Ref ID:	30538
Ref Type:	Journal Article
Authors:	Nakbunlung, Supaporn Wathanawareekool, Sukhontha
Title:	Talking teeth: dental non-metric traits of wooden-coffin people in the Pang Ma Pha cave sites, Northwestern Thailand
Date:	2004
Source:	Bulletin of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association
Notes:	Proceedings of the 17th Congress of the Indo-Pacific Prehistory Association Taipei, Taiwan 9 to 15 September 2002
Abstract:	A number of human bones and teeth have been found associated with the wooden coffins in northwestern Thailand dated between 2080±60 and 1240±90 BP (Grave et al. 1994). These discoveries raise many questions: Who were those people found in the Pang Ma Pha cave sites? Where did they come from? Are they related to any of the living ethnic groups in the area? As part of the broader attempt to answer these questions, teeth have been examined first. Almost 500 teeth, all separated from the mandible and maxilla, have been identified and categorized. Using non-metric traits, upper incisor shoveling and double-shoveling have been studied. Examination of their teeth shows that these wooden coffin people have a low degree of shoveling, similar to Turner's Southeast Asian Sundadont dental category.
Date Created:	9/20/2005
Volume:	24
Page Start:	139
Page End:	142