Carabelli's trait in contemporary Slovenes and inhabitants of a medieval settlement (Sredisce by the Drava River)

The objectives of this study were to determine the total frequency, expression and asymmetry of Carabelli's trait in permanent dentitions of contemporary Slovenes and a medieval skeletal population from northeastern Slovenia. A total of 254 dental casts from contemporary Slovene children were examined. The population of a medieval settlement (10th-15th centuries), was represented by 94 skeletons. A modification of the method of Alvesalo and associates was used to classify Carabelli's trait on a five-grade scale. The trait was expressed on the upper first molars of 79.7% of the contemporary subjects and 75.8% of the medieval sample. Positive expressions of the trait were found in 10.1% of the contemporary subjects and 15.2% of the medieval sample. While the observed total frequency of the trait in both samples is characteristic of Europeans, the rates of positive expressions are surprisingly low but consistent with data from a recently published worldwide literature survey. Both populations showed a low rate of left-right fluctuating asymmetry of the trait. This finding might reflect a pronounced ability of individuals in the medieval population to buffer unfavourable influences from the environment and a relatively low level of environmental stress in the contemporary population.