Carabelli’s trait: Definition and review of a commonly used dental non-metric variable

Abstract

Carabelli’s trait has been studied for more than 150 years. The use of this dental morphological trait in biodistance analyses, phylogenetic studies, kinship inference and forensic anthropology is broadly documented. Due to these and other anthropological and evolutionary applications of the trait, and to its variability, it is still a subject of interest in the anthropological literature. This work aims to briefly define and review the character and its research history. Known since 1827 and made popular by Georg Carabelli, an Austrian dentist, Carabelli’s trait is usually considered to not present sexual dimorphism. It has been one of the main variables in establishing reliable recording methodology for dental non-metric traits. It presents distinctions in population frequencies and can be related with the expression of other traits besides being generally considered hereditary.All of these issues will be presented and discussed, in order to establish the potential bibliographical foundations of future research approaches.