Abstract
The Baka Pygmies are known for their short stature resulting from a reduced growth rate during infancy. They are peculiar also for their teeth erupt earlier than in any other African population, and their posterior dentition is larger than in non-Pygmy populations. However, the Baka’s dental morphology, like several other aspects of their biology, is still understudied. Here, we explore the variation of the Baka’s deciduous upper and lower second molars (dm2s) in comparison to a geographically heterogeneous human sample by means of 3D geometric morphometrics and analysis of dental traits. Our results show that the different populations largely overlap based on the shape of their dm2s, especially the lower ones. Their distal region and the height of the dentinal crown differ the most, with the Baka showing the most extreme range of variation. Upper and lower dm2s covary to a great extent (RV = 0.82). The Baka’s and South Americans’ dm2s were confirmed among the largest in our sample. Despite the Baka’s unique growth pattern, long-lasting isolation, and extreme dental variation, it is not possible to distinguish them from other populations based on their dm2s’ morphology only.
Highlights
The Baka Pygmies are known for their short stature resulting from a reduced growth rate during infancy
The most salient finding originating from our geometric morphometric investigation of upper and lower dm2s can be summarized as follows
The analysis of the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) alone did not provide any additional information with respect to the analysis of the dentinal crown, we found reporting on this analysis redundant
Summary
The Baka Pygmies are known for their short stature resulting from a reduced growth rate during infancy. Our results show that the different populations largely overlap based on the shape of their dm2s, especially the lower ones Their distal region and the height of the dentinal crown differ the most, with the Baka showing the most extreme range of variation. The life history variables in the Baka Pygmies seem to correspond with those of other non-Pygmy populations, including puberty growth spurts and maturity reached at a very similar age[10]. Their birth size and birth weight are within the standard limits of modern humans, differently from other Pygmy populations that are already born with smaller body size[6,10]. The timing of tooth eruption is commonly strongly correlated with other life history variables, in the Baka Pygmies the permanent dentition erupts earlier than in any other African groups, including other Pygmy univie.ac.at
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