Physical Anthropology

Представлены результаты экспертизы антропологических материалов из могильника античного времени Сувлу-Кая в Юго-Западном Крыму. Обсуждаются демографические и краниологические особенности двух хронологических групп из подбойных могил III–IV вв. и из склепов IV–V вв. н.э. Захоронения в подбоях, по-видимому, оставлены кратковременным, преимущественно мужским коллективом, для которого характерны высокий травматизм, традиция искусственной деформации головы и краниометрические признаки, свойственные носителям позднесарматской культуры низовьев Волги и Дона. Выборка из склепов близка демографическим параметрам нормальной и сравнительно благополучной человеческой популяции; морфология единичных черепов позволяет предположить участие в формировании этой группы потомков местного догреческого населения Крыма.

Publikacja ta daje synoptyczne ujęcie wykładów antropologii ogólnej, wygłaszanych na Katolickim Uniwersytecie Lubelskim w roku akademickim 1945/46, a poprzednio na Uniwersytecie Jana Kazimierza, we Lwowie, od roku akademickiego 1913/4 do końca roku 1939.

The estimation of body size among the earliest members of the genus Homo (2.4e1.5 Myr [millions of years ago]) is central to interpretations of their biology. It is widely accepted that Homo ergaster possessed increased body size compared with Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis, and that this may have been a factor involved with the dispersal of Homo out of Africa. The study of taxonomic differences in body size, however, is problematic. Postcranial remains are rarely associated with craniodental fossils, and taxonomic attributions frequently rest upon the size of skeletal elements. Previous body size estimates have been based upon well-preserved specimens with a more reliable species assessment. Since these samples are small (n < 5) and disparate in space and time, little is known about geographical and chronological variation in body size within early Homo.

L’analisi antropologica e paleopatologica dei reperti umani rinvenuti nella cattedrale di Alba è stata condotta al fine di ottenere informazioni necessarie sia per delineare il profilo biologico del campione in esame (sesso, età all’exitus) e le principali caratteristiche antropometriche (statura, robustezza) sia per dedurre indicazioni sulle condizioni di vita, le attività e le abitudini comportamentali e di lavoro e lo stato di salute o malattia. Parallelamente ai rilievi antropologici e paleopatologici sono state effettuate analisi volte alla valutazione dello stato di conservazione, in quanto esso rappresenta la premessa indispensabile ad ogni tipo di approfondimento successivo: identificare e quantificare il danno provocato da agenti tafonomici sul reperto, seguendo criteri valutativi standardizzati, permette un’interpretazione più ragionata dei risultati antropologici e paleopatologici, di particolare utilità quando si affrontano studi comparativi e paleoepidemiologici. Per ciascuna sepoltura singola studiata è stata compilata la scheda antropologica informatizzata (CINTI 2012), creando così un archivio digitale di tutti i dati biologici dei resti scheletrici presi in esame.

The Human Organism: Introduction to Biological Anthropology ----

OPEN ACCESS (FREE) ONLINE SINHALA TEXTBOOK

“Minis Saththwaya” offers an introduction to Biological (Physical) Anthropology with a focus on humans as biological organisms. Using an evolutionary perspective and a bio-cultural approach, this resource outlines the principles of Biological Anthropology, describing humanity. This online open access resource is designed to make anthropological knowledge accessible in Sinhala for A-Level students, University students, instructors and the general public.
Author: Samanti Kulatilake, PhD
Associate Professor, Mount Royal University, Canada


ජෛව මානව විද්‍යාව හදාරන සිසු සිසුවියන්ට මෙන්ම මිනිසාගේ ජෛවී තොරතුරු විමසන්නන් හට සිංහල බසින් ලියැවුණු මූලාශ්‍ර දුර්ලභ ය. මෙම විෂයය පිළිබඳව අවබෝධය පුළුල් කිරීම පිණිස වඩාත් විස්තරාත්මකව නව තොරතුරු සහ අදහස් ඇතුළත් කර, ජෛව මානව විද්‍යාව පිළිබඳ තොරතුරු ප්‍රචලිත කිරීමේ මූලික අභිලාෂය පෙරටු කොට ගෙන මෙම කෘතිය ඉදිරිපත් කරමි.

මානව විවිධත්වය සහ පරිණාමය විද්‍යාත්මකව වටහා ගැනීම කාලීන අවශ්‍යතාවකි. ජෛව (භෞතික) මානව විද්‍යා විෂය පිළිබඳව හැඳින්වීමක් “මිනිස් සත්ත්වයා: ජෛව මානව විද්‍යා ප්‍රවේශය” කෘතියෙන් ඉදිරිපත් වෙයි. පරිණාමවාදී දෘෂ්ටිකෝණයක් තුළින් සහ ජෛව සංස්කෘතික ප්‍රවේශයක් හරහා මිනිසා ජෛව ලෝකයේ සාමාජිකයකු ලෙස අධ්‍යයනය කරන අන්දම මෙහිදී හඳුන්වා දෙනු ලැබේ. මානව විද්‍යාත්මක දැනුම සිංහල භාෂාවෙන් ප්‍රචලිත  කිරීමේ අභිලාෂයෙන් නිර්මාණය කර ඇති මෙම විවෘත ප්‍රවේශ මූලාශ්‍රය උසස් පෙළ සහ විශ්ව විද්‍යාල සිසුන්ට මෙන්ම ආචාර්යවරුන්ට සහ පොදු පාඨකයන්ට ද ප්‍රයෝජනවත් වනු ඇත.

කර්තෘ: සමන්ති කුලතිලක, PhD
සහය මහාචාර්ය, මවුන්ට් රෝයල් විශ්ව විද්‍යාලය, කැනඩාව

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a non-inflammatory joint disease mainly characterised by the ossification of the right anterior longitudinal ligament and the presence of enthesopathies. Studies have shown that the disease typically affects males of advanced age. This is a case report of a female individual, aged between 40 and 60 years, dating to 1,472-1,635 AD and found in Eastern Germany. A differential diagnosis was completed following macroscopic examination and radio-graphic imaging of the affected bones. The results show several pathological features that resemble skeletal characteristics of DISH, besides other diseases. Therefore, we discuss DISH and provide a differential diagnosis of additional pathologies. Our case is particularly important because ancient female DISH cases are underrepresented and the burial location indicates a possible noble or monastic context, both linked with a lifestyle known to be related to DISH.

There are hereditary differences among human beings. Some of these differences have geographical correlates. Some genetic variants that produce physical or behavioral deficits occur significantly more often in some areas, or in some ethnic groups, than in others. However, none of these facts provides any intellectual support for the race concept, for racial classifications, or for social hierarchies based on ethnic-group membership. The geographical element of the race concept is important in theory but is widely ignored in practice since it does not conform well to the facts of current human phenotype distribution. Much of the literature on supposed racial differences involves such geographically meaningless exercises as studying differences among "races" by subdividing a sample of North Americans. If races are defined as geographically delimited conspecific populations characterized by distinctive regional phenotypes, then human races do not exist now and have not existed for centuries, [race, human variation, intelligence]

On Dec. 12, 1985, a military charter DC-8 crashed shortly after takeoff at Gander, Nfld., Canada. All 256 aboard were killed, making this the deadliest US military aircraft accident in history. The investigation team (consisting of forensic pathologists, odontologists, ...

Arm span (AS) has been reported to be a good substitute for height measurement in osteoskeletally deformed patients and in the elderly with osteoporosis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between arm span and height of the Itsekiris of Nigeria. The study employed a cross-sectional study design involving 300 healthy Itsekiris between the age of 20 and 70 years. The height and arm span of all volunteers were measured to the nearest centimeter. Height was measured with the subject on bare feet, feet together and with the calf, heel, buttocks and upper back touching the wall or stadiometer. The subject’s head was positioned erect with the eyes looking forward. Arm span accordingly was measured with a tape from the tip of the middle finger of one hand to the tip of the middle finger of the other hand, with the subject standing straight and back to the wall, both arms adducted to 90°. In this index, there was a weak positive correlation (0.048) which was not significa...

The Composite Index of Anthropometric Failure (CIAF) is an overall indicator of undernutrition composed of stunting, underweight and wasting. A cross sectional study was conducted in an urban area (Haldia) of Purba Medinipur District, West Bengal, India, to assess the effect of socioeconomic factors on CIAF among 621 (307 boys; 314 girls) children aged 3-12 years. Body height (cm) and weight (kg) were recorded using standard procedure. Selected socioeconomic and demographic information were recorded using pre-structured schedule. The NCHS reference values were used to calculate Z (<-2SD) scores for the three conventional indices namely underweight, stunting and wasting, and finally, to derive CIAF. Data were analyzed using chi-square test and binary as well as stepwise multiple logistic regression analysis. The CIAF showed a high prevalence of 47.66%. Sex specific prevalence was higher among girls. Low monthly per capita income (Odds ratio, OR = 2.1; p< 0.001) and households having two or less number of rooms (OR = 1.55, p < 0.001) were independently associated with higher risk of anthropometric failure (AF). Factors having a direct impact on earnings which provide basic infrastructure for a healthy livelihood seemed to be the major predictor of AF among children.

Physical activity (PA) and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) are associated with better cognitive function in late life, but the neural correlates for these relationships are unclear. To study these correlates, we examined the association of both PA and CRF with measures of white matter (WM) integrity in 88 healthy low-fit adults (age 60-78). Using accelerometry, we objectively measured sedentary behavior, light PA, and moderate to vigorous PA (MV-PA) over a week. We showed that greater MV-PA was related to lower volume of WM lesions. The association between PA and WM microstructural integrity (measured with diffusion tensor imaging) was region-specific: light PA was related to temporal WM, while sedentary behavior was associated with lower integrity in the parahippocampal WM. Our findings highlight that engaging in PA of various intensity in parallel with avoiding sedentariness are important in maintaining WM health in older age, supporting public health recommendations that emphasize the importance of active lifestyle.

The impact of aging on the morphology of the osseous spine is still debated. Clinical studies usually record combined aging effects, as well as age-related degenerative changes. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of (degeneration-independent) aging on the morphology of the osseous human spine during adulthood. Various osseous dimensions of human spinal landmarks at all major vertebral levels have been assessed in macroscopically normal Swiss skeletons (N = 71), with historically known sex and age at death, as well as in larger Central European skeletal samples (N = 277) with anthropologically determined individual age and sex. All measurements were correlated with individual age (or age group) by linear regression and analyzed separately for each sex. Only few osseous spinal dimensions, and only in men, correlate significantly with individual age. Generally, the significant dimensions show an increase in size during adulthood. Similar tendencies, but with significant alterations of spinal measurements in women as well, can be found in the larger samples with anthropologically determined sex and age group. Increase of certain spinal dimensions found in this study may be a reflection of an increase in the robustness of individuals with age. Because of the absence of a significant secular alteration of stature within the well-recorded sample, we exclude secular change in body dimensions as a major bias.

El objetivo del presente estudio es predecir el tamaño del canino permanente a partir de mediciones tomadas en los dientes posteriores (premolares y molares), y utilizar los valores predichos del tamaño del canino para estimar el sexo biológico de restos óseos. El análisis se llevó a cabo en 126 individuos procedentes de la antigua ciudad de Herculano (Nápoles, Italia), víctimas de la erupción del volcán Vesubio la madrugada entre el 24/25 de agosto del año 79 EC. Se tomaron los diámetros mesiodistal y bucolingual de la corona dental y a nivel cervical del diente, y se llevó a cabo el análisis de regresión lineal de Pearson para crear ecuaciones de regresión que permitieran predecir el tamaño del canino basándose en las dimensiones dentales de los dientes posteriores. Se obtuvieron 14 ecuaciones de regresión. Los resultados muestran elevados coeficientes de correlación y determinación (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectivamente), dependiendo de los diámetros de los dientes utilizados. Posteriormente, estas ecuaciones de regresión fueron aplicadas a una muestra de validación para estimar el sexo biológico de los individuos utilizando los valores predichos del tamaño del canino aplicando diversas fórmulas de función discriminantes específicas para la población de Herculano. Los resultados muestran que los valores predichos del tamaño del canino proporcionan elevados porcentajes de correcta asignación del sexo cuando se trabaja con restos óseos fragmentarios procedentes de contextos arqueológicos y el canino no está disponible para su medición.

ABSTRACT. The aim of this study was to investigate the size of the permanent canine from measurements of the posterior teeth (premolars and molars), and to use the predicted values of the canine size to estimate the biological sex of skeletal remains. The analysis was performed on 126 individuals from the ancient city of Herculaneum (Naples, Italy), victims of the eruption of the nearby volcano Vesuvius on 24/25 August, 79 EC. Mesiodistal and buccolingual crown and cervical diameters were measured, and Pearson's linear regression analysis was performed to create regression equations to predict the canine size based on dental measurements of posterior teeth. Fourteen regressions equations were obtained. The results show high correlation and determination coefficients (r = 0,709–0,889; r2 = 0,502–0,791; respectively), depending on the diameters of the teeth used. These regression equations were subsequently applied to a validation sample to estimate the biological sex of the individuals using the predicted values of the canine size based on the application of discriminant function formulae that are specific of the Herculaneum's population. The results show that the predicted values of the canine size provide high percentages of correct assignment of sex when fragmentary skeletal remains are encountered in archaeological samples and the canine is not available for measurement.

Ancient human remains like Egyptian mummified bodies cannot be considered on a physical anthropological perspective only. So severe and invasive were the operations on the body, so various were the materials involved in the preservation techniques, so complicated was the embalming and wrapping procedure according to specific rituals, that the final result, the mummy, is to be considered a highly composite product. The human remains are a relevant part of it indeed, but a very wide set of information can be taken.also from the other components, relating to environment, resources, technology, religious beliefs, cultural and technical traditions, skills and arts at the time of the individual&#39;s life. That a plain anthropological approach could not be exhaustive on cataloguing such a kind of archaeological finds emerged during the sessions of the scientific board charged by the Italian ICCD of defining a data track for filing anthropological remains as a special kind of cultural heri...

As most primates depend heavily on plant foods, the chemical composition of edible plant parts, both nutritional and detrimental, are of key importance in understanding primate ecology and evolution. One class of plant compounds of strong current interest due to their potential ability to alter the fertility, fecundity, and survival of both males and females are phytoestrogens. These plant compounds mimic the activity of vertebrate estrogens mainly through binding with the estrogen receptors, which results in altered physiology and behavior. Considerable evidence of interactions between phytoestrogens and the vertebrate endocrine system comes from research conducted on the potential health benefits and reproductive costs of phytoestrogens in human foods, especially soybeans (Glycine max) and other legumes. Despite this interest, little is known about the occurrence of estrogenic plants in the diets of wild primates. If wild primates do consume phytoestrogens, then the physiological and behavioral effects documented in captive and laboratory studies may promote differential survival and reproduction of individuals in a natural setting. Consequently, estrogenic plants would have an important, thus far neglected, role in primate ecology and evolution. To examine the occurrence of estrogenic plants in the diets of wild primates, I screened plant foods for estrogenic activity in two strongly folivorous primate species, the red colobus monkey (Procolobus rufomitratus) of Kibale National Park and mountain gorilla (Gorilla beringei) of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, both in Uganda. To examine if the consumption of phytoestrogens relates to physiological changes in a wild primate, I determined the seasonal pattern of estrogenic plant consumption and its relationship to hormone levels of the red colobus in Kibale during an 11-month field study. I screened 44 plant items comprising 78.4% of the diet of red colobus monkeys and 53 plant items comprising 85.2% of the diet of mountain gorillas using transient transfection assays. At least 10.6% of the red colobus diet and 8.8% of the gorilla diet had estrogenic activity. This was mainly the result of the red colobus eating three estrogenic staple foods and the gorillas eating one estrogenic staple food. All estrogenic plants exhibited estrogen receptor (ER) subtype selectivity, as their phytoestrogens bound to and activated ERβ, but not ERα. Climatic factors were important for understanding variation in the proportion of diet coming from estrogenic plants for the red colobus, particularly for the consumption of Millettia dura young leaves. Although red colobus did not feed more TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………………. iii LIST OF FIGURES………………………………………………………………… iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………………………………………………………… v INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………….. vii CHAPTER 1………………………………………………………………………... 1 The potential roles of estrogenic plants in primate ecology and evolution CHAPTER 2………………………………………………………………………... 21 The estrogenic plant foods of red colobus monkeys and mountain gorillas in western Uganda CHAPTER 3………………………………………………………………………... 39 Seasonality in the consumption of estrogenic plant foods: Implications for red colobus monkey (Procolobus rufomitratus) hormonal status CHAPTER 4………………………………………………………………………...

In Central Europe, human remains from the Magdalenian are a rare phenomenon. In Central and Western Europe, these remains are usually fragmented and often manipulated. The discovery of 50 human bone fragments from Maszycka Cave in the 19th and mid-20th century is an important source for studying the treatment of bodies in the Late Upper Palaeolithic. Skull fragments are dominating and the re-investigation of the material proves the presence of some cut marks. The re-dating of the remains and the bone artefacts to c. 16,200 cal BC together with the specific treatment of the human remains confirms the typological arguments for an early re-colonisation of Central Europe from the West after the Last Glacial Maximum.

The Kiik-Koba 1 Neandertal partial skeleton (canine, partial hands, partial leg, and feet), of a 40-year-old probable male, exhibits a suite of pathological lesions, including hypercementosis, minor fibrous ossifications, pedal phalangeal fracture, and pronounced enthesopathies on the patella and calcanei in the context of no articular degenerations. The first two sets of lesions are related to age in the context of advanced dental attrition and physical strains. The third lesion joins a series of

We have carried out a comprehensive ESR and U-series dating study on the Lake Mungo 3 (LM3) human skeleton. The isotopic Th/U and Pa/U ratios indicate that some minor uranium mobilization may have occurred in the past. Taking such effects into account, the best age estimate for the human skeleton is obtained through the combination of U-series and ESR analyses yielding 62,000±6000 years. This age is in close agreement with OSL age estimates on the sediment into which the skeleton was buried of 61,000±2000 years. Furthermore, we obtained a U-series age of 81,000±21,000 years for the calcitic matrix that was precipitated on the bones after burial. All age results are considerably older than the previously assumed age of LM3 and demonstrate the necessity for directly dating hominid remains. We conclude that the Lake Mungo 3 burial documents the earliest known human presence on the Australian continent. The age implies that people who were skeletally within the range of the present Australian indigenous population colonized the continent during or before oxygen isotope stage 4 (57,000–71,000 years).

We present results, analyses, and an in-depth historical contextualization of the fieldwork undertaken in 2012 and 2013 at the Kindoki site in the Lower Congo (DRC). This site is linked to Mbanza Nsundi, one of the Kongo Kingdom's provincial capitals, which turns out to be archaeologically 'elusive'. Pinpointing its location proved to be particularly challenging. To this end, a historically informed survey methodology was applied that has rarely been implemented on such a scale in Central Africa before. We combined a strategy * Koen Bostoen

В борьбе за историко-материалистическое понимание процесса проис хождения человека и его рас и в разоблачении антинаучных расовых тео рий, в частности современного англо-амерпканского расизма, большую роль играет разработка основных принципов классификации антропологи ческих типов, отражающей историю их формирования, изменения и гео графического распространения.

This paper discusses the results of the analysis of a female skull from a collective burial dated to the Ancient Bronze Age in Italy (Ballabio, LC). A virtual restoration and 3D reconstruction was also produced from the digitalized skull to complete the damaged parts and to recreate the facial appearance of this young adult female from the Bronze Age. The skull shows clear evidence of post-mortem modifications, as some series of scraping marks on the external cranial vault cross the parietal bones longitudinally. The contemporaneous presence of taphonomic linear marks on the skull and periostitis on the frontal bone, as well as the provenance of the specimen from a secondary burial (a typical funerary habit documented in Italy during the Copper Age and Ancient Bronze Age), makes it difficult to interpret the case (scalping, surgery, or ritual practice linked to secondary burial). The advanced methods used to analyse the skull surface allowed us to discriminate intentional marks from modifications due to other taphonomic processes and to determine the timing of their formation (peri-or post-mortem). The possibility that the scraping marks are related to a ritual practice, conducted during the individual's life (with specific symbolic or social value) or after death or at the moment of secondary burial, is discussed.

Identification criteria, specifically discriminant function formulae derived from traditional craniometrics, currently used in South Florida for Cuban Americans and other "Hispanic" groups, are unsuitable to provide adequate biological profiles due to complex biological histories as well as widely diverse geographic origins. Florida's total population is approximately 16 million (15,982,378) individuals. Of the total population 2,682,715, or 16.8%, are self-identified as "Hispanic". South Florida (herein defined as Miami-Dade, Broward and Collier Counties) is home to 60% of the total Hispanic population of Florida with 1,291,737 (48.15%) residing in Miami-Dade County.

Human bones and biological remains conserved in anthropological, medical, and archaeological collections are foci of ethical debate, as recently illustrated by the affair of Charles Byrne's bones. In the near future, curators will have to choose between global conservation of all (or almost all) anthropological collections and systematic restitution to their original communities or families. Various proposals and examples of restitution and nonrestitution are given (with justifications) in order to support the concept that the body (especially the dead body) is not property. We propose that the only element supporting arguments in favor of restitution could be the name of the individual, highlighting the importance of all identification processes for such "artifacts." This is undoubtedly a universal value: naming the dead, identifying and then burying the person, i.e., reversing the progression along the timeline from individual to scientific specimen. Such elements could be of great interest to all universities and medical institutions that keep human remains in their collections for educational or historical purposes when they are confronted with ethical problems and/or repatriation requests. Clin. Anat. 00:000-000,

Studies of cultural artifacts and faunal remains from European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic sites indicate a shift in hunter gatherer subsistence strategies, involving an intensification and diversification of resource exploitation relative to earlier foragers during the Tardiglacial and Postglacial periods. This trend has been recognized as well through the analysis of non-pathological skeletal adaptations of the upper limbs of European Upper Paleolithic human fossils. These paleoanthropological studies of adaptive bone modeling also raise the question of female use of throwing-based weapon technology in the Upper Paleolithic. Here, we studied another type of osteological marker of activity, enthesopathies, of the upper limb remains of 37 European Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic human fossils, with the goal of testing two hypotheses: 1) that activity levels were heightened at the end of Upper Paleolithic and into the Mesolithic relative to earlier foragers of the Gravettian, and 2) that there was an absence of a marked sexual division of labor in European hunter-gatherers during this time span. Our results are consistent with the first hypothesis; upper limb enthesopathies are significantly less frequent in the Gravettian group, but raise doubts about the second hypothesis. Four males exhibit lesions that can be confidently associated with throwing activities, while no females exhibit such lesions.

Resumen: En este trabajo se presentan diversos indicadores de la dieta que se pueden identificar en restos óseos infantiles de la prehistoria. Estos indicadores, tales como la cribra orbitalia o las líneas de hipoplasia del esmalte, nos estarían mostrando estados carenciales sufridos durante el proceso de crecimiento y desarrollo de estos individuos.

Extreme rituals entail excessive costs without apparent benefits, which raises an evolutionary cost problem (Irons, 2001). It is argued that such intense rituals enhance social cohesion and promote cooperative behaviors (Atran & Henrich, 2010; Durkheim, 1912). However, direct evidence for the relation between ritual intensity and prosociality is lacking. Using economic measures of generosity and contextually relevant indicators of group identity in a real-world setting, we evaluated pro- social effects from naturally occurring rituals that varied in severity.

Anthropometry is simple, cheap, portable and noninvasive method for the assessment of body composition. While the Nagamine and Suzuki body density prediction equation has been frequently used to estimate %BF of Japanese, the equation was developed more than 40 years ago and its applicability to the current Japanese population has not been studied. This study aimed to compare %BF results estimated from anthropometry and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in order to examine applicability of the Nagamine and Suzuki equation. Body composition of 45 Japanese males (age: 24.3Ϯ5.5 years, stature: 171.6Ϯ5.8 cm, body mass: 62.6Ϯ7.1 kg, %BF: 15.7Ϯ5.6%) were assessed using whole-body DXA (Hologic ® QDR-2000) scan and anthropometry using the protocol of the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK). From anthropometric measurements %BF was calculated using the Nagamine and Suzuki equation. The results showed that the Nagamine and Suzuki equation significantly (pϽ0.05) underestimated %BF of Japanese males compared to the DXA results. There was a trend towards greater underestimation as the estimated %BF values using DXA increased. New %BF prediction equations were proposed from the DXA and anthropometry results. Application of the proposed equations may assist in more accurate assessment of body fatness in Japanese males living today.

Some of the most long-standing questions in paleoanthropology concern how and why human bipedalism evolved. Over the last century, many hypotheses have been offered on the mode of locomotion from which bipedalism originated. Candidate ancestral adaptations include monkey-like arboreal or terrestrial quadrupedalism, gibbon-or orangutan-like (or other forms of) climbing and suspension, and knuckle-walking. This paper reviews the history of these hypotheses, outlines their predictions, and assesses them in light of current phylogenetic, comparative anatomical, and fossil evidence. The functional significance of characteristics of the shoulder and arm, elbow, wrist, and hand shared by African apes and humans, including their fossil relatives, most strongly supports the knuckle-walking hypothesis, which reconstructs the ancestor as being adapted to knuckle-walking and arboreal climbing. Future fossil discoveries, and a clear understanding of anthropoid locomotor anatomy, are required to ultimately test these hypotheses. If knucklewalking was an important component of the behavioral repertoire of the prebipedal human ancestor, then we can reject scenarios on the origin of bipedalism that rely on a strictly arboreal ancestor. Moreover, paleoenvironmental data associated with the earliest hominins, and their close relatives, contradict hypotheses that place the agents of selection for bipedality in open savanna habitats. Existing hypotheses must explain why bipedalism would evolve from an ancestor that was already partly terrestrial. Many food acquisition and carrying hypotheses remain tenable in light of current evidence.

The analysis of biological parameters such as age and sex is particularly relevant to the interpretation of ancient skeletal assemblages related to abrupt mortality crises, and more particularly epidemics. In such a context, the mechanisms of selection within a population or part of a population differ according to the pathogen involved. They may also vary depending on the period and location in which the population lived. Here, we illustrate the specificity of plague mortality through the study of several European burial sites contemporary with the first and second plague pandemics. The paleodemographic patterns obtained for different plague outbreaks from the 6th to the 16th centuries reveal some constant features over time and space as well as some differences that suggest a possible evolution in the epidemiological characteristics of the disease.

Zwyczaje pogrzebowe to pierwsza część serii Wędrówki po archeologicznych śladach najstarszych epok i kultur województwa podkarpackiego. W publikacji tej chcemy przybliżyć Czytelnikowi wiedzę o naszych praprzodkach zamieszkujących tereny dzisiejszej Polski południowo-wschodniej. Jako że naszym zamierzeniem jest kontynuowanie zainicjowanej serii, będziemy chcieli w kolejnych tomach zaznajomić odbiorców z różnymi aspektami życia człowieka prahistorycznego. Poświęcimy je m.in. życiu codziennemu, gospodarce, kulturze duchowej i wielu innym zagadnieniom.

La complejidad y cotidianidad relacionadas a la alimentación humana, nos revela que debe ser analizada a través de un enfoque holístico, que incluya aspectos de naturaleza biológica, social, cultural, económica y política (Álvarez et al. 2001; De Garine 1972; De Garine y Vargas 1997; Vargas 1992). Este enfoque conocido como biocultural, ha sido utilizado ampliamente en bioarqueología para el estudio de diversos aspectos de las poblaciones pretéritas, entre ellos la alimentación (Contreras y García 2004; De Garine y Vargas 1997; Larsen 2000; Pelto et al. 2000; Peña 2012; Vargas 1992). Una fortaleza de la investigación bioarqueológica, es su capacidad para dilucidar ciertas características y comportamientos de la vida de las personas en el pasado (Buikstra y Beck 2006; Knudson y Stojanowsky 2008). Mediante la combinación de distintos análisis como los biogeoquímicos y bioarqueológicos, es posible entender la interacción de los seres humanos con su entorno físico y social, así como examinar los diferentes acontecimientos de la historia de vida de un individuo o de una población, incluyendo su dieta y demás aspectos relacionados con su alimentación. En este capítulo se ofrece una exposición de los diferentes recursos metodológicos que se tienen en el campo de la bioarqueología para hacer una aproximación a la reconstrucción de la dieta de poblaciones antiguas, uno es el análisis de la composición química del hueso enfocado principalmente en las técnicas de isótopos estables y elementos traza; el otro concierne a las bases para el reconocimiento de estados nutricionales carenciales en los huesos y una breve exposición de los atributos de los dientes en la reconstrucción de la dieta. Esto con el fin de brindar al lector un panorama introductorio de las tendencias y perspectivas en las investigaciones paleodietarias actuales, haciendo hincapié en la realización de estudios integrales desde el enfoque biocultural, recalcándose la importancia de la interacción de diversas disciplinas para lograr un abordaje óptimo de los problemas y preguntas de investigación que se pretendan resolver.

Hominin evolutionary history is characterized by regular dispersals, cycles of colonization, and entry into novel environments. This article considers the relationship between such colonizing capacity and hominin biology. In general, colonizing strategy favors rapid rates of reproduction and generalized rather than specialized biology. Physiological viability across diverse environments favors a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, which buffers the genome from selective pressures. Colonizing also favors the capacity to access and process information about environmental variability. We propose that early hominin adaptive radiations were based upon the development of such capacities as adaptations to unstable Pliocene environments. These components came together, along with fundamental changes in morphology, behavior, and cognition in the genus Homo, who exploited them in subsequent wider dispersals. Middle Pleistocene hominins and modern humans also show development of further traits, which correspond with successful probing of, and dispersals into, stressful environments. These traits have their precursors in primate or ape biology, but have become more pronounced during hominin evolution.

A female skeleton from the Lori Berd archaeological cemetery, located near the city of Stepanavan (Lori Province of Armenia) is described. Palaeopathological analysis revealed a variety pathology (ankylosis of the sacroiliac joints, ankylosis of the vertebrae, syndesmophytes, ankylosed of the costovertebral and costotransverse joint fusions, kyphosis, lordosis, fracture of the anterior inferior iliac spine and traumatic lesions). This paper reports a new case of ankylosing spondylitis in a skeleton and a differential diagnosis performed to determine the etiology of the condition. The vertebral bodies remodel and together with the associated syndesmophytes form a continuous, smooth bone surface that is sometimes referred to as "bamboo spine". In this skeleton changes in the spine, ribs, the sacrum, acetabulum, head of the femur and greater trochanter, as well as the anterior inferior iliac spine are typical of ankylosing spondylitis in advanced stage. Addtionally, there were signs of a traumatic death with injuries sustained to the scapula and vertebra. Using osteological markers in combination with the reconstruction of the archaeological context, the burial pattern suggests that the pathology the female suffered was likely due to her physical deficiencies.

Roma people are from long ago suspected of Indian ancestry. At first this supposition was proved by somatological observations. Generally different Roma appearance from neighbouring European populations was obvious but only since start of genetic surveys it was evident that Indian hypothesis is valid, and fully concordant with older anthropometric data

Temporal bone morphology, as part of the basicranium, is commonly used in systematic evaluation of early hominid fossils. When an isolated right temporal bone, KNM-BC 1 (the Chemeron temporal) was discovered in the Baringo Basin, Kenya, Tobias (1967a, Nature 215, 476-480), citing ambiguity of characters, hesitated to place the specimen generically, attributing the fossil only to Hominidae gen. et sp. indet. Since that discovery, the early hominid sample has grown considerably and comparisons with this expanded dataset led Hill et al. (1992a, Nature 355, 719-722) to revise the placement of KNM-BC 1 including it within the genus Homo. This revision was possible due to the increased number of hominid fossil specimens from the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene, most notably members of the genus Homo. A thorough investigation into the utility of the temporal bone in hominid systematics shows that many features, as currently used in the literature, demonstrate high levels of variation thus questioning their phyletic valence. It is shown, however, that the temporal bone still contains useful systematic information. A detailed anatomical description of KNM-BC 1 is provided and, when discussed in the context of temporal bone features provided, affirms the conclusion of and places the fossil within the genus Homo.

Population genetic and biological distance studies of Late Woodland and Mississippian populations from west-central Illinois have provided insight into a number of prehistoric demographic processes at the regional level. However, a formal analysis of diachronic interregional gene flow has not been attempted within a population genetics framework. In this study, cranial measurements of 489 individuals from 13 skeletal samples across the central and lower Illinois valleys are analyzed to address two central issues. First, the potential impact of Cahokia's decline and associated demographic events on the population structure of west-central Illinois Mississippians is examined. Second, the Mississippian and Late Woodland interregional migration patterns are compared to determine if geographic and/or cultural boundaries affected local population structure. Following Relethford and Blangero ([1990] Hum Biol 62:5-25), R matrix methods are utilized to calculate observed and expected phenotypic variances, minimum genetic distances, and F ST values in order to detect patterns of differential external gene flow over time. The results indicate that Late Woodland peoples had a larger sphere of biological interaction than Mississippians. In the Mississippian period, culturally imposed barriers paralleled geographic boundaries between regions such that the geographic distribution of biological variation closely adheres to a classic isolation-by-distance model. Further, intraregional population movement was a more significant contributor to Mississippian population structure than interregional gene flow, even during periods of sociopolitical strife. Small-scale intraregional shuffling is consistent with other recent studies of prehistoric Mississippian biocultural and geographic landscapes in the southeast United States.Am

Tooth wear is a natural phenomenon and a universal occurrence that has existed from the origin of humankind and depends on the way of life, especially diet. Tooth wear was very serious in ancient populations up to the medieval period. The aim of this paper is to present a global view of tooth wear in medieval times in Europe through different parameters: scoring systems, quantity and direction of wear, gender, differences between maxilla and mandible, relations with diet, caries, tooth malpositions and age.

Researchers have debated whether the presence and frequency of wormian bones (sutural bones, supernumerary bones, and ossicles) are attributable to genetic factors, environmental factors, or both. This research examines the effects of many different kinds of cranial deformation on the incidence of wormian bones. A sample of 127 deformed and undeformed crania from New World archaeological sites was examined. An undeformed cranial sample (n ϭ 35) was compared to the following cranially deformed groups: 1) occipital, 2) lambdoid, 3) annular, 4) fronto-vertico-occipital, 5) parallelo-fronto-occipital, and 6) sagittal synostosis. Three levels of degree of cultural cranial deformation were qualitatively determined. Type and number of wormian bones along each major suture were recorded for each cranium. Group means were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis one-way ANOVA statistical tests to test the null hypothesis that cranial deformation does not have an effect on wormian bone incidence. Results indicate that all forms of cranial deformation affect the frequency of some types of wormian bones. In particular, all cranially deformed groups exhibited significantly greater frequencies of lambdoid ossicles. Apical, parieto-mastoid, and occipito-mastoid wormian bones also appeared with greater frequency in some groups of culturally deformed crania. Further, varying degrees of cultural deformation all had more lambdoid wormian bones than the undeformed group. These results suggest that wormian bone development in posteriorly placed sutures may be affected more by environmental forces than are their anteriorly placed counterparts. Am J

This paper presents the case study of a cranial surgical intervention involving head trauma at the right occipito-parietal region carried out during the second half of the 7 th century B.C. the Archaic Period, on an adult female individual, a member of a larger group of colonists from Klazomenai, [one of the twelve cities of the Panionian League in Greek Asia Minor], who endeavored to found the city of Abdera (Herodotus: Historia) in Aegean Thrace.

A total of 11 340 Cartesian coordinates of 42 homologous landmarks on five excavated human crania were recorded by three observers using a three-dimensional (3D) digitiser and computer models created with a 3D laser scanner. The aim was to compare the errors of the coordinate data of landmarks of different types recorded with these two techniques. The results showed that digitiser-based and 3D model-based coordinate measurements had overall standard deviations of, respectively, ±0.79 and ±1.05 mm. However, the 3D digitiser yielded the most precise coordinate data for landmarks defined primarily by biological criteria (Type I landmarks), while the 3D laser scanner models yielded the most precise coordinate data for landmarks defined primarily by geometric criteria (Type III landmarks). These findings are likely to influence the research design of future craniometric studies, as they indicate that the suitability of certain landmark types as reference points for geometric operations, such as partial Procrustes analysis, depends on the method by which they are measured. This information is particularly important for retrospective research or for combined databases such as FORDISC or CRANID, which may integrate different types of landmarks recorded by different researchers and/or instruments. Crania displaying poor preservation and surface discoloration yielded larger measurement errors, especially for the 3D model measurements. This is not surprising given that landmarks on 3D models cannot be located using tactile means, but have to be located solely on a visual basis. Nonetheless, even though the digitiser measurements exhibit an overall precision slightly greater than the 3D model measurements, both techniques yield coordinate data with a precision sufficient for most craniometric research.

Based on the presence of palisades and an iconography suggesting a warrior elite, warfare is presumed to be endemic in the Late Mississippian period (AD 1200-1600) of the southeastern United States. Warfare is theorized to play a vital role in the cycling of chiefdoms. However, apart from a few exemplary cases that display double-digit frequencies, very little direct (i.e., skeletal) evidence of violent trauma has dovetailed with the archaeological presumptions of warfare. Eight sites from the Chickamauga Reservoir of east Tennessee were examined for skeletal evidence of deliberate violent trauma. Violent trauma was anticipated because these sites are in close proximity and consist of two adjacent, sociopolitically distinct, and temporally overlapping phases: Dallas (AD 1300-1600) and Mouse Creek (AD 1400-1600). In addition to small, round, nonlethal ectocranial blunt-force trauma (BFT) on the frontal and upper parietal bones, inflicted projectile points and scalping were identified. The low total trauma frequency in the Dallas sample (3.86%, n = 259) is consistent with emerging evidence from east and west Tennessee Late Mississippian data, but significantly different from Mouse Creek (8.06%, n = 273). The proportion of nonlethal cranial BFT in the collective Chickamauga sample is large and at odds with the Tennessee River Valley comparative literature. Based on other bioarchaeological literature, this pattern suggests intragroup violence, but not face-to-face ritual contests. It is better explained as interpersonal conflict resolution along codified lines. This is consistent with southeastern ethnohistoric data and may explain the more frequent cranial BFT in the less stratified Mouse Creek phase, which likely would not have had an overarching civil authority.

Manual for Physical Anthropology Lab course. Covers human genetics, early primate and hominid evolution, origins of culture, and relationships between biology, culture, and the spread of disease. Lab activities use a hands-on approach to explore these topics as well as: dating techniques, anatomy, osteology, social behavior, and the fossil record.