[Tooth root length and tooth neck diameter as indicators in sex determination of human teeth]

The length of the dental root and the diameter of the tooth neck are odontometric parameters which to date have rarely been used for the differentiation of the sexes. Teeth of 166 individuals from the early medieval burial ground of Eichstetten (south Germany) were available for examination. A correlation analysis was performed to show the possible dimensional interrelation of teeth which, however, applies only to the dental neck parameters. Using only diameters of the tooth neck and length of dental roots, it was possible to perform a new sex determination for 68 of the 166 individuals. It shows a good coincidence with a traditional sex determination. A traditional sex determination, performed in advance, as well as the archeological assignment of typical sex related grave goods were used for verification. For future sex determination based on teeth, examinations are recommended to be restricted to the six-year molar, the first upper premolar and, in particular, the canine. Also the dental neck diameter proved to be more useful than the crown diameter. Dental root lengths can be neglected. By comparing the results with those of a second Alamannic burial ground it could be established that discriminant analyses performed within the same population are highly congruent.