaled study of dental development in rare juvenile hominin fossils. Moreover, recent syntheses of tooth growth and chemistry allow insights into ancient climate records and early life dietary changes. Due to rapid technological developments in imaging and elemental sampling, these new approaches have the potential to increase our understanding of human developmental biology, including prehistoric changes in the pace of growth and the evolution of human weaning. The integration of these temporal, structural, and chemical approaches heralds a bright future for dental tissue research in evolutionary anthropology.