Tooth Size of the Protohistoric Kofun People in Southern Kyushu, Japan.

Abstract

Metrical dental characteristics were investigated in the Kofun series in southern Kyushu. The results of t-tests and Penrose's size distances showed that tooth size in the Kofun series in southern Kyushu was larger than those of the Jomon series and the Yayoi series in northwestern Kyushu, except for the buccolingual diameters in males of the Yayoi series, which were almost equal in size, although smaller than that of the Yayoi series in northern Kyushu. As regards Penrose's shape distances, the Kofun series in southern Kyushu was close to the Yayoi series in northern Kyushu as well as the West-Kofun and East-Kofun series. On the basis of bone and dental morphology, the Yayoi people in northwestern Kyushu are considered descendants of the Jomon people. However, the Yayoi people in northern Kyushu are generally thought to have been influenced by immigrants. Matsumura (1990) noted that the dental characteristics of the West-Kofun and East-Kofun series were closely related to the Yayoi immigrant people in general. Over all, the dental characteristics of the Kofun series of southern Kyushu are closer to those of the immigrant population than those of the native population. Therefore, the Kofun people in southern Kyushu should be considered influenced by the immigrant population.