title: The use of tooth crown measurements in the assessment of ancestry.
abstract: As the hardest tissue in the body, teeth have the potential to offer a wealth of biological information to the forensic anthropologist, which can include the assessment of ancestry. Using a large data set of dental measurements, the efficacy of mesiodistal and buccolingual tooth dimensions to discriminate between broad, geographically based groups is explored. A general pattern is identified: African populations have the largest teeth, Asians possess teeth of intermediate size, and Europeans have the smallest teeth. In a discriminant function analysis using crown measurements of all teeth (mandibular and maxillary and excluding the third molar), individuals were correctly classified in 71.3% of cases. When the sex of the individual is known, classification is improved up to 88.1% in females and 71.9% of males (cross-validated). Based on these results, we argue that dental metrics can be regularly employed as part of the development of the biological profile.
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Reno, 1644 N. Virginia St, Reno, NV 9557-0096.
authors: Marin A
authors: MA
authors: Pilloud
authors: Joseph T
authors: JT
authors: Hefner
authors: Tsunehiko
authors: T
authors: Hanihara
authors: Atsuko
authors: A
authors: Hayashi
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016002:Discriminant Analysis; D005260:Female; D005553:Forensic Dentistry / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D019228:Tooth Crown / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
keywords: ancestry; dental metrics; discriminant function; forensic anthropology; forensic science; observer error