A detailed study by dental anthropologists reveals the secrets of past human migrations, using teeth as a key artifact.
For more than half a century, dental anthropologists have studied the variety of shapes of human teeth. Their goal is to reveal the migration patterns blazed by humanity in the process of populating the planet.
The study, conducted by an international team led by Leslie Glusko of the National Center for the Study of Human Evolution, reveals interesting facts about the last major wave of migration that affected North and South America about 16,000 years ago. The study was published in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology.
In their work, the researchers used the innovative rASUDAS2 program, originally intended for forensic analysis. They studied the remains of 1,418 ancient people from Asia and America, as a result of which they were able to predict their ancestry and identify interesting patterns.
According to a study by anthropologists, Native Americans bear striking similarities to East Asian populations. In 10-15% of cases they are classified as East Asian, indicating a single population that diverged from the East Asian groups at the same time. These results are consistent with previous research, confirming that Native Americans lived in the Beringia region before migrating to the Americas during the last Ice Age.
The interesting thing is that Native Americans also have similarities with the Arctic population. However, this similarity decreases with increasing geographic distance. Scientists suggest that the population of the Arctic migrated later, and the similarity in the shape of the teeth is the result of mixing of populations, decreasing with distance from the Arctic.
The Tied2Teeth project, led by Leslie Glusko, seeks to create a comprehensive database of dental variations. This opens up the possibility of broader and more varied analysis, allowing scientists to delve deeper into human history through the analysis of tooth shapes.
“Our study demonstrates the power of analyzing dental variation at the individual level and is only a preliminary glimpse of what is to come,” comments Glusko.