Abstract
The dental impressions of the Pumi tribe, one of the Chinese ethnic minorities, were taken in Lijiang in Yunnan Province in February, 2002. The subjects were young adults and the frequencies of 22 dental traits of 7 maxillary and 2 mandibular teeth were recorded. The results were compared with those of previous studies including Chinese minorities, Dai, Hani and Naxi, and with other Asian populations. A principal coordinate analysis based on Smith's Mean Measure of Divergence using the frequencies of 17 traits suggested that the Pumi tribe belonged to the Sundadont dentition category, which typifies Southeast Asians and positioned close to the Dai and Hani, but a little distant from the Naxi. Other anthropological and linguistic studies also suggest that the Pumi are closely related to Tibetans. Based on our findings, and presumed past and present distributions of Sinodonty and Sundadonty, it was suggested that the Pumi in Yunnan Province have genetically inherited traits similar to the Sundadont peoples of Southeast Asian and other three minorities in Yunnan Province, but also indicated that the traits in the Pumi were environmentally induced probably from other Sinodont tribes such as the Han in their vicinity.
