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Exploring the relationship between hypoplasia and odontometric asymmetry in Isola Sacra, an imperial roman necropolis
Author(s) -
Hoover Kara C.,
Corruccini Robert S.,
Bondioli Luca,
Macchiarelli Roberto
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/ajhb.20436
Subject(s) - hypoplasia , fluctuating asymmetry , enamel hypoplasia , dentition , demography , biology , evolutionary biology , medicine , dentistry , anatomy , enamel paint , sociology
Anthropological studies reporting odontometric asymmetry values or dental enamel hypoplasia frequencies use these markers as a record of physiological perturbations occurring during dental development. While both markers indirectly suggest the amount of relative stress a population might have experienced, a relationship between the two has been explored only recently in the literature. In this study, we address the possibility of such a relationship in two ways. First, Kendall's tau B correlations test the degree of relationship on the level of the individual between hypoplasia presence/absence (P/A) and severity of hypoplasia appearance (PS) data for the anterior dentition and directional (DA) and fluctuating asymmetry (FA) data for concurrently developing molars pairs. Second, an F ‐test explores between‐group (ranked hypoplastic individuals and non‐hypoplastic individuals) variance about the mean, expecting the hypoplastic individuals to be more variable. The sample consists of 72 individuals from the Isola Sacra necropolis, which is associated with Portus, the port city of ancient Rome. Results indicated only a very weak predictive relationship between some variables and few significant differences in variation. However, variance follows trends in published literature. Possible explanations for the lack of interaction on the level of the individual include both etiological and genetic susceptibility factors that are significant in and of themselves as they suggest a more complex reading of the hard tissue evidence for stress in archaeological populations. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 17:752–764, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.