COMPARATIVE-STUDY OF CRANIOFACIAL MORPHOLOGY IN JAPANESE AND AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL POPULATIONS

A metric study of 71 Japanese and 106 Australian aboriginal precontemp orary crania was undertaken using direct measurements and cephalograms . Compared with Australian aboriginals, the Japanese are characterized by smaller cranial length, cranial base length, nasal floor length, p alatal length, mandibular dimensions (except symphysis height), facial depth, posterior face height, and facial profile angle and larger cra nial breadth and height, maxillary breadth, palatal breadth, anterior face height, and occlusal and mandibular plane angles. These differenc es confirm the previously described brachycephalic tendency in aborigi nals and the dolichocephalic form in the Japanese. The differences are also consistent with the expected functional differences between the Australian aboriginal hunter-gatherer group masticating more resistant food with larger, more anteriorly located, more powerful masseter mus cles and the Japanese group masticating less resistant food with corre spondingly less robust masticatory musculature. The results highlight the differences in craniofacial morphology between groups with differe nt genetic backgrounds subjected to significantly different environmen tal influences.