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Mandibular torus in the Greenlandic Norse and the whole wide world

Bibliographic Data

ID8312867
AuthorsG R Scott (0000-0003-2328-8003, University of Nevada, Reno, corresponding author), Roman Schomberg (Department of Anthropology/MS 0096 University of Nevada Reno Reno NV 89557), Victoria Swenson (0000-0003-4789-6492, Department of Anthropology/MS 0096 University of Nevada Reno Reno NV 89557), Donovan Adams (0000-0002-8722-4108, Department of Anthropology/MS 0096 University of Nevada Reno Reno NV 89557), Donovan M Adams (0000-0003-4202-1849, University of Nevada, Reno), M A Pilloud (0000-0002-1704-3707, Department of Anthropology/MS 0096 University of Nevada Reno Reno NV 89557)
Year2016
Volume161
Issue3
Pages513-521
Publication date2016-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.23053
PMID27447123
OpenAlexW2479200351
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited45

OBJECTIVES: In the first issue of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, E.A. Hooton noted the expression of Eskimoid characteristics in the Icelandic skull, one of which was mandibular torus. Our goal is to evaluate this trait in another North Atlantic population, the Greenlandic Norse. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An investigation of mandibular torus was carried out on all Greenlandic Norse skeletons disinterred up to 1986 (n = 109), along with comparative samples from Iceland (n = 82), Norway (n = 98), and Denmark (n = 64). Torus expression was scored on a six grade scale with absence and five degrees of trait presence. RESULTS: Greenlanders and Icelanders show extraordinarily high frequencies (65-97%) and pronounced expressions of mandibular torus. More surprising was the almost complete absence of this trait in a Danish Viking sample (9%) and a significantly lower frequency in medieval Norwegians (48%). DISCUSSION: The dramatic expression of mandibular torus in the Greenlandic Norse and their contrast to related Scandinavian populations in Europe stimulated the collection of data from the literature and the database of Christy G. Turner II for 49,970 individuals in 335 populations. When plotted on a global scale, mandibular torus shows a strong clinal distribution with the highest frequencies in northern latitudes and the lowest frequencies around the equator. Although mandibular torus has some hereditary component, as indicated by family studies, the trait has a strong environmental component of variance. How factors of a northern environment, including climatic stress and dietary behavior, influence torus expression remains enigmatic

Biology · Geography · Geometry · Icelandic · Population · Torus · Trait · Demography · Head and Neck Anomalies · Mathematics · Oropharyngeal Anatomy and Pathologies · Temporomandibular Joint Disorders

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Unique citing works3
Citations per year0,33
Citation span2017 - 2022 (6)
Citation velocityhistorical
Highly citedNo
Citation typesNeutral: 3
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