On the meaning of increased fluctuating dental asymmetry: A cross populational study

Abstract

Suarez reports a greater magnitude of fluctuating dental asymmetry for Neandertal sample when compared with a sample of modern Ohio whites. He postulates that this greater antimeric variance could be due to a greater degree of inbreeding in the Neandertal populations. In the present investigation, the magnitude of fluctuating dental asymmetry is evaluated for Eskimo and Pueblo populations. These populations were found to exhibit dental variance of equal magnitude to that of the Neandertal population. As these populations are not highly inbred, a stress related mechanism is suggested to explain these observations and the inbreeding hypothesis is rejected. The implications of this mechanism to Brace's Probable Mutation Effect are discussed.

Analysis of interaction between nutritional and developmental instability in mediaeval population in Wrocław

“…These works corroborated the hypothesis that fluctuating asymmetry is an appropriate indicator for estimating intra-and inter-population developmental stability (Gilligan et al 2000;Bailit et al 1970;Doyle and Johnson 1977;Hersh kovitz et al 1993;Livshits et al 1994;DeLeon 2007;Gawlikowska et al 2007aGawlikowska et al , b and Özener 2010aGawlikowska et al , b, 2011.…”

“…FA analysis is useful in the examination of historic populations. For example, Doyle and Johnson (1977) studied fluctuating asymmetry of teeth in Eskimos from Alaska, American Indians from Arizona and current white males from Ohio and found the level lowest in modern white males. Perzigian (1977) studied differences in FA levels in three historic populations, with the highest levels noted in lowest socio-economic populations.…”

Fluctuating Asymmetry of Human Populations: A Review

“…Recent evidence of low genetic variation in Neanderthals is consistent with this hypothesis [226,227]. Doyle and Johnson [228], however, compared dental asymmetry of Pueblo and Eskimo populations, in which inbreeding was not widespread, to that of Neanderthals. They found no significant differences between the groups and concluded that environmental stress is responsible for the observed asymmetry in Neanderthals, rather than inbreeding.…”

Bony Bridging of the Mylohyoid Groove of the Human Mandible.

“…focused on the influence of environmental factors on bilateral manifestation of these traits under a genetic background. Since the 1960s, it has been demonstrated, on the basis of a good number of morphological studies including those using laboratory animals, that environmental stresses are influential in bilaterality reduction (O'Connell, 1975;Doyle et al, 1977;Siegel et al, 1977;Trinkaus, 1978;Green et al, 1979;Perizonius, 1979;Livshits et al, 1988;Livshits and Kobyliansky, 1991). Therefore, the present findings appear to suggest that the effect of environmental factors is rather small in the formation of mylohyoid bridging.…”