Different human populations show characteristic patterns of dental feature frequencies — specific details of tooth shape, the number and position of cusps, the form of the root, and dozens of other measurable characteristics — that can be used to estimate the population affinities of ancient individuals.

For NUE001, the dental morphology analysis provided an independent line of evidence about his biological background.

Dental features are under strong genetic control and are less affected by diet and environment than many other skeletal features, making them reliable markers of population ancestry.

The dental morphology results for NUE001 were consistent with his genomic ancestry — his tooth features aligned with the patterns expected for a North African population, while showing some features also found in Near Eastern populations.

This consistency between the genetic and dental evidence adds confidence to the overall picture.