Cranial variation in prehistoric human skeletal remains from the Marianas.

Abstract

Nonmetric cranial variation and facial flatness of the Pacific and circum-Pacific populations are investigated. The peoples of the Marianas, eastern Polynesia and Hawaii form a cluster and show affinities in terms of nonmetric cranial variation with the Southeast and East Asians rather than with the Jomon-Ainu, a view which is widely supported by others. Facial flatness analysis also indicates that Polynesians have different patterns of facial prominence as compared with the Jomon-Ainu. These results increase the difficulty of accepting the Jomon-Pacific cluster proposed by Brace and his coworkers. Although genetic and nonmetric cranial variation reveal relatively close relationships, the Mariana skeletons are markedly different in facial flatness and limb bone morphology from those of Polynesians.