Abstract
Standardized observations Of morphological variations of 'he permanent tooth crown among 205
inhabitants of Madaklnshr village, located in an isolated alpine valley of Chirral District. Khyber
Pakhrunkhwa Province, Pakistan were compared ro members of both prehistoric and living ethnic groups
Of souihern Central Asia. rhe Indus Vallev Of Pakistan, and west-central and southeastern regions of
peninsular India. Univariate and multivariate analyses of 17 roorh-trart combinations revealed rhar Trait
prevalence for boll' 'key' and 'distal' teeth wilhin 'he same morphogenetic field must form the basis of
comparison_ Of the 17 tooth-trait combinations. retention of full hypocone development on the second
maxillary molar ro be most discerning among samples, while 'he presence of an accessory cusp,
rhe en,'oconulid, on the second mandibWar molar proved least discerning. Over all, maxillarv 'rails were
found ro be more discerning than rrairs occurring on 'he mandibular teeth. No simple relationship was
found between crown complexity and context This observation, along with rhe finding that
morphological 'rails occurring upon anterior teeth (incisors, canines)onl•,' slightly outperform traits
found on 'he posterior teeth (premolars, molars). indica'e no marked biasn due ro differential
preservation of anterior and posterior teeth is introduced into biological distance analvses when
prehisloric samples are considered alongside samples obtained from populations Of living ethnic groups.
Contrasts between samples grouped by geographic region indicate that no one ser of Tooth-trait
combinations identifies similarities and differences within and between such aggrega'es. Instead, different
mixtures of Tooth-trait combinations provide the best discrimination with and between such geographic
groupings. In Soulh Asia, the proper level for reconstruc'ion of biological histories is at rhe
level of local populations of tribes, self-identifying ethnic grows of Islamic Pakistan, and Sib-castes in
Hindu populations of India. Samples encompass individuals from a multiplicity of such enriries
introduce damaging bias that renders such mixed samples of no utility for biological distance analvsis.
Theinhabirants Of Madaklasht, like 'heir Hindu Kush counterparts, rhe Khowars, are identified as distinct
BRIAN E. HEMPHIL. (2011) Dental Anthropology of the Madaklasht Il: A Comparative Analysis of Morphological Variation — Are the Madaklasht an Intrusive Population in Northern Pakistan?, Pakistan Heritage, Volume 3, Issue 1.
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