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Variation in dental occlusion and arches among melanesians of Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. II. Clinal variation, geographic microdifferentiation and synthesis
Author(s) -
Smith Richard J.,
Kolakowski Donald,
Bailit Howard L.
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330480309
Subject(s) - overbite , arch , overjet , dental arch , new guinea , geography , anthropometry , dental occlusion , occlusion , molar , geographic variation , demography , multivariate statistics , dentistry , orthodontics , archaeology , medicine , population , mathematics , statistics , ethnology , sociology , cardiology , history
Patterns of geographic microdifferentiation for dental occlusion and the size and shape of the dental arches are described for 14 villages on Bougainville Island, Papua New Guinea. Occlusal variables, such as overjet, overbite, molar relationships, crowding or spacing, and malalignment vary less among villages than do arch length and width. Arch length and width decrease in size from north to south. The pattern of biological distance among villages for occlusal variables and arch size correspond poorly to anthropometric, linguistic, geographic and migrational distances. The value of occlusal variables and arch size for discriminating among populations, the biological interpretation of multivariate data and the objectives of research on geographic microdifferentiation are discussed.