The Dentition of Early Scottish Races

Lunt, Dorothy A (1961) The Dentition of Early Scottish Races. Doctor of Medicine and Surgery thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Abstract

The object of the present work was to study the teeth and jaws of prehistoric Scottish skulls, and to evaluate such differences as might exist between the races who inhabited Scotland from the Neolithic period to Mediaeval times. A brief description has been given of the archaeological features of the different periods, with particular reference to the burial customs of the various races. The anthropological features by which these races may be distinguished have also been described. The main part of the work consisted of an odontometrical study of the Scottish material. A preliminary survey has been made of previous studies of tooth measurements in various different races. The methods used in the present study for measurement of teeth have been described in detail, and an account has also been given of the method used in statistical preparation of the results. The material fell into four main groups - Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Mediaeval. The first three of these groups were each subdivided into two sections. In dealing with the results of tooth measurement, the main groups were first discussed separately, and the sections were compared. An analysis of sex differences within each main group was also made. Too little material was available in the Neolithic group for differences in tooth size between the Western and Northern subgroups to be apparent. The few measurements obtained from the teeth of females were with one exception smaller than the mean measurements of the male teeth. This finding could not be subjected to statistical evaluation, but may be suggestive. The Bronze Age group contained sufficient material to permit a fairly complete statistical comparison to be made between Southern and Northern subgroups. As far as tooth size was concerned, these subgroups appeared to form a homogeneous population. This agrees with the current anthropological opinion. No sex difference could be observed in Bronze Age teeth, and in a number of instances, the mean diameters of the teeth of the females were even found to exceed those of the males. There appeared to be some differences between the Long Cist and Viking subgroups of the Iron Age population, and these were most clearly marked in the males. Unfortunately, the quantity of Viking material was too small to allow more than tentative conclusions to be drawn from these results. In the Iron Age group there was a distinct sex difference in tooth size, the teeth of the males always being larger than the corresponding teeth of the females. The sex differences were found to be most highly significant for the canines of both jaws. The Mediaeval group was not subdivided on archaeological grounds. Since there were no known female skulls in this group, no sex comparison could be made. Sufficient material was available in the Bronze Age and Iron Age groups to permit a statistical comparison of the tooth measure ments to be carried out. Unsexed material was excluded from this comparison. In general, Bronze Age teeth were found to be larger in both dimensions than those of Iron Age individuals. (Abstract shortened by ProQuest.).

Item Type: Thesis (Doctor of Medicine and Surgery)
Qualification Level: Doctoral
Keywords: Dentistry, Physical anthropology
Date of Award: 1961
Depositing User: Enlighten Team
Unique ID: glathesis:1961-79384
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 05 Mar 2020 10:29
Last Modified: 05 Mar 2020 10:29
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/79384

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