Reassessment of the cranial and dental data from the Upper Paleolithic site of Kostenki 15

In the article we present new results of the study of the child skull found in a burial at the Upper Paleolithic site of Kostenki 15 (Gorodtsov site). While the CT analysis of the earlier reconstructed skull revealed high level of destruction of the morphologically important landmarks which prevents from using the conventional cranial metric characteristics of the individual in population studies, the analysis of its dental morphology was shown to be much more informative. Our study revealed that the upper incisors and lower molars of the sample display a specific complex of non-metric traits which combine European (4-cusped first molars) traits with such Asian characteristics as shovel-shaped upper lateral incisors, odontoglyphic patterns on the first lower molars, and morphology of the second lower deciduous molars. The results of the statistical analysis of the dental metrics does not match with the hypothesis on close biological affinities of the Kostenki 15 child with Předmostí and Dolní Věstonice populations put forward by Yakimov but again revealed intermediate European-Asian position of the Kostenki 15 sample. Several European samples including those from the Pavlov, Cap Blanc and Grotte de la Balauzière sites and one Siberian sample from the Malta settlement demonstrate the highest level of similarity with the Kostenki 15. Apparently, it can be argued that the results of our study suggest long distance migrations in Eurasia as early as the Upper Paleolithic.

Anthropological and Forensic Aspects of Odontological Variation in Two Contemporary Australian Populations

The utilization of odontometric variation as a discriminator between modern human groups continues to decline, despite its value in both anthropological and forensic contexts. Traditional odontometric methods, coupled with advanced statistical methods, are applied to illustrate the continuing usefulness of these techniques. The ability to discriminate between the major population groups (Caucasoid and Mongoloid) in the Sydney region of Australia, absed on dental dimensions, is extremely valuable in the forensic identification of individuals. Furthermore, metric variation in the dentition of these contemporary populations is poorly understood in this region of the world. The utility of variation in tooth dimensions in discriminating between these two groups is explored. Dental stone casts of the permanent maxillary and mandibular dentition of 198 individuals were made, and mesiodistal and buccolingual crown diameters were recorded for each tooth. Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to investigate differences in linear and areal dimensions, as well as the predictive value of these measures in a forensic contect, using discriminant function analysis (DFA). DFA produced separation of Caucasoids and Mongoloids with a success rate of 93.9% on the basis of these measurements. Separation of the groups was most apparent in the mesiodistal and buccolingual dimensions of the maxillary first premolar (P1), the mesiodistal diameter of the maxillary second premolar (P2), and the mesiodistal dimension of the mandibular first premolar (P1). The results from this study further highlight the usefulness of dental metrics in forensic applications and contribute to our knowledge of the variation of these features in contemporary human populations.

Determinación del sexo a través de la métrica dental en cazadores recolectores de la transición pampeano-patagónica oriental / SEX DETERMINATION THROUGH DENTAL METRICS FOR HUNTER-GATHERER GROUPS FROM THE EASTERN PAMPA-PATAGONIAN TRANSITION

<p>El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar la pertinencia de la métrica dental para obtener información sexual en individuos que habitaron el curso inferior del río Colorado durante el Holoceno tardío (ca. 3000-250 años AP), discutir el grado de dimorfismo sexual e identificar las variables cuantitativas de la dentición que permitan discriminar el sexo de nuevos individuos que se incluyan en futuros análisis. Se estudiaron las medidas máximas bucolinguales y mesiodistales del cuello de los dientes correspondientes a 26 individuos adultos. Las variables más dimórficas corresponden al diámetro bucolingual del canino superior y de ambos segundos molares; en estos casos, las diferencias entre los sexos son estadísticamente significativas. Los resultados obtenidos sobre el dimorfismo sexual se ubican en el extremo superior de los valores correspondientes a diferentes poblaciones humanas. Varios individuos que no contaban con información sexual a través de los métodos tradicionales pudieron ser clasificados desde la métrica dental, lo cual da cuenta del importante potencial de las medidas dentales para contribuir a las caracterizaciones paleodemográficas de conjuntos bioarqueológicos, especialmente en contextos perturbados y con escasa integridad esqueletal.</p><p>Palabras clave: métrica dental; determinación sexual; cazadores-recolectores; curso inferior del río Colorado; Holoceno tardío.</p><p>Abstract<br />The aim of this paper is to evaluate the relevance of dental metrics for obtaining sexual information in individuals who inhabited the lower basin of the Colorado River during the Late Holocene (ca. 3000-250 years BP), to discuss the degree of sexual dimorphism and to identify those quantitative variables adequate for sexual determination of new individuals to be included in future studies. The buccolingual and mesiodistal maximum neck diameters of 26 individual adults were studied. The most dimorphic variables correspond to the buccolingual diameter of the upper canine and both second molars; in these cases, sex differences are statistically significant. The results obtained about sexual dimorphism are located at the upper end of the range for different human populations. Several individuals who had no previous sexual information could be classified using these measurements, which accounts for the significant potential of dental metrics in palaeodemographic characterizations, especially in disturbed bioarchaeological samples.</p><p>Keywords: dental metrics; sexual determination; hunter-gatherers; lower basin of the Colorado River; Late Holocene.</p>