Chandimal Katupelella; Waruni Konara; Sajith Edirisinghe; Harsha Dissanayake & Surangi Yasawardene

Comparison of ancient and modern mandibles is important to understand the evolutionary trends and to identify affinities between ancient and modern populations. Many studies have been conducted around the globe to compare ancient and modern mandibles, but there are no recorded studies in Sri Lanka. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the morphometry of mandibles excavated at prehistoric sites in Sri Lanka with modern Sri Lankan mandibles. Eleven prehistoric human mandibles were included in this study. They were selected from different prehistoric sites in Sri Lanka namely Batadombalena, Belilena, Bellan-Bandi Palassa, Pallemallala, and Potana dating back to 4500 and 10,000 YBP. A total of 59 modern mandibles from the Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Wayamba University of Sri Lanka, and from the Department of Anatomy, University of Peradeniya were included in this study. A total of six mandibular measurements were taken from each mandible. Mean measurements were calculated according to gender using the SPSS 23 version. Comparison of means was done with independent samples t-test to determine the significant differences. According to the study, all the mean measurements of modern mandibles were lesser than ancient mandibles with reference to gender and some measurements had a significant difference. The mandible has become smaller in size with time in the Sri Lankan population which is compatible with the evolutionary trend of most populations around the globe. This may be mainly due to the change in food habits of people with time, as suggested by world literature.

KEY WORDS: Human mandibles; Morphometry; Prehistory; Present population.

KATUPELELLA, C.; KONARA, W.; EDIRISINGHE, S.; DISSANAYAKE, H. & YASAWARDENE, S. Morphometric comparison of mandibles excavated from the prehistoric sites of Sri Lanka with modern Sri Lankan mandibles. Int. J. Morphol., 43(1):110-115, 2025.