Labial talon cusp: a case study of pre-European-contact American Indians.

BACKGROUND: First documented by Mitchell in 1892, the talon cusp is a rare and much-debated morphological variant. The author presents a case study from a pre-European-contact American Indian population. In addition, the author addresses debates in the literature regarding the definition, etiology and description of the talon cusp and provides new evidence within an archaeological context. METHODS: The author examined the dentition of 301 skeletons for the presence or absence of talon cusp; five skeletons (2 percent) in the population had the trait. RESULTS: This skeletal sample exhibited variations of the labial talon cusp that can be graded. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide further evidence of the antiquity of labial talon cusp in the assemblage of modern humans and, in particular, in American Indians.