Estimation of ancestry for an undocumented mandibular sample using dental morphology

Area of Science:

• Anthropology
• Paleontology
• Archaeology

Background:

• Dental morphology offers insights into genetic determination due to teeth's durability.
• Undocumented mandibular samples require analysis for historical population studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the dental morphology of an unknown mandibular sample.
• To assess the Portuguese and European biological affinities of this sample.
• To compare the sample with global and Iberian populations.

Main Methods:

• Scoring dental traits in 163 mandibles using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS).
• Comparative analysis with global and Iberian samples using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Mean Measure of Divergence.
• Quantitative and statistical testing of dental morphology data.

Main Results:

• The undocumented mandibular sample exhibited closer affinities to the Coimbra Portuguese sample across all comparisons.
• Statistical analyses confirmed the biological relatedness of the sample to Portuguese populations.
• No significant divergence was observed when compared to Iberian samples.

Conclusions:

• The analyzed mandibular sample is likely of Portuguese origin from the 19th or 20th century.
• Dental morphology analysis is a reliable method for determining historical population affinities.
• This study contributes to understanding Portuguese population history through bioarchaeological evidence.