Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 62. (Budapest 1970)

Bottyán, O.: The variations of the palatum with respect to sexual dimorphism I.

ANNALES HISTORICO-NATURALES MUSEI NATIONALIS HUNGARICI Tomus 62. PARS ZOOLOGICA 1970. The Variations of the Palatum with Respect to Sexual Dimorphism. I. OLGA L. BOTTYÁN, Budapest Literature dealing with the morphological characteristics of the palatum is rather extensive. Not only anthropologists have discussed the problems of the palatum but also anatomists and a number of dentists too. The anthropologist is interested in its development, variation, the respective sexual dimorphism etc. On the other hand, the anatomist appears to deal with merely the development of the palatum, and yet the anatomical works contain many anthropological observations in this respect (AUGIER, PATITRET). The subject of stomatology is the investigation of problems concerning palatal anomalies, since, in practice, the solution of problems involved in prosthetic dentistry is closely connected with the morphological deviations of the palatum. In two of my preceding publications, I have discussed some problems of the palatum, i.e. HEINTZ'S palatal measurements, the interrelationship of the palatal index and the alveolar profile angle (1968, 1969). In the present communication, I propose to submit my findings on the variations of the measurements, namely the length and width of the palatum, the palatal index, the depth of the palatum, the interrelationship of the palatal depths and widths, and the length of the spina nasalis posterior. On the basis of the pattern discussed below, I made also other observations of a morphological character. These will, however, be the subject of a later paper. My aim was to take into consideration, in my studies outlined above, sexual dimorphism and as far as possible, also changes in age. Some scattered references have already been made on sexual dimporphism observable in the palatum. Among the available works, it is only BROTHWELL'S (1963) book on methodology which lists also the palatum —as one of the criteria concerning the sexual dimorphism of the cranium—in his eleven criteria determining sexual dimorphism, with the statement that the male palatum is invariably of a greater size than the female one. This is a very general statement, as the proportions of the male skull are in themselves and in general characterizable by larger dimensions. However, the question could still arise whether the palatum can be accepted as one of the criteria of sexual dimorphism. Literature also submits various data on observations concerning the changes of the palatum in connection with age. The selection of samples; material and method I studied the better preserved and larger series of skulls, originating from Hungarian localities and deposited in the osteological collections of the Anthropological Department of the Hungarian Natural History Museum and the Anthropological Institute of the József Attila University of Sciences. The localities are as follows: Hegykő, VI. c. (TÓTH, 1961), Szekszárd-Palánk, VII-VIII. c. (LÍPTÁK, 1969), Jánoshida-Tóthkérpuszta, VIII. c. (WENGER, 1953), Kecel L, VIII. c. (LÍPTÁK, 1954),