Field Of Physical Anthropology Research Articles

An Anthropometric Study of the Morphologic Facial Index of Tibetan Youth in Tibet

The purpose of this study was to understand sex differences and variations in facial indices among Tibetans and to create and evaluate anthropometric data on facial morphology. The study population consisted of 476 native Tibetans (241 males and 235 females) aged 18 to 24 years. The means and SD facial width was 133.53±7.31 mm for males and 133.95±8.10 mm for females; the difference between the sexes was not statistically significant. The means and SD facial height was 107.68±5.76 mm for males and 111.95±14.28 mm for females; the difference between the sexes was statistically significant (u=−8.394, P=0.000). The morphologic facial index was 80.86±5.82 (means±SD) for males and 83.91±11.90 (means±SD) for females; the difference between the sexes was statistically significant (u=−6.581, P=0.000). The proportion of the Tibetan male facial shape was hypereuryprosopic (45.6%) > euryprosopic (31.1%) > mesoprosopic (18.7%) > leptoprosopic (3.3%) > hyperleptoprosopic (1.2%). The proportion of the Tibetan female facial shape was hypereuryprosopic (25.5%) > mesoprosopic (22.6%) > euryprosopic (21.7%) > leptoprosopic (17.4%) > hyperleptoprosopic (12.8%). Facial width was positively correlated with height (male r=0.306, P=0.000; female r=0.144, P=0.027), weight (r=0.470, P=0.000 for males; r=0.337, P=0.000 for females), and BMI (r=0.378, P=0.000 for males; r=0.291, P=0.000 for females). Facial height was positively correlated with height (r=0.329, P=0.000 for males; r=0.137, P=0.035 for females) and weight (r=0.391, P=0.000 for males; r=0.170, P=0.009 for females). Facial height was positively correlated with BMI in Tibetan males (r=0.293, P=0.000), but no significant correlation was found in Tibetan females. The morphologic facial index of Tibetans was positively correlated with age (r=0.183, P=0.004 for males; r=0.171, P=0.009 for females). The results indicated that Tibetan youth in Tibet have a predominantly hypereuryprosopic facial shape and that facial features are related to age, height, and weight. Some common facial morphology features exist among the Tibet Tibetans, northeastern Indians, and Nepalese in the 3 different regions of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The data from this study provide basic information for the study of Tibetans in the fields of physical anthropology, forensic medicine, maxillofacial surgery, and plastic surgery.

ANTHROPOLOGICAL PROJECTS OF THE BIOLOGICALMUSEUM IN 2010-2021

The article presents the museum projects of the State Biological Museum implemented in 2010-2021 in the fields of exposition, exhibition and excursion activities and scientific mediation, associated with various areas of physical anthropology. The article describes the exhibition projects “10 skulls that shook the world”, “Faces”, “One Hundred Years of Anthropology” and “Walking the Three Seas”, interactive excursions “Life in the Stone Age” and “What the Bones Talk About”, as well as virtual exhibitions “Portraits from skeletons” and “Captain Bering and its shore”. The article is accompanied by a list of scientific conferences and seminars, as well as popular science lectures in the field of physical anthropology, held from 2010 to 2021 at the State Biological Museum

Dental Anthropology-A Revolutionary Tool in Forensic Science

Dental anthropology is a field of physical anthropology that studies the origin, development, and evolution of anthropoid dentitions, as well as their relationship to social, physical, and cultural factors. Teeth have their own distinct morphology and physiology, which is in stark contrast to the body's genetic structure. Teeth are also unique among the resistant elements of archaeological and fossil remains in that they have been exposed on the body's surface throughout their lives. As a result, dental anthropology may be assessed in the mouth cavity of living humans using similar methods to those used for prehistoric relics. As a result, it's no surprise that practising dental surgeons have historically ranked well among dental anthropologists.
 This review’s initial purpose is to provide an overview of the morphological and non-morphological properties of animate dentitions that aid in the indirect identification of prehistoric remains and the understanding of their cultural, social, and physical relationships, as well as to assist forensic odontologists with craniofacial identification and skull bone reconstruction.

Mahatma Gandhi and North East India

It is of concern to many in the North East that despite the tremendous influence Gandhi had on the region, there is as yet no detailed study of this involvement. It is appropriate that the North-Eastern Regional Centre, Anthropological Survey of India, is commemorating the life and work of the Mahatma. To an organization engaged in anthropological studies working primarily in the fields of physical anthropology and cultural anthropology and maintaining focus on indigenous populations, the study of the Mahatma is relevant, in his own time and remains so today. So significant has been his impact on humankind that for generations to come this man of peace and unique leadership will be remembered and emulated. The presentation will focus on the Indian national movement and Gandhi’s involvement and influence at the regional level in North East India.

A racial triangle: physical anthropology and race theories between Germans, Jews and Poles

The last decades of the nineteenth century saw a growing prominence of German racial sciences. This article documents how East Central European scholars responded to their potential marginalization within the scientific community due to German racial theories in the field of physical anthropology and the popularization of science. Three personalities represent a sample of this variety: Ludwik Gumplowicz, a Polish-Jewish sociologist; Mateusz Mieses, a Galician Jewish amateur anthropologist; and Jan Czekanowski, professor of anthropology and spiritus rector of the Lwów school of anthropology. All three cases illustrate the contradictions inscribed into the concept of transnationalism. To varying extents, they belonged to the German-speaking scientific community, through which they gained access to international science. Their reactions to anti-Jewish and anti-Slavic positions among the dominant racial theories of their time shines light on the tensions which were present within the academic community, as well as on the tensions that appeared between their own (semi-)professional status, self-perception and their group identities. The international communication and contacts came into conflict with the exclusionary philosophy of racial theories, thus perpetually challenging their transnational position. The responses of these actors sought to redefine spatial and methodological frameworks amid the dominant discourses. Each making attempts in their own way, they aimed at reversing what they perceived as aberrations of racial theories while persistently remaining within this discourse.

Functional morphology in the pages of the AJPA

Functional morphology in the pages of the <i>AJPA</i>

A volumetric technique for fossil body mass estimation applied to Australopithecus afarensis

Fossil body mass estimation is a well established practice within the field of physical anthropology. Previous studies have relied upon traditional allometric approaches, in which the relationship between one/several skeletal dimensions and body mass in a range of modern taxa is used in a predictive capacity. The lack of relatively complete skeletons has thus far limited the potential application of alternative mass estimation techniques, such as volumetric reconstruction, to fossil hominins. Yet across vertebrate paleontology more broadly, novel volumetric approaches are resulting in predicted values for fossil body mass very different to those estimated by traditional allometry. Here we present a new digital reconstruction of Australopithecus afarensis (A.L. 288-1; ‘Lucy’) and a convex hull-based volumetric estimate of body mass. The technique relies upon identifying a predictable relationship between the ‘shrink-wrapped’ volume of the skeleton and known body mass in a range of modern taxa, and subsequent application to an articulated model of the fossil taxa of interest. Our calibration dataset comprises whole body computed tomography (CT) scans of 15 species of modern primate. The resulting predictive model is characterized by a high correlation coefficient (r2 = 0.988) and a percentage standard error of 20%, and performs well when applied to modern individuals of known body mass. Application of the convex hull technique to A. afarensis results in a relatively low body mass estimate of 20.4 kg (95% prediction interval 13.5–30.9 kg). A sensitivity analysis on the articulation of the chest region highlights the sensitivity of our approach to the reconstruction of the trunk, and the incomplete nature of the preserved ribcage may explain the low values for predicted body mass here. We suggest that the heaviest of previous estimates would require the thorax to be expanded to an unlikely extent, yet this can only be properly tested when more complete fossils are available.

Giuseppe Sergi. The portrait of a positivist scientist.

Giuseppe Sergi (1841-1936) was one of the most important anthropologists and psychologists of the age of positivism and this article focuses on three domains of his scientific research: degeneration, eugenics and race. His concept of degeneration is defined as the development of special forms of human adaptation to the environment. This issue is closely related to his theory of the "stratification of character", which had a profound impact on Italian psychiatry and criminal anthropology in the late nineteenth century. Thus, special emphasis is placed on the differences between Sergi and Cesare Lombroso regarding their definitions of criminality and genius. Concerning eugenics, the article analyzes Sergi's key role in the Italian context, discussing his eugenic program based on both repression and education. His remedies against the spread of degeneration included not only radical and repressive measures, but also the improvement of popular education and the living conditions of the working class. In the field of physical anthropology, the article examines Sergi's morphological method of classifying ethnic groups. Although sharply criticized in Italy and abroad, this method had two major effects. First, it led to the definitive split between Sergi and Paolo Mantegazza and to the foundation of the Societá Romana di Antropologia in 1893. Second, it was the starting point for Sergi's theory of Mediterranean "stock", which claimed that European populations were of African origin in contrast to contemporary theories of Aryan supremacy. The article ends with a look at the heated debate over Sergi's Mediterraneanism during the period of Fascism.

Book Review. Racial Science and Human Diversity in Colonial Indonesia

This book which entitles ‘Racial Science and Human Diversity in Colonial Indonesia’ was written by Fenneke Sysling, a historian of science and Colonialism. This book is published in 2016 by NUS Press, National University of Singapore, Singapore. This book provides an exposure of Western thinkers, especially in the field of physical anthropology, in mapping out the existing races in Indonesia. Towards this mission, the Colonial scientists faced many obstacles in both technical and non-technical aspects.

Growth of a species, an association, a science: 80 years of growth and development research

Physical anthropological research was codified in the United States with the creation of the American Association of Physical Anthropology (AAPA) in 1929. That same year, a study began in yellow springs, Ohio, with a goal of identifying "what makes people different." The approach used to answer that question was to study the growth and development of Homo sapiens. The resulting study, the Fels Longitudinal Study, is currently the longest continuous study of human growth and development in the world. Although the AAPA and the Fels Longitudinal Study have existed as separate entities for more than 80 years now, it is not surprising, given the relationship between anatomical and developmental research, there has been considerable overlap between the two. As the field of physical anthropology has blossomed to include subdisciplines such as forensics, genetics, primatology, as well as sophisticated statistical methodologies, the importance of growth and development research has escalated. Although current Fels Longitudinal Study research is largely directed at biomedical questions, virtually all findings are relevant to physical anthropology, providing insights into basic biological processes and life history parameters. Some key milestones from the early years of the AAPA and the Fels Longitudinal Study are highlighted here that address growth and development research in physical anthropology. These are still held as fundamental concepts that underscore the importance of this line of inquiry, not only across the subdisciplines of physical anthropology, but also among anthropological, biological, and biomedical inquiries.

Entre o laboratório de antropometria e a escola: a antropologia física de José Bastos de Ávila nas décadas de 1920 e 1930

O médico e antropólogo José Bastos de Ávila teve uma destacada atuação no campo da antropologia física no Brasil nas décadas de 1920 e 1930. Trabalhou no Museu Nacional e, a seguir, no Instituto de Pesquisas Educacionais, ambos no Rio de Janeiro. Neste texto, analisamos a trajetória das pesquisas em antropologia física de Ávila, que se concentraram em questões acerca da raça e mestiçagem, com particular destaque nas características antropométricas de crianças. A partir de pesquisas em escolas públicas, Ávila concluiu que os estudantes poderiam atingir melhores níveis de crescimento, se não fossem as péssimas condições sanitárias dos bairros cariocas. Ávila enfatizou que os principais problemas do país residiam nas más condições de saúde, higiene e educação da população, e não devido à dimensão racial. Ávila também participou de expedições científicas, envolveu-se em debates sobre o patrimônio arqueológico, conduziu pesquisas sobre indígenas e escreveu um romance premiado pela Academia Brasileira de Letras em 1932. Argumentamos que a perspectiva de Ávila, marcada por uma crítica ao determinismo racial, fez parte de uma vertente que predominou na antropologia física praticada no Museu Nacional nas primeiras décadas do século XX, que, por sua vez, esteve associada a dinâmicas sociopolíticas mais amplas em curso no Brasil.

Dermatoglyphics from All Chinese Ethnic Groups Reveal Geographic Patterning

Completion of a survey of dermatoglyphic variables for all ethnic groups in an ethnically diverse country like China is a huge research project, and an achievement that anthropological and dermatoglyphic scholars in the country could once only dream of. However, through the endeavors of scientists in China over the last 30 years, the dream has become reality. This paper reports the results of a comprehensive analysis of dermatoglyphics from all ethnic groups in China. Using cluster analysis and principal component analysis of dermatoglyphics, it has been found that Chinese populations can be generally divided into a southern group and a northern group. Furthermore, there has been considerable debate about the origins of many Chinese populations and about proper assignment of these peoples to larger ethnic groups. In this paper, we suggest that dermatoglyphic data can inform these debates by helping to classify a Chinese population as a northern or southern group, using selected reference populations and quantitative methods. This study is the first to assemble and investigate dermatoglyphics from all 56 Chinese ethnic groups. It is fortunate that data on population dermatoglyphics, a field of physical anthropology, have now been collected for all 56 Chinese ethnic groups, because intermarriage between individuals from different Chinese ethnic groups occurs more frequently in recent times, making population dermatoglyphic research an ever more challenging field of inquiry.

Age at Death Estimation Using Multislice Computed Tomography Reconstructions of the Posterior Pelvis*

Thanks to recent advances, computed tomography is now seen as a tool of great value in the field of physical anthropology. In this study, we focused on the posterior pelvis and the auricular surface and evaluated the accuracy of 3D reconstructions of the auricular surface, using a methodology derived from a previous study by Lovejoy et al. We also looked for trabecular bone criteria expressing age-related changes. Forty-six coxal bones were scanned, and scoring of macroscopic criteria showed a good agreement between 3D reconstructions and photographs, especially for transverse organization (k = 0.90). The changes occurring in the posterior part of the sacropubic trabecular bundle were evaluated on CT reconstructions via three new criteria, which exhibited a good intra- and inter-observer agreement (k = 0.77-0.89), and were particularly useful in identifying older subjects. We concluded that these CT-evaluated trabecular bone criteria are promising and yield useful information about age at death.

J-P Bocquet-Appel and O. Bar-Yosef (eds): The Neolithic Demographic Transition and Its Consequences

The transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural lifestyle marks a global turning point in human prehistory. We now know that this transition not only varied in its timing and magnitude across regions but also in its demographic, social, economic and symbolic characteristics. It is also evident from archaeological studies that the tempo, duration and intensity of the transition were not uniform and that in “core regions”, such as the Levant, the transition was a lengthy and complex process which took over two millennia to complete (Bar-Yosef and Meadow 1995; Kuijt and Goring-Morris 2002). A central question which comes to mind is whether it is possible to detect and define any universal characteristics which are shared by all societies which adopted agriculture. This volume (edited by J-P Bocquet-Appel and O. Bar-Yosef), is set to examine such a universal process: the Neolithic Demographic Transition (NDT). The NDT involved an abrupt and drastic increase in the proportions of subadults aged between 5 and 19 years and an increase in fertility attributed to the narrowing of birth spacing following the transition to a sedentary lifestyle. The volume contains 19 contributions from leading researchers in the field of physical anthropology (paleodemography, paleopathology), and archaeology (including archaeozoology and evolutionary archaeology). The main strength of this volume is its clear focus on the NDT and related processes. The readers should be aware that the volume’s starting assumption is that the NDT was indeed a pivotal universal process. Consequently, much less emphasis is placed on addressing alternative models and critical assessment of the models’ underlying presuppositions. However, many chapters center on the study of nondemographic aspects and by doing so provide readers with very useful perspectives on some of the role of social and cultural change in shaping Neolithic societies. The volume is divided into four parts. Part 1 focuses on the demographic and economic aspects of the NDT (eight chapters). Part II focuses on settlement patterns and village practices (three chapters). Part III addresses changes in community size and social organization (four chapters). Part IV focuses on population growth and health (three chapters). Readers who are not familiar with the NDT should begin with reading Boquest –Appel’s article (2002) and chapter 3 (this volume). The allocation of chapters according to these topical headings is somewhat confusing especially since the contributions predominantly differ in their overall approach: demographic, archaeological and anthropological. However, the Neolithic transition was a complex multifaceted process and consequently it is inevitable that many of the contributions fit into more than one of these categories. Four of the contributions in the first section focus on the demographic dimensions of the NDT in several world regions: East and Southeast Asia (Bellwood and Oxenham), the Levant (Guerrero et al.), the North American Southwest (Kohler & Glaude), and Mesoamerica (Lesure). The chapters by Ozdogan, Vigne, (Section I), Goring-Morris, and Kuijt (Section II) are of great interest to scholars who wish to gain more insight about the social, economic and architectural developments associated with the transition to agriculture in the Levant and Anatolia. The importance of these contributions is in providing readers not with general reviews but rather with in-depth syntheses on the complex diachronic processes underlying the transition in these regions. Section III contains two contributions which address the demographic aspects of the NDT on the basis of archaeologically derived parameters such as settlement size and Hum Ecol DOI 10.1007/s10745-009-9246-1

Mechanical morphogenesis: A concept applied to the surface of the radius

The purpose of this study is to perform a detailed morphological analysis of the changes that occur at the attachment sites of muscles, tendons, and ligaments on the radius. We consider the osteological, anatomical, and pathological aspects in detail, devising a visual standard for ranking the development of osseous expression at each attachment. We also discuss the etiology, particularly through focus on the relationship with the activity and age variables. In a sample of 148 radii from archeological and contemporary samples, 11 osteological sites were analyzed in each specimen. The osteological sites included nine muscular attachments, the attachment of the interosseous membrane, and the groove of the extensor pollicis longus tendon. The results show that mechanical loading is the main cause of different types of markings appearing and developing on the bone surface. Furthermore, there is a relationship between the osteological appearance of enthesis and its morphological type. It is possible to grade osteological appearance with a visual reference method that establishes an identifiable threshold for each grade and eliminates relying completely on observer experience. This methodology is applicable to the field of physical anthropology and to its forensic subfield, identifying individuals by attributing to them specific work or given activities through the use of skeletal remains.

Estimation of human body built in Egyptians

Identification of an unknown body and prediction of growth from specific body measurements are very important tasks in the fields of physical anthropology and forensic medicine. Height and weight are two factors among others required to establish individuality of an unidentified body. In the present work, an attempt has been made to calculate the stature and weight from percutaneous tibial length and bimalleolar breadth. The study was carried out on 1000 living Egyptian individuals comprising 500 males and 500 females; their age was between 19 and 21 years. A significant positive correlation between stature and tibial length in both sexes was recorded. The coefficient of determination showed that 56% of variation in stature was due to tibial length and bimalleolar breadth in males, while in females the coefficient of determination was 23%. On the other hand, the coefficient of determination for weight showed that 11% of variability in weight was due to tibial length and bimalleolar breadth in males, while in females it was 5%. Linear regression analysis was done for all variables in all cases. The regression equation formulae are helpful in the estimation of stature and weight of the deceased from tibial length and bimalleolar breadth when leg or foot is the only portion available for autopsy examination.

Virtual reality and anthropology

Since the discovery of the Tyrolean Iceman in 1991 advanced imaging and post processing techniques were successfully applied in anthropology. Specific techniques include spiral computed tomography and 3-dimensional reconstructions including stereolithographic and fused deposition modeling of volume data sets. The Iceman’s skull was the first to be reproduced using stereolithography, before this method was successfully applied in preoperative planning. With the advent of high-end graphics workstations and biomedical image processing software packages, 3-dimensional reconstructions were established as a routine tool for analyzing volume data sets. These techniques opened totally new insights in the field of physical anthropology. Computed tomography became the ideal research tool to access the internal structures of various precious fossils without damaging or even touching them. Many of the most precious specimens from the species Autralopithecus (1.8–3.5 Myears), Homo heidelbergensis (200–600 kyears) or Homo neanderthalensis (40–100 kyears) were scanned during the last 5 years. Often the fossils are filled with a stone matrix or other materials. During the postprocessing routines highly advanced algorithms were used to remove virtually these incrustations. Thus it was possible to visualize the morphological structures that lie beneath the matrix. Some specimens were partially destroyed, so the missing parts were reconstructed on computer screen in order to get estimations of the brain volume and endocranial morphology, both major fields of interest in physical anthropology. Moreover the computerized form of the data allows new descriptions of morphologic structures by the means of ‘geometric morphometrics’. Some of the results may change aspects and interpretations in human evolution. The introduction of new imaging and post processing techniques created a new field of research: Virtual Anthropology.

An Anthology of Hellenes involved with the field of Physical Anthropology

An Anthology of Hellenes involved with the field of Physical Anthropology

Japan and human evolutionary research

The trends in evolutionary research in Japan have largely changed through the introduction of new methodologies such as molecular genetics and multivariate statistics since the 1960’s. The development of ecology and primatology brought another new wave into fields of physical anthropology. This paper reviews briefly general trends in anthropological research now on-going in Japan. Microevolutionary studies of the Japanese and neighboring populations which have a long history in Japan will be reviewed in more detail.

Archaeoparasitology in North America

The study of prehistoric parasitism through analysis of coprolites, mummies, skeletons, and latrine soils is rapidly growing. Its development in North America is interdisciplinary and is derived from the fields of physical anthropology, parasitology, and archaeology. The various parasite finds from North America are reviewed. The data show that prehistoric peoples in North America suffered from a variety of parasitic diseases. The validity of the findings are then considered. Although most finds of parasites from prehistoric contexts result from human infections, some finds cannot be verified as such. However, in combination with data from South America, it is clear that prehistoric peoples in the Americas were host to a variety of human parasites, some of which were not previously thought to be present before historic times.