Analysis of facial skeleton asymmetry and its relationship to mastication in Early Medieval period

The purpose of this diploma thesis is to analyze facial skeleton asymmetry and its relationship to mastication. It is related to the study "Skull Shape Asymmetry and the Socioeconomic Structure of an Early Medieval Central European Society" (Bigoni et al., 2013). The 3D geometric morphometric analysis of adult skulls from the Mikulčice settlement revealed that the most significant directional asymmetry (DA) is in the facial area and that there were different DA values in individuals from different socioeconomic classes (castle, subcastle). The facial skeleton DA was interpreted as a result of unequal masticatory loading of jaws. The aim of this thesis was to analyze the relationship of facial skeleton DA and mastication by tooth attrition and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthrosis. The material consisted of 193 individuals, 125 from castle and 68 from subcastle. The attrition was evaluated in premolars according to Smith (1984) and in molars according to Scott (1979). The 3D coordinates of 35 mandibular landmarks were scanned and the TMJ osteoarthrosis was evaluated according to Rando and Waldron (2012). There were no significant differences in attrition value nor in attrition DA among the groups. The value of attrition was found to be age-dependent, but not sex- neither burial..