American Journal of Physical Anthropology

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660401pmid: N/A

Aufderheide, Arthur C.; Angel, J. Lawrence; Kelley, Jennifer O.; Outlaw, Alain C.; Outlaw, Merry A.; Rapp, George; Wittmers, Lorentz E.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660402pmid: 3993761

Lead content was determined in the skeletal tissue of 82 individuals representing two black and two white Colonial American populations: Catoctin Furnace, College Landing, Governor's Land, and Irene Mound. Group and individual differences in bone lead concentrations were used to assess behavioral, social and occupational characteristics.

Teaford, Mark F.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660403pmid: 3993762

Recent analyses have documented differences in dental microwear between primate species with different diets, especially between primate hard‐object feeders and primate leaf‐eaters. Thus far, these microwear differences have only been documented for primates with vastly different foraging strategies and geographic distributions. To see if similar differences could be documented for closely related species, dental replicas from Cebus apella, Cebus nigrivittatus, and Cebus capucinus were examined using scanning electron microscopy. Quantitative analyses reveal that (1) even for closely related species, microwear differences between facets of one species are still far less than those between homologous facets of different species; and (2) the dental microwear of Cebus apella, Cebus nigrivittatus, and Cebus capucinus are still significantly different from one another. Furthermore, the data suggest that the dietary differences between these species may center around the presence or absence of hard objects in the diet.

Blakey, Michael L.; Armelagos, George J.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660404pmid: 3887935

The month of onset, duration, and incidence of dental enamel hypoplasia and hypocalcification was determined in sub‐adults from the Dickson Mounds (Illinois) skeletal series (A.D. 950–1300). The onset of enamel defects occurred predominantly during the intrauterine period, suggesting maternal stress. There are marked differences in survivorship and the duration of enamel disruption in those affected prenatally and postnatally. The relationship between these data and studies of adult dentition is examined.

Kirch, Patrick V.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660405pmid: 3993763

The results of a population genetic study of several Polynesian Outlier and Melanesian populations are compared with recent findings from archaeology. Certain remarkable correspondences offer independent confirmation of particular inter‐island contacts and prehistoric population movements.

Schell, Lawrence M.; Hodges, Denise C.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660406pmid: 3993764

A study of children living adjacent to an international airport was conducted to learn whether noise exposure affected physical growth. Prenatal and postnatal noise exposures were estimated for each subject based on noise levels at their residences during jetplane takeoffs. Subjects' birthweights were standardized for sex and parity, and their postnatal heights and weights were standardized for sex and age (range 6–11 years). The difference between standardized birthweight score and postnatal height score, and between birthweight score and postnatal weight score, represent a change in growth status of a more or less permanent nature, respectively. After adjusting for confounding factors, children from the exposed community (n = 103) had a significantly smaller mean of status change by height (p < 0.05), and a somewhat smaller mean of status change by weight (0.10 < p < 0.05) in comparison to children from an unexposed community (n = 94). A dose‐response curve was then expected in the exposed community. However, in multiple regression analyses of the exposed children, noise exposure was not related to either change in growth status variable. This second result is inconsistent with the differences between communities and suggests that they are a result of factors other than noise exposure. We conclude that the moderate to severe noise levels of the areas surrounding most subjects' homes did not adversely affect postnatal growth. Further studies of noise and growth should concentrate observations on people exposed to even more severe noise levels than those experienced by most subjects in this study.

Stuart‐Macadam, Patty

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660407pmid: 3887936

Porotic hyperostosis is currently considered to be one of several stress markers available for assessing the health and nutritional status of past human populations. The present study questions one of the basic assumptions underlying its use; that is, that the occurrence of porotic hyperostosis in an individual represents an episode of anemia that was current or had occurred within a relatively short period prior to death. A synthesis of data from a Romano‐British site Poundbury Camp, anthropological and clinical studies, and information on bone physiology suggests that lesions of porotic hyperostosis seen in adults are most probably representative of a childhood episode of anemia. Lesions seen in adults are the result of bone changes occurring in the growth period that have not undergone complete remodelling. This viewpoint has implications for future interpretation of data on porotic hyperostosis obtained from skeletal collections.

Chamberlain, A. T.; Wood, B. A.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660408pmid: N/A

The relationship between breadth and height of the mandibular corpus has been investigated in a sample of 77 hominid mandibles. An interspecific allometric increase in robusticity with size occurs between four taxonomic subgroups of Australopithecus, but subgroups of Homo vary in robusticity while differing little in size. Within taxonomic subgroups, variation in breadth is not significantly related to variation in height among the “gracile” australapithecines; however, it is isometrically related to height in the “robust” australopithecines and bears an allometric relationship to height in Homo. Thus, robusticity, in conjunction with size, may provide a useful indicator of the taxonomic affinities of hominid mandibles.

Harvey, Robin G.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660409pmid: 3993765

An EEL reflectance spectrophotometer was used to measure the skin color of the inner upper arm and the forearm of 913 Karkar Islanders (Madang District) and 684 Lufa villagers (Eastern Highlands District). The samples were subdivided to study sex, age, and population variation against a background of ecological observations, including sunlight exposure, clothing, and erythemally effective wavelengths of ultraviolet light (Robertson, unpublished Ph.D. thesis, 1974). Population differences in sex and age variation in upper arm skin color may largely be attributable to the effects of culturally associated clothing differences. Not only do the Lufa villagers wear substantially less clothing than the Karkars, but also their arms are exposed more frequently to ultraviolet light during heavy manual work in unshaded gardens. For the melanin content of the forearm skin there are similar patterns of age variation in both populations; however, the populations differ in mean percentage of reflectance throughout most of the age span. These between‐population differences are interpreted as a consequence of greater average daily exposure to sunlight and the higher intensity of ultraviolet light in the highland environment. On the forearm the percentage of reflectance at 685 nm decreases more rapidly with age in the prepubertal and adult age groups, a result attributed to endocrine changes superimposed on cumulative changes in the melanin pigmentary mechanism.

Hurov, Jack R.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330660410pmid: N/A

Cine film documenting unrestrained locomotion of vervet monkeys (Cercopithecus aethiops) ranging in age from 6 to greater than 48 months was analyzed to provide information on gait transitions from walking to loping. Changes in the duration of time between reciprocal footfalls were measured to determine how alternate limb movements, which occurred during walking, were converted to synchronous limb coordination characteristic of loping. Footfall pattern changes were also determined, and walk‐lope transition speeds were plotted on logarithmic coordinates, as a function of body mass.