Bulletin of the International Association for Paleodontology

Prevalence of taurodontism in a modern Austrian sample

Kurt W. Alt — 2023-12-22

Taurodontism is a dental condition characterized by an abnormality in the tooth root formation, believed to be caused by defects in the invagination of the Hertwig epithelial sheath during root development. It is characterized by an enlarged, apically displaced pulp chamber, short roots, and a lack of constriction at the enamel-cementum junction. Taurodontism is classified into three degrees: hypo-, meso- and hypertaurodontism. The data was collected by measuring the height of the pulp chamber in relation to the length of the pulp chamber roof to the apex of the longest root in multirooted teeth. In this study, 1,000 panoramic radiographs (PAN) from a dental practice in Upper Austria were evaluated according to the classification of Shifman and Chanannel (1978). Hypotaurodontism was not recorded. Among the subjects evaluated, 5.9% were affected by taurodontism, and the prevalence of taurodontic teeth was 1.4%. It was found that slightly more women than men exhibited the presence of taurodontism. Mesotaurodontism was identified in 43 subjects (4.3%), hypertaurodontism in eight subjects (0.8%), and both forms were present in eight cases (0.8%). The anomaly occurred significantly more frequently in the maxilla than in the mandible. The prevalence of taurodontism varies considerably worldwide due to several factors: the use of different classifications, sample sizes, variable inclusion and exclusion criteria, and population genetic reasons. Clinically, taurodontism complicates procedures such as extractions, endodontic, prosthodontic, periodontal and orthodontic treatments, which underscores its relevance in dental practice.

A review of pre-Hispanic dental decoration in Colombia and report of two new cases

Carlos David Rodriguez Florez — 2023-12-22

A review of the subject in Colombia and two new cases are reported for this country. A comparison is made of the cases found in Colombia with others of the E1 type in Mesoamerica in times close to the year 1000 BP. The origin of this cultural practice in the region is discussed and it is concluded as a result of contacts with groups from the near Atlantic and Pacific coasts in earlier times.

Tooth in the nasal cavity in adult individual of a Late Bronze and Early Iron Ages Bardzryal site (Armenia)

Anahit Yurevna Khudaverdyan — 2023-12-22

The ectopic eruption of the teeth into the nasal cavity is a rare phenomenon. The paper reports on research into a nasal tooth sample belonging to a 20-29-years-old man excavated from the Bardzryal archaeological site in Lori province, Armenia. The tooth crown extended into thet nasal cavity. The individuals of Bardzryal were dated between the Late Bronze and Eary Iron Ages.

Exploring sexual dimorphism in canines of contemporary North Indian populations using machine learning algorithms

Vineeta Saini — 2023-12-22

Objectives: Dentition is considered an excellent source for biological profiling in contemporary and archaeological populations with forensic anthropological, genetic, and dental perspectives. Dental dimorphism is well established and can be reflected in measurements and indices. The goal of this study is to use the discriminant function and receiver operating curve analysis to estimate sex and to make useful classification models for estimating sex based on the canine field of the mandibular and maxillary jaws.

Materials and Methods: A total of six variables of the upper and lower canines (width of left and right canines and intercanine distances) were measured on 200 adult subjects of the contemporary Haryanvi population (M/F 100:100, 18–60 years) using digital sliding calipers and indices calculated. A discriminant function and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was applied on collected data using SPSS 21.0.

Results: All variables were sexually dimorphic (p < 0.001). In stepwise analysis, maxillary intercanine distance provided an accuracy of 84%. In ROC analysis, maxillary intercanine distance emerged as an excellent variable with the maximum area under the curve (AUC) and the highest sexing accuracy (86.0%).

Discussion: We proved the feasibility of employing machine learning to improve sex prediction. Probable causes of discrepancies in sex classification using different models are discussed. When applying models based on only canine teeth (without attachment to the tooth socket), forensic anthropologists and archaeologists should be more careful.

Biological affinities among Western Siberian forest-steppe groups in the Early Iron age based on dental non-metric data

Anastasiia V. Sleptsova — 2023-12-22

The results of the study of the dental anthropology complexes of the population of the Sargat, Gorokhovo and Kashino cultures of the Early Iron Age in Western Siberia are presented. The study is based on the evaluation and statistical analysis of the frequencies of certain non-metric dental traits within each population. The source base of the study is 480 individuals from burials located in the Tobol, Ishim, Irtysh River regions, as well as on the territory of the Baraba forest-steppe zone. The aim of this study is to reconstruct the possible biological affinities between the Sargat, Gorokhovo and Kashino Cultures groups and Early Iron Age and Bronze Age tribes of Southern Urals and Western Siberia based of new dental non-metric data.

The Sargat groups from the Tobol, Ishim and Irtysh regions and the Gorokhovo population reveal a weak biological affinity with the chronologically preceding population of Western Siberia of the Bronze Age. For the groups of these territories, the main component was introduced by the descendants of the carriers of the Petrovsky, Srubno-Alakul and Sintashta Cultures of the Southern Urals - the Savromats and Sarmatians. The affinities are especially strong among the Middle Sargat groups. Sargat population of Baraba demonstrated strong biological affinities to the local Late Bronze Age groups - the Fedorovo population and their descendants, Irmen Culture groups.

Gorokhovo population reveals the same affinities as the Sargat groups. Relatedness between the Sargat and Gorokhovo groups and their contacts with the Sarmatians contributed to the convergence of their anthropological composition. Kashino Culture group is the most specific. Based on the results of study assumed divergence between Kashino and Sargat populations.

Dental health of the historical adult population of Tver (12th-19th centuries, European Russia): Report 2

Andrei V Zinoviev — 2023-12-22

This is the second article of the series with the analysis of all known to-date data on the dental health of the historical adult population of Tver (12^th-19^th centuries, European Russia). Report 2 covers the antemortem tooth loss