Odontometric characteristics of the people from the Iron Age sites at Mapungubwe and K2 (South Africa)

Abstract

In this study data for 510 permanent and 327 deciduous teeth from the prehistoric sites of K2 and Mapungubwe, where the skeletons of 106 individuals were excavated, are reported. The dental size is used to assess genetic affinities between K2 and Mapungubwe populations and modern South Africans. Buccolingual and mesiodistal diameters were recorded, and the average diameters of each type of tooth were compared to those of modern South African Negroids and the San. Mapungubwe teeth, especially posteriorly, are bigger than K2 teeth. Teeth of K2 and modern South African Negroids are roughly equal in size, while the San teeth are smaller. In Penrose analysis K2 teeth came out to be the closest to the Negroid teeth, whereas their similarity to Mapungubwe and the San is less clear. Results for K2 teeth support craniometric data, which indicate that K2 people were similar to the South African Negroids rather than to the San. The small size of the Mapungubwe sample may explain the observed difference to K2.