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Within the framework of the Sicily Mummy Project, the orofacial complex of a significant sample of individuals ( n = 111) from the Capuchin Catacombs of Palermo, Italy, was inspected. The heads and dentitions of the mummies were documented and the recorded findings described: the state of preservation of skeletal and soft tissues; dental pathologies such as carious lesions and alveolar bone loss; enamel hypoplasia; and ante- and post-mortem tooth loss. Despite limitations in data collection, the oral health of these mummies was assessed and the frequencies of pathologies were compared to those of similar populations. From their position within the corridors of the Catacombs, sex and social status of the mummies were also inferred, allowing the dental pathologies to be specified in the social and historical context. Most interestingly, the rate of oral health problems did not differ between the groups of the members of the Capuchin Order and the laymen of the city of Palermo, despite their different lifestyles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluctuating asymmetry, often considered a measure of developmental instability, was studied in the dental morphological traits of 600 individuals from among the poorest sectors of society in 19th–20th century Portugal. The aims are to identify and interpret any differences between: (1) males and females, and (2) patterns of distribution among teeth with different odontogenic timings, to assess if any sex bias existed in childcare. Dental and mandibular morphological traits were recorded using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System. z -Ratios were used to compare summed absolute fluctuating asymmetry frequencies between sexes and age groups. Results from rank correlation coefficients ruled out directional asymmetry and antisymmetry, based on positive (>0.2) bilateral association of traits in larger samples. Sex differences were significant ( z -ratio = 3.128; p = 0.0018), while age differences were not ( z -ratio = −0.644; p = 0.5196). Teeth forming after infancy tended to be more asymmetric in females. Potential reasons for the sex difference include: (1) greater female susceptibility to developmental instability, (2) greater male childhood mortality that yields lower fluctuating asymmetry in surviving males, and/or (3) cultural bias favoring male access to resources. Results suggest the latter hypothesis is most likely, as fluctuating asymmetry is enhanced during childhood, perhaps coinciding with gender role definitions. There seems to be no association between asymmetry and early mortality in males. A lack of parallels in prior research renders differential sex reaction to environmental stress dubious. This population may have favored male children in their access to appropriate conditions for development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to verify if dental wear changed due to the dietary shift between the Chalcolithic and Middle Ages from relatively hard and fibrous foods to soft cooked cereals. This was accomplished by comparing dental wear quantity and direction between people from two archaeological sites, Les Treilles during the Chalcolithic (mixed subsistence farmers) and Marsan from the Middle Ages (agriculturalists) in southwest France. The materials studied include 65 mandibles, 32 from Les Treilles and 33 from Marsan; 549 teeth were studied. The results show statistically significant difference in wear quantity and direction, the Chalcolithic population (Les Treilles) had the greatest levels of wear in a mainly oblique direction, with the anterior teeth heavily affected by wear. Comparatively, the Medieval sample (Marsan) had lesser levels of wear in a mainly horizontal direction, and the most heavily worn teeth were the molars and incisors. The quantity of wear seems to correlate well with changes in diet, the high level of wear on the anterior teeth in the Chalcolithic sample corresponds with the consumption of a mixed diet of fibrous and tough foods. At Marsan, the lower wear quantity was likely due to a diet of soft boiled cereals, requiring less mastication. However, wear direction appears dependent on several factors and may correlate with more mixed subsistence practices. This study demonstrates the need for additional research into the complex actions of mastication and its effect on dental wear, as well as standardised methodology for the examination of dental wear in archaeological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The biological affinities of semi-nomadic, early to mid-Holocene foragers of the mid-Ganga Plain, North India are undetermined, yet understanding their place in the population history of South Asia is important. Non-metric tooth trait frequencies are reported for three broadly contemporary, bio-culturally similar, and geographically proximate samples, collectively known as Mesolithic Lake Culture (MLC). The Arizona State University – Dental Anthropology System was used to score 43 tooth-trait combinations (23 maxillary; 21 mandibular). Non-metric trait frequencies are used to determine biological affinities of MLC to a global sample of living populations and to prehistoric and living groups of South Asia. The MLC dental pattern includes lightly sculpted upper incisors in which labial curvature, lingual shoveling, and tuberculum dentale exhibit low grades of expression and low-moderate frequencies. First molars have full-sized hypocones with slight reduction in M2 and M3. Accessory cusps are infrequent and small. Mandibular teeth are morphologically simple and retain conservative attributes. Incisors and canines exhibit weak shoveling. Molar accessory cusps are infrequent, though C-6 attains moderate grades in M3. The molar series (M1:M2:M3) has an Y:X:X groove pattern and 5:4:4 cusp number. Upper M3 agenesis (5%) is less common than lower M3 agenesis (10.0%). Smith's Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD) and Ward's minimum variance cluster methods are used to assess inter-group bio-distance in global and regional South Asian settings. In the global comparison, multi-dimensionally scaled MMD values reveal three groups: African, Asian, and a third group composed of MLC, prehistoric South Asians, and European samples. Within South Asia, MMD and cluster analysis find MLC's closest affinities to the Chenchu, a living tribal group of Andhra Pradesh. This result contradicts earlier assertions based on osteological assessment that descendants of Mesolithic foragers of North India (MLC) cannot be identified in the Indian subcontinent. The next closest affinity is with Chalcolithic and Neolithic groups of Pakistan and with a late Chalcolithic group (INM) of west central India. As knowledge of the dental morphology of living and prehistoric South Asians increases, the population history of the subcontinent and its role in understanding world-wide patterns of migration will be clarified. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Fifty-nine dental non-metric traits were scored using Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System on a sample of teeth from 350 human skeletons excavated at three sites in the lower middle Euphrates valley. The dataset was divided into six chronological subsets: Early Bronze Age, Middle Bronze Age, Early Iron Age with Neo-Assyrian period, Classical/Late Antiquity, Early Islamic (Umayyad and Abbasid) period and Modern period. The matrix of Mean Measure of Divergence values exhibited temporal homogeneity of the sample with only dental non-metric trait scores in the Modern subset differing significantly from most other subsets. Such a result suggests that no major gene flow occurred in the middle Euphrates valley between the 3rd millennium BCE and the early 2nd millennium CE. Only after the Mongolian invasion and large depopulation of northern Mesopotamia in the 13th century CE a major population change occurred when the area was taken over in the 17th century by Bedouin tribes from the Arabian Peninsula. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Osteological reference collections play a key role in bioanthropological research; they allow the development and testing of methods for sexing and ageing individuals using various bone and dental attributes. This paper presents the first stage results of the ongoing Chacarita Research Project, which aims to generate and study a reference collection of adult skeletons representative of the contemporary population of Buenos Aires city. The Chacarita Collection consists of unclaimed human remains of individuals of known nationality, sex, age, cause and date of death from the Chacarita Public Cemetery. Unlike other similar endeavours, this sample has been completely exhumed using archaeological techniques. So far, a total of 146 adult skeletons have been recovered (60 females – 41.1% and 86 males – 58.90%), the majority of which have ages-at-death in the range of 71–90 years. They were born primarily in Argentina (n =133; 91.1%), although other nationalities are also represented. Dates of death range between 1987 and 2000. In the short term, the osteological study of this collection will allow assessment of the performance of classical methods of sex determination and age-at-death estimation in a local setting. A special priority will be given to the study of osteological changes in individuals over 50 years. As the sample is being retrieved by exhumation, the impact of taphonomic agents on the most diagnostic bone structures is also being assessed. In the long term, this osteological collection will be available to generate new population-specific techniques and to develop comparative biological studies. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 2009, in the Indian Kamëntša community in southern Colombia an oral inspection was conducted on 61 young people. Using the methods of Arizona State University''s Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) the presence of unilateral Uto-Aztecan premolar (UAP) is reported here. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study was conducted to determine the frequencies of non-metric tooth crown traits of Vedda of Sri Lanka and to investigate the affinities of these morphological variations with those of other world populations. Fifty dental plaster casts were observed. The Arizona State University dental anthropology system was adopted for classification of the 16 traits observed. We used 13 traits to compare the Vedda and other world populations. Using the frequencies of 13 traits, Smith Mean Measure of Divergence was calculated to determine inter-population distances. Affinities among the Vedda and other world populations were expressed in two dimensions of the principal coordinate analysis. Cusp number in mandibular second molar and hypocone absence in maxillary second molar had the highest frequency at 95.9% and 93.8%, respectively. Shovelling, double shovelling in the maxillary central incisor and deflecting wrinkle in the mandibular first molar had the lowest frequency at 0%. The principal coordinate analysis showed that Sino American and Western Eurasian populations were separated in negative and positive directions in the first principal coordinate axis. Vedda located with the Western Eurasian population groups. Sahul and Sunda Pacific populations located in the intermediate position between Sino American and Western Eurasian populations. The dental phenotype of Vedda has close affinities with those of early south Asian populations. They are far different from Sino American and Sunda pacific populations. Vedda shows closer affinities to Sahul Pacific and South African (Bantu) populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The aim of this paper is to conduct a historical analysis of the research-oriented studies related to dental anthropology in Argentina, evaluate its current state and discuss future expectations and perspectives. In this country, anthropological studies based on analysis of dentition have been scarce and even temporarily discontinued, since they began in the late nineteenth century, simply following the course of the predominant theoretical and methodological approaches over time. Early papers, guided mainly by evolutionary ideas, were oriented towards establishing the taxonomic position of humans through the description and comparison of morphological and morphometric aspects of the dental crown and root. Later studies mainly described types of intentional modifications (i.e. dental mutilations) and tooth wear in the context of Historic-Cultural School. However, they failed to constitute valid lines of research over time. In recent years, there has been a significant change in dental studies, mainly as a result of the interest in evaluating the adaptive aspects of human populations within biocultural settings. One of the most relevant lines of studies has been the bioarchaeological analysis of health and stress indicators, such as enamel hypoplasia, caries and tooth wear in hunter–gatherer and farmer societies. More recently, the study of discrete and metric dental traits began, with a goal to contribute to the study of evolution and inter-populational biological relations among South American groups. Since teeth contain valuable information not only about the environment in which the individual lived, but also about the action of neutral and non-neutral factors on human groups, the consolidation of ongoing studies will contribute to knowledge of various aspects of the adaptation and evolution of native American populations. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Several archaeological researches in northeastern Patagonia and southeastern Pampas have evaluated various indicators of the diets of hunter-gatherers who inhabited these regions during the Late Holocene, including the role of plant foods. Dental analysis is an important way to introduce new information about subsistence. In this sense, the objective of this work is to document and interpret dento-alveolar lesions in an osteological sample recovered from the Paso Alsina 1 archaeological site (eastern Pampean–Patagonian transition, Argentina). This paper will explore the oral health status of individuals and discuss palaeodietary information of hunter-gatherers that inhabited the lower valley of the Colorado River during the final Late Holocene (ca. 500 years BP). The site is defined as a formal area bundle composed of 10 secondary multiple burials containing 56 individuals of both sexes and various ages (e.g., perinatal, infant, and adult). In this study, 781 teeth and 1036 alveoli from 47 maxillae and 38 mandibles were analysed from 51 adult individuals. The results indicate a moderate rate of dental wear, and dental calculus, and low percentages of caries, abscesses, and antemortem tooth loss. The information obtained suggests a diet based on a combination of proteins, fat and carbohydrates. Results are then compared with those from other lines of analysis for the study area and for the neighboring regions (northeastern Patagonia and southeastern Pampas). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes and discusses the research in the field of dental anthropology in Argentina. It has been presented at the symposium entitled “The development of dental research in Argentine Biological Anthropology: current status and perspectives”, coordinated by the authors at the IX National Meeting of Biological Anthropology of Argentina, Puerto Madryn, 20th–23rd October 2009. The aim of the symposium was to present new results and future prospects of this discipline in the country and to create a forum for discussion of current research within this field. Six contributions that focused on the study of teeth from different perspectives and analysed bioarchaeological samples from different areas of Argentina (Central Highlands, Pampa and Patagonia) were presented. After the presentations, a discussion about the state of the art of dental research in the country was generated, in which the need for the generation of methodological consensus on the criteria for the evaluation of the variables considered was stated, so that research conducted in different areas can be compared. In short, the contributions of this symposium provide insights into the diversity of dental anthropology in contemporary Argentina and the potential of these types of studies to gain important information about biological and cultural aspects of the native populations in the country. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: By c. 2050 BC a small community of C-Group Nubians was present deep within Egyptian territory at the city of Hierakonpolis. Their descendants stayed for the next 400 years. Today, the site of Hierakonpolis, 113km north of Aswan, is known for its Egyptian deposits; however, it also contains a C-Group cemetery, which documents the northernmost occurrence of this culture. Sixty skeletons were excavated. Tombs feature Nubian architecture and goods, including leather garments, although the use of Egyptian mortuary practices and artifacts increased through time. Dates range from the early 11th Dynasty into the Second Intermediate period. During this time the Egyptian empire occupied Lower Nubia, and their state ideology vilified Nubians. Yet, at least in death, the C-Group inhabitants of Hierakonpolis proudly displayed their cultural heritage. Beyond discerning the reason(s) for their presence at the site (e.g., mercenaries, leather-workers, entertainers?), the focus of this report is to estimate their biological affinity. Were they akin to other Nubians, Egyptians, or both? And, was increasing ‘Egyptianization’ evident in the mortuary ritual accompanied by concomitant genetic influence? To address these queries, up to 36 dental morphological traits in the recovered individuals were compared to those in 26 regional comparative samples. The most influential traits were identified and phenetic affinities were calculated using the mean measure of divergence and other multivariate analyses. Assuming phenetic similarity provides an estimate of genetic relatedness, these affinities suggest the individuals comprising the C-Group sample were, and remained Nubian during their tenure at Hierakonpolis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Tooth wear and dental pathology related to diet and lifestyle were investigated in the human dental remains unearthed from three archaeological sites of Bronze Age and Iron Age in Xinjiang of northwest China, and in comparative samples from two Neolithic sites in Henan and Shanxi in central China along the Yellow River. Our results indicate that the average tooth wear on most tooth types in the three Xinjiang sites was close to those of the Neolithic samples from central China. The variation within the Xinjiang samples was also explored. Some special wear patterns such as severe wear on the first molar and relatively heavy wear of anterior teeth were observed on the specimens from the Xinjiang sites. Obvious differences in caries and antemortem tooth loss were found between Xinjiang and comparative samples with higher frequencies of caries observed in samples from central China and higher antemortem tooth loss in samples from the Xinjiang sites. Strongly developed exostoses (tori) were also identified on mandibles and maxillae of the specimens from Xinjiang. The authors believe that the differences in tooth wear and dental pathology between Xinjiang and central China were caused by differences in diet and lifestyle. Food of a harder texture was consumed by the people who lived in Xinjiang than by the people in Henan and Shanxi of central China. The higher occurrence of heavily worn anterior teeth and some other special wear patterns, antemortem tooth loss and presence of exostoses on jaw bones in Xinjiang suggest that the people in Xinjiang lived in a relatively harsh environment, frequently gnawing hard objects, or using teeth as some kind of tools. All these activities put masticatory organs under a heavy load. The differences in caries frequencies between the frontier and central areas of China indicate that food richer in carbohydrates was consumed by the people in the central areas. It is proposed that about 3000–2000 years BP in many areas of frontier Xinjiang, people mainly relied on the type of hunter-gatherer economy with agriculture playing a smaller role in their lifestyle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Murray James Barrett (1916–1975) graduated from the University of Adelaide''s Bachelor of Dental Surgery programme in 1939 and subsequently became a colleague of Professor Thomas Draper Campbell (1893–1967). Campbell''s passion for dental anthropology and his special interest in food habits and dental disease inspired Barrett to commence a longitudinal growth study in the 1960s of Aboriginal Australians living at Yuendumu in the Northern Territory of Australia. This study, referred to as the Dentgro project, involved the collection of dental records, growth data and cultural information about the Wailbri people. Murray Barrett''s application of computer technology enabled him to automate the entry of data derived from the Dentgro study and to develop programmes to analyse those data. The collection of dental casts (over 1700 serial casts for more than 450 individuals) and other records have provided a unique resource for research and teaching purposes. The casts have been in constant use for over 40 years providing insights into many aspects of dental development, including: the timing and sequence of tooth emergence; the nature and extent of variation in dental crown size and morphology in human populations; the patterns of growth in the dental arches over time; the range of occlusal variation between individuals; and the effects of wear on the dentition. The Yuendumu cast collection, representing a population with limited exposure to European customs and dietary habits, continues to attract the Adelaide School of Dentistry many interstate and overseas researchers interested in genetic and environmental influences on human dental development. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Bilateral asymmetry is an important field of study in anthropology. The evaluation of bilateral asymmetry of 44 dental non-metric traits of permanent dentition is carried out in this study on 376 adult skulls from different archaeological sites in Argentina (South America). From a total of 44 traits studied, just 12 (27% of the total traits expressed) presented Bilateral Index (BI) values lower than 100% (between 92% and 99%). Results suggest that the expression of all dental traits is probably bilateral. These results show the importance of analysis of bilateral asymmetry for assignment of taxonomic and population value of non-metric dental traits. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The subject of this work is the characterisation of the metric features of deciduous dentition in a Medieval population of central Poland with the use of the jackknife technique leave one out (LOO)—supporting multivariate methods, which are important for deriving discrimination equations that would result in sex determination of children''s skeletal remains. The sex of the individuals was assessed through analysis of sex-specific DNA sequences (AMELY/AMELX, SRY and alpha satellite sequences). Discriminant analysis concerned only teeth of those individuals whose sex was confirmed by the primary structure of three DNA sequences. The deciduous tooth diameters of males were found to be significantly larger than those of females in four respects: MD diameter of the maxillary second molar, MD and BL diameters of the mandibular first molar and BL diameter of the mandibular second molar. A two-group discriminant analysis considered all those measurements as independent variables. A multiple regression procedure produced a linear equation predicting the sex of children''s skeletons with a significant probability amounting to approximately 78%. The accuracy of the sex assessment of an individual, using dental measurements, was established at 69% in deciduous male and 88% in deciduous female teeth. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The Atlantic slave trade moved more than 13 million Africans to American lands between the 15th and 19th centuries. Previous historical, linguistic, and social-cultural studies suggested a Western-Central Bantu African origin for the Colombian slaves; however, their precise provenance remains unclear. The present study investigates the variation of the epigenetic dental traits in the deciduous and permanent dentition and phenotypic affinities of a contemporary Afro-Colombian community (n=178) in an attempt to identify their possible African ancestors. The results of a multivariate analysis of principal components show that Afro-descendents from Guapi have strong phenotypic relationships with several Bantu-speakers groups of Western and Western-Central Africa (Sub-Saharan region), specifically from Gabon, Congo, Pygmies, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo and Benin. In concordance with recent mtDNA studies, this research suggests a distant but important relationship between Afro-Colombians and Eastern and South-Eastern African populations. This analysis also shows a marked dental divergence with North African samples. The dental information is not very different from the cultural, linguistic and historic data; however, it is more in agreement with studies based on molecular variation. In addition, this study reveals that African-Americans from North America, Central America-Caribbean and South America have high biological variation essentially identical to their several Sub-Saharan sources. Although a microevolutionary model, based on differential rates of gene flow with Native American and European-American groups and little selective pressures influence, better explains the phenotypic variation observed, more African-American dental samples must be analyzed from a regional perspective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Dental size and shape have been widely used to study biological relationships among human populations. Although several techniques have been proposed to quantify dental form, few attempts have been made to compare results obtained by application of different techniques. This work aims at comparing the information about size and shape of molar contours obtained from linear measurements, landmarks and semi-landmarks as well as evaluating the variation patterns among populations obtained by each method. The crowns of 35 permanent upper second molars belonging to archaeological samples from three regions of Argentina were analyzed. Buccolingual and mesiodistal crown diameters were measured and centroid size and crown index were used as size and shape descriptors, respectively. Likewise, four landmarks and 79 semi-landmarks were collected from the molar outline and relative warps (RW) analysis was performed on partial warps and uniform vectors; centroid size was estimated to summarize tooth size. The results indicate that size was consistently estimated by the three variable types. On the contrary, noticeable differences were found when the results of molar shape described by linear measurements were compared with those obtained using either landmarks or semi-landmarks. This study shows that considerable information about molar contour is added by using landmarks instead of crown diameters and that some morphological features, such as degree of cusp development, can only be captured by means of semi-landmark analysis. Finally, the interpretation of similarities among samples differs according to the selected description system. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]