ABSTRACT
Many dental anthropological studies have made use of root traits as variables in addition to those observed on the crown (see Table 5.1; Turner, 1990; Irish, 1997). If roots are observable on a high percentage of individuals being analyzed, these traits can add useful information. Most root traits have to do with deviation from the usual number of roots a tooth has. A root is considered present when the bifurcation between it and another root is greater than at least a quarter of the whole root length (Scott et al., 2016). Some researchers also record the number of radicals tooth roots have. Radicals are, “separated rootlike divisions” (Scott and Turner, 1997, p. 22) that are demarcated from each other by developmental grooves. The number of radicals a tooth or dentition has is always equal or greater than the number of roots.
