Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/21665
Title: Dental microevolution in Portuguese Neolithic and modern samples using an alternative morphometric analysis
Authors: Fernandes, Daniel M. 
Silva, Ana M. 
Donnabhain, Barra O’
Pinhasi, Ron 
Keywords: Dental microevolution; Portugal; Digital-image analysis; Morphometrics, occlusal polygon method
Issue Date: 2012
Publisher: The Anthropological Society of Nippon
Citation: FERNANDES, Daniel M.; SILVA, Ana M.; O’DONNABHAIN, Barra; PINHASI, Ron - Dental microevolution in Portuguese Neolithic and modern samples using an alternative morphometric analysis. Anthropological Science. ISSN : 0918-7960. Published online 9 November 2012
Serial title, monograph or event: Anthropological Science
Volume: 121
Issue: 1
Abstract: Most studies of dental microevolution have used the standard methodologies employed in dental anthropology: buccolingual/mesiodistal lengths and the frequencies of non-metric dental traits. In this work we use the occlusal polygon method which is based on a polygon created by linking the four molar cusp apices using digital analysis. This method has been used to identify different evolutionary trends in Neandertal and modern humans; our objective was to assess the existence of changes in the occlusal polygon area, and thus the general morphology of first upper molars, between two Portuguese samples from the Late Neolithic (4130 ± 90 BP) and the early 20th century. This method allows us to evaluate both tooth size and relative cusp position in the occlusal plane. Contrary to the accentuated tooth size reduction commonly found from the past 10000 years using buccolingual/mesiodistal measurements, no statistically significant change of the total occlusal area of the crown was observed between these samples. Nevertheless, we report an increase of 7.45% in the size of the occlusal polygon and hence 9.38% in its relative area, from 27.30% of the total crown area to 30.30% over this time span. This result implies that microevolutionary changes among Portuguese populations led to changes in the positions of the cusps relative to one another in the first upper molar, whereas the location of their apices have moved away from the centre of the crown to a more peripheral position. This apparent increasing trend contrasts with the one reported in studies of both Neandertals and modern humans.
URI: https://hdl.handle.net/10316/21665
ISSN: 0918-7960
1348-8570
DOI: 10.1537/ase.120906
Rights: openAccess
Appears in Collections:I&D CIAS - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais
FCTUC Ciências da Vida - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais

Files in This Item:
File Description SizeFormat
Fernandes.pdf349.6 kBAdobe PDFView/Open
Show full item record

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

2
checked on Nov 9, 2022

WEB OF SCIENCETM
Citations

2
checked on May 2, 2023

Page view(s)

366
checked on Mar 26, 2024

Download(s)

237
checked on Mar 26, 2024

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric

Altmetric


Items in DSpace are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.