Anthropological Implications Research Articles

Digital Distributed Selves: Reconceptualizing Personhood in the Age of Social Media

This article introduces the concept of "digital distributed personhood" as a theoretical framework for understanding how digital technologies and social media are reshaping experiences of selfhood across cultures. Drawing on recent work in psychological anthropology and digital ethnography, we argue that personhood in the digital age is increasingly characterized by multiplicity, networked relationality, algorithmic co-construction, digital embodiment, temporal flexibility, and cultural hybridity. Through an analysis of ethnographic case studies from diverse cultural contexts, we demonstrate how this framework manifests in everyday life. The article challenges traditional anthropological models of bounded, stable personhood and proposes a more dynamic understanding that accounts for the complex interplay between individuals, digital platforms, and cultural contexts. We discuss implications for psychological anthropology, including the need to rethink fundamental assumptions about self, identity, and social relationships in light of digital realities. The article concludes by suggesting directions for future research, emphasizing the importance of longitudinal and cross- cultural studies, developmental perspectives, and investigations into the mental health implications of digital distributed personhood.

True Worship in the Spirit: Martin Chemnitz and the Minor Role of the Body in Worship

Abstract Martin Chemnitz (1522–1586) is an extremely important theologian for the Lutheran tradition, however, he has received only modest scholarly interest. This article is the first examination of Chemnitz’s theology of indifferent rites, or adiaphora, which pays attention to its anthropological implications. The article is divided into five sections. The first section offers an overview of Luther’s and Melanchthon’s theology of worship in order to contextualize Chemnitz’s thought. The second section presents Chemnitz’s definition of worship and analyzes its implications for the soul-body relationship. The third section examines Chemnitz’s theology of the adiaphora and its ramifications for the participation of the body in worship. In the fourth section, a specific remark of Chemnitz is studied in which he indicates that our outward activity can promote spiritual well-being. The article concludes with a section that summarizes the findings and reflects on their importance for the Lutheran tradition.

Implications of Reductive Anthropology for Religion (The perspective of Catholic personalism in Poland at the turn of the 20th and 21st Centuries)

Experiencing the drama of being internally conflicted, postmodern people move away not only from God and religion, but also from the nature of other people. And yet, man cannot exist in an ideological or religious vacuum. This article reflects on the anthropological roots of the negation and affirmation of God and religion. The truth about religion is inextricably linked to the truth about man, and the question of perceiving man as a religious being is one of the important issues of philosophical anthropology.

Knowledge politics and labor precariousness in Spanish universities: implications for social anthropology

Neoliberal reforms arising from Spain’s entrance into the European Higher Education Area (EHEA) have had major consequences for academic practice and unleashed heated debate in the university community and society. This article explores the main transformations and basis of the political-economic model of public universities in Spain. It focuses on two dimensions of the institutional framework that have had a significant impact on teaching and research practice in universities: the strategic focus of research policy and labor regulations and employment conditions. To address both dimensions, the analysis centers on the implications each has for the reproduction of a specific discipline, social anthropology, in the context of the University of Seville. The article describes some of the main factors conditioning and limiting these two dimensions, in particular how business logic and neocolonialism are driving new research policy and how a combination of neoliberal organization of labor, meritocracy and clientelist networks are impact hiring practices and intensifying labor precarization.

Racial Bias in Forensic Decision Making. Comment on Yim, A.-D.; Passalacqua, N.V. A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Race in the Criminal Justice System with Respect to Forensic Science Decision Making: Implications for Forensic Anthropology. Humans 2023, 3, 203–218

A “Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Race in the Criminal Justice System” [...]

Comparison of Osteometric Dimensions of Lower end of Femoral Bone by Side of Femur among Bangladeshi Population

Background: Osteometric dimensions of the femoral bone have significant clinical and anthropological implications. However, there is a lack of comprehensive data on these dimensions specific to the Bangladeshi population. This study aims to fill this research gap by analyzing the osteometric dimensions of the lower end of the femoral bone among a sample set in Bangladesh. Methods: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted in three medical colleges in Dhaka, Bangladesh. A total of 50 dried femurs were collected based on specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. Osteometric measurements, including bicondylar width, medial and lateral condylar depths, intercondylar notch width, and intercondylar notch depth, were obtained using digital sliding calipers. Result: The study revealed notable differences in osteometric measurements between right and left femurs. For instance, 39.29% of right femurs had below-average Femoral Bicondylar Width (<65 mm) compared to 13.64% of left femurs. The mean Femur Medial Condylar Width was 31.05 mm with a standard deviation of 1.74 mm. Conclusion: The study provides valuable, region-specific osteometric data that has both clinical and anthropological implications. The findings are particularly important for the preparation of prosthetics and other supporting structures, which can be highly beneficial for both patients and medical practitioners.

Decolonization and the History of Anthropology: The Implications of New Deal Anthropology from the 1930s to the 1950s

Decolonization and the History of Anthropology: The Implications of New Deal Anthropology from the 1930s to the 1950s

Wet Bone Characteristics Persist in Buried Bone after 10 Weeks: Implications for Forensic Anthropology

Assessing the timing of skeletal trauma significantly impacts the reconstruction of events surrounding death and deposition in forensic cases. However, there are no absolute time frames in which the characteristics of wet bone (peri-mortem) fractures transition to dry (post-mortem) fractures. The aim of this study was to attempt to identify a point within the post-mortem interval in which the characteristics of bone change from wet to dry bone properties. A total of 32 deer ribs were placed in a laboratory burial environment and a set of three were fractured with blunt force trauma every week during a ten-week period. All samples and the inflicted trauma effects were documented and analysed by macroscopic observation, scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis, thermal analysis, biomechanical analysis, and attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). No significant difference was found in the macroscopic, microscopic, thermal, and biomechanical analyses of the trauma inflicted over the 10-week period. A significant difference was only found in the carbonate-to-phosphate ratio in analytical chemistry. The results suggest that interpreting wet bone characteristics in forensic anthropology as having been inflicted during the peri-mortem period (around the time of death) should also consider that these, in fact, could be inflicted well after death (post-mortem) as wet bone properties as this study has shown persist at least 10 weeks after death in a burial environment.

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Race in the Criminal Justice System with Respect to Forensic Science Decision Making: Implications for Forensic Anthropology

Instances of racial disparities are well documented in the United States’ criminal justice system. This study reviewed the literature and conducted quantitative analyses on the role of race in forensic decision making among practitioners and other stakeholders in the criminal justice system. We hypothesized that Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals will be significantly more likely to be associated with adverse outcomes than White individuals. A search strategy was developed and registered before the study commenced. Quantitative data were extracted from eligible studies to estimate the pooled effect size (odds ratio) for the effects of race. A final sample of 11 data sources (published study or dataset) was identified. Decision making by all stakeholders in the criminal justice system, including forensic practitioners, case investigators, and juries were evaluated in these studies. Two datasets evaluated the decision-making process involving forensic psychology or psychiatry, three focused on forensic evidence, four on forensic pathology, one involved forensic anthropology cases, and one involved clinical forensic medicine cases. The pooled odds ratio was estimated to be 1.10 (95% confidence interval: 0.67–1.81), indicating a trivial or negligible effect of race (i.e., BIPOC individuals were no more likely to be associated with adverse outcomes given the current evidence). Importantly, the results of this study do not indicate that bias or disparity related to race does not exist in forensic decision making in the criminal justice system. More research into systemic bias in forensic decision making, especially in relation to race, is needed. Forensic anthropologists are uniquely positioned to study and address racial disparities in the criminal justice system involving forensic science because of its interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary nature. This study highlights the need for further research and advocates for forensic anthropologists to be more involved in the study of the science and the impacts of forensic science rather than focusing on methodological advancement.

The various meanings and uses of bone "remodeling" in biological anthropology: A review.

In modern bone biology, the term "remodeling" generally refers to internal bone turnover that creates secondary osteons. However, it is also widely used by skeletal biologists, including biological anthropologists as a catch-all term to refer to different skeletal changes. In this review, we investigated how "remodeling" is used across topics on skeletal biology in biological anthropology to demonstrate potential problems with such pervasive use of a generalized term. Using PubMed and Google Scholar, we selected and reviewed 205 articles that use the term remodeling to describe skeletal processes and have anthropological implications. Nine edited volumes were also reviewed as examples of collaborative work by different experts to demonstrate the diverse and extensive use of the term remodeling. Four general meanings of bone "remodeling" were identified, namely, internal turnover, functional adaptation, fracture repair, and growth remodeling. Additionally, remodeling is also used to refer to a broad array of pathological skeletal changes. Although we initially identified four general meanings of bone remodeling, they are not mutually exclusive and often occur in combination. The term "remodeling" has become an extensively used catch-all term to refer to different processes and outcomes of skeletal changes, which inevitably lead to misunderstanding and a loss of information. Such ambiguity and confusion are potentially problematic as the field of biological anthropology becomes increasingly multidisciplinary. Therefore, we advocate for precise, context-specific definitions and explanations of bone remodeling as it continues to be used across disciplines within and beyond biological anthropology.

Играта в антропологическа перспектива: теорията на Фредерик Бойтендайк

Play theory has been consistently regarded as a cornerstone of 20th century theoretical discourse in areas as diverse as philosophy, psychology, ethology and cultural studies. On the other hand, the rise of digital technology and the spread of video games on a broad cultural level have raised the necessity to reevaluate historical approaches to the multifarious phenomenon of play. Along with Johan Huizinga, another scholar of Dutch origin – the biologist and animal psychologist Frederik J. J. Buytendijk – developed a novel theory of play in the 1930s. Buytendijk’s attempt at theorising human and animal play has been variously defined as biological, psychological and psycho-dynamic due to this scholar’s background in the study of animal behaviour and his reliance on biological models to explain the mechanisms of play. However, Buytendijk’s ideas were shaped in a theoretical setting shared by German philosophical anthropology and he also borrowed heavily from prominent philosophers and phenomenologists such as Hungarian-born Melchior Palágyi, German neurologist and psychiatrist Erwin Straus and Catholic theologian Romano Guardini. This paper tries to provide an overview of Buytendijk’s conception of vital play by examining its original yet synthetic nature. Further emphasis is placed on the aesthetical and anthropological implications of Buytendijk’s contribution.

Early prehistory of South America and population dynamics: Issues and hypotheses

People were in the Americas before, during, and immediately after the Last Glacial Maximum. Multiple data converge toward a deep chronology model for Homo genre exploration, dispersal, occupation, and settlement across the continent. South America is not an exception. This paper is an attempt to think of South America record in terms of population dynamics within a Paleolithic reflection: What are the anthropological implications of a longer and therefore slower peopling process? What modes of expansion, rhythms, adaptations, routes could be traced base especially in lithic records? What kind of archaeological manifestations should we expect in the different environments that make up an immense and highly diverse geography? What modes of technological continuity and change could be linked to these manifestations? Although further research is still needed to address these questions, our goal is to contribute to posing the problem in the most holistic way possible, linking climate, environment, and techno-cultural data within and beyond South America, in order to model how populations might have expanded and contracted at different periods throughout this subcontinent.

Reconsidering the Unwanted Sexual Touching of Boys by Adults: An Ethnographic Study in Rural Cambodia.

The unwanted sexual touching of boys by adults is a form of child sexual abuse. However, the genital touching of boys may be culturally "normal," with not all instances necessarily being "unwanted" or "sexual." This study, set in Cambodia, explored the genital touching of boys and the local cultural constructions of it. It entailed ethnography, participant observation, and case studies involving 60 parents, family members, caregivers, and neighbors (18 men, 42 women) in 7 rural provinces and Phnom Penh. Informants' views, along with their use of language, proverbs, sayings, and folklore were recorded. The combination of the emotional driver for touching a boy's genitals and the physical action of doing so is /krɨɨt/ (គ្រឺត or ក្រឺត). The motivation is usually overwhelming affection, and to socialize the boy to cover his nakedness in public. The spectrum of action ranges from light touching to grabbing and pulling. Benign and non-sexual intention is signaled by adding the Khmer predicative /tʰoammeaʔtaa/, or "normal," as an adverb to the attributive verb /leiŋ/, or play. The genital touching of boys by parents and caregivers is not necessarily sexual in nature, though it is possible that abuse can be committed despite the absence of such intention. Cultural insights are not a "defense" or basis for exculpation, with each case evaluated simultaneously through cultural and rights-based lenses. There are anthropological implications in gender studies, and it is essential to have an understanding of the concept of /krɨɨt/ to ensure that interventions to protect the rights of children are culturally responsive.

Drawing the “color line”: Race, ethnicity and religion in Diu

ABSTRACT This article explores how the ideas of race, ethnicity and religion shifted with modernity in Diu. While it concentrates on findings about Diu, the arguments it develops are more wide-ranging and have a series of architectural, urbanistic, and anthropological implications. It addresses the construction of identity by exploring the multiplicities and slippages of colonial imagery, social histories, and spatial production in the management of populations and colonial cities. We argue that the Portuguese shared ideologies rooted in race, ethnicity and religion that provide a consistent, detectable structure for a specific interpretation of spatial-morphological arrangements in Diu (the city’s buildings, architecture, urban layout, and spatial structure) in the context of the European colonial city in South Asia. We analyze the discourse with which the Portuguese created knowledge through cartography, tracing how ideologies linked to race, ethnicity and religion were historically internalized, and how they worked in conjunction with social structures and practices to produce the colonial city of Diu.

Personalizm jako perspektywa teoretyczna nauk o polityce

PERSONALISM AS AN APPROACH IN POLITICAL SCIENCES
 Social sciences such as political sciences, psychology, and sociology formulate two types of theories: more general approaches and specific theories build within this domain. The article presents dominant approaches in psychology, sociology, and political sciences. In psychology, the approaches include psychoanalysis, behaviorism, and humanistic psychology. In political sciences, there are seven main approaches: behavioralism, rational choice, institutionalism, feminism, interpretative theory, Marxism, and normative theory. Every approach encompasses many specific theories regarding individual problems. The article defends the idea that we need to accept personalism as an approach in political sciences. There are many studies and theories developed in personalistic approach that legitimate this stance. Next, the article analyzes the dispute over anthropology. The last part contains implications of dignity anthropology to formulate detailed political theories.

Estimations of Mutation Rates Depend on Population Allele Frequency Distribution: The Case of Autosomal Microsatellites.

Microsatellites (or short-tandem repeats (STRs)) are widely used in anthropology and evolutionary studies. Their extensive polymorphism and rapid evolution make them the ideal genetic marker for dating events, such as the age of a gene or a population. This usage requires the estimation of mutation rates, which are usually estimated by counting the observed Mendelian incompatibilities in one-generation familial configurations (typically parent(s)–child duos or trios). Underestimations are inevitable when using this approach, due to the occurrence of mutational events that do not lead to incompatibilities with the parental genotypes (‘hidden’ or ‘covert’ mutations). It is known that the likelihood that one mutation event leads to a Mendelian incompatibility depends on the mode of genetic transmission considered, the type of familial configuration (duos or trios) considered, and the genotype(s) of the progenitor(s). In this work, we show how the magnitude of the underestimation of autosomal microsatellite mutation rates varies with the populations’ allele frequency distribution spectrum. The Mendelian incompatibilities approach (MIA) was applied to simulated parent(s)/offspring duos and trios in different populational scenarios. The results showed that the magnitude and type of biases depend on the population allele frequency distribution, whatever the type of familial data considered, and are greater when duos, instead of trios, are used to obtain the estimates. The implications for molecular anthropology are discussed and a simple framework is presented to correct the naïf estimates, along with an informatics tool for the correction of incompatibility rates obtained through the MIA.

How Do Drugs Affect the Skeleton? Implications for Forensic Anthropology.

Simple SummaryForensic anthropologists analyze human remains to assist in the identification of the deceased, predominantly by assessing age-at-death, sex, stature, ancestry and any unique identifying features. Whilst methods have been established to create this biological profile of the skeleton, these may be influenced by a number of factors. This paper, for the first time, provides an overview from a reading of the clinical and pharmacological literature to explore whether the intake of drugs can affect the skeleton and whether these may have implications for forensic anthropology casework. In effect, drugs such as tobacco, heroin, and prescription medications can alter bone mineral density, can increase the risk of fractures, destroy bone and changes to the dentition. By considering how drugs can affect the skeleton, forensic anthropologists can be aware of this when attempting to identify the deceased.Forensic anthropologists rely on a number of parameters when analyzing human skeletal remains to assist in the identification of the deceased, predominantly age-at-death, sex, stature, ancestry or population affinity, and any unique identifying features. During the examination of human remains, it is important to be aware that the skeletal features considered when applying anthropological methods may be influenced and modified by a number of factors, and particular to this article, prescription drugs (including medical and non-medical use) and other commonly used drugs. In view of this, this paper aims to review the medical, clinical and pharmacological literature to enable an assessment of those drug groups that as side effects have the potential to have an adverse effect on the skeleton, and explore whether or not they can influence the estimation of age-at-death, sex and other indicators of the biological profile. Moreover, it may be that the observation of certain alterations or inconsistencies in the skeleton may relate to the use of drugs or medication, and this in turn may help narrow down the list of missing persons to which a set of human remains could belong. The information gathered from the clinical and medical literature has been extracted with a forensic anthropological perspective and provides an awareness on how several drugs, such as opioids, cocaine, corticosteroids, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, alcohol, tobacco and others have notable effects on bone. Through different mechanisms, drugs can alter bone mineral density, causing osteopenia, osteoporosis, increase the risk of fractures, osteonecrosis, and oral changes. Not much has been written on the influence of drugs on the skeleton from the forensic anthropological practitioner perspective; and this review, in spite of its limitations and the requirement of further research, aims to investigate the current knowledge of the possible effects of both prescription and recreational drugs on bones, contributing to providing a better awareness in forensic anthropological practice and assisting in the identification process of the deceased.

Understanding the Relationship between Genetic Markers and Skeletal Remains: Implications for Forensic Anthropology and Phenotype-Genotype Studies.

Human identification techniques have been a leading tool to hold perpetrators accountable, give families closure, and approximate faces on skulls. This project is a pilot study to critically examine three disciplines that fall under the human identification umbrella: forensic anthropology, forensic genetics, and forensic art. Current facial research in genetics focuses on data from living individuals, identifying specific single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence specific regions of the face. This study assesses the translation of these regions to craniometric dimensions (interlandmark distances) of the underlying skull itself. The goal of this project is to provide information regarding the correlation of craniometric measurements and SNPs, as well as to encourage interdisciplinary work within the forensic sciences. We examined a selection of candidate SNPs currently identified in the literature to examine correlations between interlandmark distances and these SNPs within the same individual. A series of 99 craniometric landmarks were collected from 17 documented skulls from the Texas State Donated Skeletal Collection using a three-dimensional Microscribe digitizer. Criteria for inclusion in this study included European American ancestry, presence of intact skulls, and presence of associated donor blood cards collected at the time of body donation. Using these blood cards, DNA from each individual was extracted, amplified, and sequenced through next-generation sequencing for the chosen SNPs. Bioinformatics tests were then applied to observe the presence or absence of the major or minor alleles in specific locations on the genome. After determining the presence or absence of an SNP (minor allele), a set of statistical tests were performed, including Spearman's correlation between the craniometric measurements and the individual's genetic data variables; two-way hierarchical clustering and bootstrap forest modeling between variables that demonstrated significant correlation; a principal components analysis on the craniometric data (interlandmark measurements) and genetic data (SNP presence/absence) to check homogeneity of each data set; and a pairwise Procrustes analysis on the correlation of the two data sets as different groups. The results indicate correlations of varying degrees between the targeted craniofacial regions and the targeted SNPs. Eleven SNPs showed significant correlation (p < 0.05), but the correlations were not as expected and showed some interesting results. By group level there was no significant correlation, but there was correlation at the individual level. While some SNPs affected the soft tissues only, others showed correlations with the skull (hard tissue), a finding not previously reported. Combining craniometric and DNA analyses to leverage genotype-phenotype associations has great potential to expand the discourse of current facial approximation and thereby to provide new investigative tools for human identification in forensic anthropology.

Understanding the Relationship between Genetic Markers and Skeletal Remains: Implications for Forensic Anthropology and Phenotype-Genotype Studies

Understanding the Relationship between Genetic Markers and Skeletal Remains: Implications for Forensic Anthropology and Phenotype-Genotype Studies

On Humans and Machines

In the present article we examine the anthropological implications of “intelligent” neurotechnologies (INTs). For this purpose, we first give an introduction to current developments of INTs by specifying their central characteristics. We then present and discuss traditional anthropological concepts such as the “homo faber,” the concept of humans as “deficient beings,” and the concept of the “cyborg,” questioning their descriptive relevance regarding current neurotechnological applications. To this end, we relate these anthropological concepts to the characteristics of INTs elaborated before. As we show, the explanatory validity of the anthropological concepts analyzed in this article vary significantly. While the concept of the homo faber, for instance, is not capable of adequately describing the anthropological implications of new INTs, the cyborg proves to be capable of grasping several aspects of today’s neurotechnologies. Nevertheless, alternative explanatory models are needed in order to capture the new characteristics of INTs in their full complexity.