• Dr. Preeti Singh

Dental Anthropology is a much newer sub field in anthropology, as compared to other subfields, but highly captivating and significant arena. The study of teeth has helped us a lot in excavating our past, present and future through micro evolutionary changes. The current study focuses on three such aspects of tooth that have evolved through time, since ages- namely the carabelli cusp, number of cusps present on molar teeth and the hypocone. The “Cusp of Carabelli” (COC) is a non-functioning, accessory cusp positioned on the mesio-palatal surface of permanent maxillary molars, predominately first molars and primary second molars. This supplemental cusp has been studied for several hundred years regarding size ranges, ethnic and racial distributions and genetic and/or environmental etiologies (Owens, et.al, 2016). The hypocone, a cusp added to the primitively triangular upper molar teeth of therian mammals, has evolved convergently > 20 times among mammals during the Cenozoic. Acquisition of the hypocone itself involves little phenotypic change, but subsequent diversification of groups possessing the hypocone may be greatly enhanced (Hunter, Jernvall,1995). The present study, is an empirical one, focusing on two caste groups of District Lucknow, India- Brahmin and Rajput females. A total of 600 samples were studied for the above-mentioned traits on maxilla and mandible through dental casts. The result shows significant differences amongst the two groups, with chi square test.

Key Words: - Dental anthropology, Molars, Carabelli’s cusp, Number of Cusp on molars, Hypocone.

"Observations of Odontogenic Traits: Carabelli’s cusp, Number of cusps and Hypocone Variations in Molars", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 10, page no.e539-e545, October-2023, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2310378.pdf

"Observations of Odontogenic Traits: Carabelli’s cusp, Number of cusps and Hypocone Variations in Molars", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.10, Issue 10, page no. ppe539-e545, October-2023, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR2310378.pdf