Abstract
In 2001, a dental anthropological survey of the Hani tribe, one of the Chinese ethnic minorities was carried out in Yuen Jian in Yunnan Province. The subjects were young adults of the tribe, which historically derives from the Tibetan area. Dental impression models were collected from this population, and the frequencies of 22 dental traits were recorded. The results were compared with those of other Asian populations in terms of Turner's Mongoloid dental variation theory. A principal coordinate analysis based on Smith's Mean Measure of Divergence using the frequencies of 17 traits suggested that the Hani tribe belongs to the Sundadont dentition category, which typifies Southeast Asians, despite its Sinodont (Northeast Asia) location. Other anthropological and linguistic studies also suggest that the Hani are closely related to Tibetans. With reference to our findings, and to presumed past and present distributions of Sinodonty and Sundadonty, we postulate that the Hani in Yunnan Province have genetically inherited traits similar to the Sundadont peoples of Southeast Asian, but also exhibit environmentally induced traits similar to those of the Sinodont Han (who comprise the majority of the Chinese population) and other Sinodont tribes in their vicinity. Historical factors both genetic and environmental are, it is argued, reflected in their dental characteristics.
