Srpski arhiv za celokupno lekarstvo 2012 Volume 140, Issue 7-8, Pages: 419-424
https://doi.org/10.2298/SARH1208419P
Full text ( 241 KB)
Teeth size reduction in the prehistoric populations in Serbia
Pajević Tina (Stomatološki fakultet, Klinika za ortopediju vilica, Beograd)
Sessa Tijana (Stomatološki fakultet, Klinika za ortopediju vilica, Beograd)
Juloski Jovana (Stomatološki fakultet, Klinika za ortopediju vilica, Beograd)
Glišić Branislav (Stomatološki fakultet, Klinika za ortopediju vilica, Beograd)
Introduction. Anthropological studies show craniofacial changes with a
reduction in teeth size during evolution of the human population. Objective.
The objective was to measure and compare the sizes of teeth in the population
of the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites in the Iron Gate Gorge and the population
from the Early Bronze Age site of Mokrin. Methods. The study included teeth
without advanced wear near the pulp. The material was divided according to
the site of the skeletal population in two groups. Group 1 comprised 107
teeth from the Mesolithic-Neolithic sites Lepenski Vir and Vlasac. Group 2
included 158 teeth from the Mokrin graveyard dated in the Early Bronze Age.
The mesio-distal diameter was measured in all teeth, while the vestibulo-oral
diameter was measured in the molars only. Using the two-factor analysis of
variance, the influence of sex, site and their interaction on the size of the
teeth were investigated. Results. The vestibulo-oral diameter of the upper
third molar was significantly higher in males compared to females. The
comparison between the groups showed that the vestibulooral diameter of the
lower first molar was significantly higher in group 1. Conclusion. The
present difference in teeth size indicates the existence of reduction during
the prehistoric times. However, the time period between the populations
studied is probably too short to be manifested on a large number of teeth.
Keywords: teeth, odontometry, prehistoric demography