Jelena Dumančić & Ivana Savić Pavičin

University of Zagreb

Tooth morphology is an element of human dentition that is largely a reflection of the genetic background. Variations in tooth morphology reflect evolutionary changes while in living populations a pattern of geographic variation, according to which we can draw conclusions about the history of a particular population and estimate ethnicity. The Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS) is designed to allow objective analysis of key morphological features of human dentition. It consists of plaster tiles with a 3D representation of dental features in gradation from minimum to maximum expression. Except for living populations, the method is applicable to fossil hominids and to human skeletal populations. As of 2016, the r-ASUDAS web application is available which enables the classification of individuals into biogeographic groups based on the frequencies of crown and root characteristics. Accuracy ranges from 57 to 92 percent, and the database is updated. The ASUDAS thus becomes applicable in forensic dentistry in ancestry estimation. The workshop will comprise introduction to the ASUDAS system and analysis of the dental crown morphology on dental casts. Participants are kindly requested to bring a dental cast of an individual younger than 25 yrs representing their population.