Genealogical position of native Taiwanese(Bunun Tribe) in East Asian populations based on tooth crown morphology.

Abstract

The 17 tooth crown traits of the Bunun, one of the aboriginal tribes in Taiwan, were observed and classified, and their frequencies were compared with Sinodonts and Sundadonts defined and classified in East Asian populations by TURNER (1987), in order to estimate the genealogical position of the Bunun tribe in East Asia. In the respective comparisons of the 17 traits, the Bunun have considerable resemblance to Sinodonts on shoveling (UI1), double shoveling (UIl) and deflecting wrinkle (LM 1), while on tuberculum dentale (UI2), cusp 5 (UM1) and 4-cusp (LM2), they have considerable resemblance to Sundadonts. Furthermore, cluster analysis and principal co-ordinate analysis based on SMITH's MMDs among the Bunun and other East Asian populations, using all the observed traits, revealed that the Bunun are similar to the Yami (Taiwan aborigine), the North China-Mongolian and the South Chinese in East Asia, and belong to, if anything, the Sinodonty cluster.