The frequency of the Os zygomaticum bipartitum was examined in
major human populations around the
world. Eastern Asians have a higher frequency of the bipartite zygomatic
bone than any other geographical
groups. The arctic peoples, Amerindians and the Oceanians, who all may
have derived from eastern Asian
population stocks, have a considerably low frequency of this trait. The
frequency distribution from
East/Southeast Asia to Africa and Europe through South/Central/West
Asia suggests some clinality for the
bipartite zygomatic bone. The second peak in the frequency is seen in
Subsaharan Africa. The clinal
variation with no identifiable regulation by subsistence patterns and
environmental factors suggested a
genetic background for the occurrence of the Os zygomaticum bipartitum.