Anthropological Characteristic of the Head and Face of the Native People from North Sulawesi

Abstract

Introduction. The population of Indonesia is not well enough explored anthropologically. There are no reliable anthropometric data for some populations, living on Sulawesi Island. For the first time in scientific literature, a description of head and face traits of the indigenous populations of North Sulawesi, which remained completely anthropologically unexplored until now, is presented. Methods. The authors study the Minahasans (n = 96) and the Sangirese people (n = 76) using the classical anthropometrical programme, including metrical (n = 14) and nonmetrical (n = 29) features. Analysis. The sudy of the Minahasans and the Sangirese people shows that these ethnic groups are generally similar; significant differences were found in a small number of traits. The Sangirese people have darker pigmentation of the skin and the iris than the Minahasans. More frequently they are wavy or even curly heared. In general, the population of North Sulawesi can be described as belonging to the South Asian population. However, the review of some traits of the Sangirese people and the Minahasans (hyperbrachycephalia, epicanthus occurs rather rare, narrow nose) put them on the borderline of variability of the explored South, Southeast Asian and Oceanian population. Sulawesi peoples (comparatively dark-skinned, sometimes curly haired) can presumably have equatorial mixture. Results. The Minahasans are close to the Dayak people of Kalimantan. The Sangirese people can have insignificant melanesian mixture because of their kinship with the Philippines people, perhaps with the Negrito of the Philippines. This conclusion is preliminary and has to be substantiated.