Abstract

Background: This paper discusses palatal rugae patterns and their contribution in the identification of individuals and the determination of family lineage in West Sumatera, Indonesia. Identifying an individual is very useful for postmortem examination, for personal, social and legal purposes. The most common techniques used in this context are dental records, fingerprint and DNA comparisons. However, these methods cannot be used under certain circumstances. But interestingly palatal rugae patterns are preservable because they are stable, and impervious to disasters and hostile conditions and therefore can be used as alternative human identification techniques. This paper argues that the study of palatal rugae not only help reveal a person’s identity but also help determine their family lineage. Objective: The present study was carried out to ascertain whether there are any hereditary patterns in the palatal rugae patterns of the mother, father, and the offpring in one family. Method: This is a cross sectional study of 48 samples consisting of 12 families in Luhak Nan Tigo. The parents and offspring of each family were randomly selected. Palatal rugae impression was recorded using alginate, while palatal rugae patterns were noted and recorded. One Way ANOVA test was used for statistical anaysis. Result: The study shows that there is a significant similarity in curved, wavy, and straight rugae patterns as well as in primary, secondary, and fragmented rugae based on the family tie between the father, mother, sons and daughters of the Minangkabau ethnics. Unilateral and circular rugae tests are insignificant (p.