Comparing dental size differences between boys and girls in the Bronze age Mokrin necropolis (2100-1800 BC)

Data on the dimensions of the teeth of girls and boys in the Bronze Age are almost non-existent due to the limitations in determining the sex of children based on their skeletal remains. A unique opportunity to study dental dimorphism among 57 Bronze Age children is provided by the fact that their biological sex was previously determined through peptide analysis. Our analysis included a metrical study of teeth from 24 boys and 33 girls who lived between 2100 and 1800 BC, buried at the Maros culture necropolis in Mokrin (Banat, Serbia). The mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of permanent maxillary and mandibular molars were measured on an optical digitizing device. For this research, we have also measured the same diameters on all adults with available teeth and estimated sex by standard anthropological analysis. All the results were then compared to calculate the sexual dimorphism of the Bronze Age Maros population buried in Mokrin cemetery. Also, we compared the obtained results between children and adults. This way we gain insight into sexual dimorphism and differences in dimorphism expression in various ages in the Mokrin population, as well as the question of whether sexual dimorphism is noticeable in the teeth of boys and girls/men and women in Maros communities.