Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 11, 2025
Systematic Assessment of Mammalian Skull Specimens for Dental and Temporomandibular Joint Pathology
Published on: August 22, 2022
Familial hypodontia in bronze age Northwest China (1046-771BC)
Yaohan Wu1, Qiang Ma2, Baiwei Han2
1Institute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China; Department of Anthropology, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA.
Objective:
This research aimed to report hypodontia cases in a Middle Bronze Age high-tier cemetery in China and test the possible hereditary behind hypodontia by performing kinship tests on those individuals.
Design:
In this study, dental anomalies were observed on a human skeletal sample (n = 45) uncovered from Yaoheyuan, China. Ancient DNA analysis was subsequently employed on a subsample of the Yaoheyuan individuals (n = 15), including individuals observed hypodontia and individuals randomly sampled from the cemetery for preliminary investigation on the cemetery demography. Kinship estimation tests (READ, TKGWV2, KIN, and F3 test) were subsequently employed.
Results:
The Yaoheyuan elite population had a prevalence (n = 7, 15 %) of tooth agenesis in either the maxilla or mandible, with one to two teeth missing. All missing teeth were incisors, except for one individual missing maxillary second molar. Preliminary ancient DNA results indicate that several kinship groups existed among interred individuals, including those with hypodontia, indicating the hereditary origin of these cases.
Conclusions:
The prevalence of hypodontia observed on site is high compared to that in both modern East Asian populations and archaeological samples in the Chinese population. The preliminary kinship analysis suggests a case of familial hypodontia. Ancient DNA analysis should be thoroughly conducted in future studies to understand the genetic markers contributing to those hypodontia cases among the Yaoheyuan individuals.
Related Concept Videos
01:15Teeth
In the bud stage, the tooth germ (an aggregation of cells) starts to form in the developing jawbone. During the cap stage, the tooth germ differentiates into enamel organ, dental papilla, and dental sac, which will later develop into the tooth's enamel, dentin...
01:35Pedigree Analysis
01:21Tooth Anatomy
The Crown, Neck, and Root
The visible part of the tooth is referred to as the crown. It's covered by enamel, the hardest substance in the human body. The crown is uniquely shaped for each type of tooth, allowing for different functions such as cutting, tearing, or...