American Journal of Physical Anthropology

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890101pmid: N/A

Jantz, R. L.; Brehme, H.; Eriksson, A. W.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890102pmid: 1530055

Utilization of dermatoglyphics for population studies is apparently increasing, but methods vary widely among investigators. We investigate how different types of dermatoglyphic data can affect estimates of biological distance among Finno‐Ugric speaking populations. Dermatoglyphic distances were calculated using the following categories of traits: 1) Finger ridge‐counts (radial and ulnar count for each digit), 2) finger ridge‐counts (largest count for each digit), 3) finger pattern types, 4) palm ridge‐counts, 5) palm patterns, and 6) main‐line terminations. In addition, we compare our distances with those of Heet, which rely heavily on summary characters. Distances are evaluated by comparing them to each other and to language and geographic distances.

Byerley, David M.; Weitz, Charles A; Richards, Frank

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890103pmid: 1530058

The relationship between smoking and lung function was examined in a large sample of healthy Solomon Island Melanesians and Polynesians as part of a multidisciplinary study carried out in 1985 and 1986. Comparisons are made between samples of smokers and non‐smokers to determine if smoking is associated with a reduction in pulmonary function among males and females between 25 and 75 years of age.

Uetake, Teruo

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890104pmid: 1530060

Twenty healthy men were asked to walk as straight as possible to a target 60 m away at normal speed. A series of footprints was recorded for each subject by having him wear socks soaked with red ink and walk on white paper fixed flat to the floor. Fourier analysis was applied to determine whether the subjects actually were able to walk straight, and the results revealed that all walked in a sinuous line rather than a straight line. Periodicity and amplitude of the meandering differed from subject to subject. These facts suggest that none of us can walk in a strictly straight line; rather, we meander, primarily due to a slight structural or functional imbalance of our limbs, which produces a gait asymmetry, and secondarily due to feedback from our sense of sight, which acts to correct the shifted walking course. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Gebo, Daniel L.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890105pmid: 1530061

In living primates, except the great apes and humans, the foot is placed in a heel‐elevated or semi‐plantigrade position when these animals move upon arboreal or terrestrial substrates. Heel placement and bone positions in the non‐great ape primate foot are designed to increase mobility and flexibility in the arboreal environment. Orangutans have further enhanced foot mobility by adapting their feet for suspension and thus similarly utilize foot positions where the heel does not touch the substrate. Chimpanzees and gorillas represent an alternative pattern (plantigrady), in which the heel contacts the surface of the support at the end of swing phase, especially during terrestrial locomotion. Thus, chimpanzees and gorillas possess feet adapted for both arboreal and terrestrial substrates. African apes also share several osteological features related to plantigrady and terrestrial locomotion with early hominids. From this analysis, it is apparent that hominid locomotor evolution passed through a quadrupedal terrestrial phase. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Daegling, David J.; Ravosa, Matthew J.; Johnson, Kirk R.; Hylander, William L.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890106pmid: 1530062

We investigated the influence of teeth, periodontal ligaments, and alveoli on the structural integrity of human mandibles loaded in torsion. Surface bone strain was recorded from the mandibular corpus below the first molar on each of four specimens. These specimens were loaded by an external force that caused primarily torsion about the long axis of the corpus, and bone strain was recorded under the following conditions: 1) all supporting structures intact, 2) all supporting structures intact and the M1 loaded by a simulated bite force, 3) M1 removed and 4) alveolar bone of the M1 removed. For comparative purposes, experiments were also designed to investigate the effects of intermittent holes on the torsional rigidity of a baboon femur. This permitted comparison of the mechanical behavior of the mandibles with that of a more homogeneous bony member. These experiments suggest that the presence of teeth within alveoli has a measurable role in the maintenance of torsional rigidity. The condition of the periodontal ligament also appears to influence these stress‐bearing capabilities. Moreover, the alveolar bone supporting the teeth also provides structural support for countering torsional loads. For the specific case of corpus twisting, the mandible does not behave as a member with open or closed sections as predicted by theoretical models. The observed magnitudes of bone strain, however, conform more closely to the Predictions generated by a closed‐section model. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Moore, Allen J.; Cheverud, James M.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890107pmid: 1530063

The systematics of the Saguinus oedipus group within the bare‐face tamarins remains open to question. Hershkovitz (Living New World Monkeys (Platyrrhini), Vol. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977) places the cotton‐top and rufus‐naped tamarins as subspecies of Saguinus oedipus (S. o. oedipus and S. o. geoffroyi, respectively). In contrast, several other authors have argued that these two taxa should be considered separate species (S. oedipus and S. geoffroyi). Phylogenetic relationships within the group are also disputed. Resolving these different interpretations has been difficult in part because no study of this group has included an objective measure of expected levels of specific vs. subspecific variation. We used facial measurements from 179 adult crania to address the systematics of this group and included a related species that is known to include multiple subspecies. Our sample included three taxa from the S. oedipus group of the bare‐face tamarins (S. oedipus, S. geoffroyi, and S. leucopus) and six subspecies from the related hairy‐face tamarin species S. fuscicollis. Comparisons to S. leucopus provided a relative measure of species‐level differences. Analyses that included S. fuscicollis provided a measure of subspecific variation. There was no evidence of facial sexual dimorphism in any of these taxa. A variety of multivariate statistical analyses including discriminant function and cluster analysis suggest that S. oedipus and S. geoffroyi differ morphologically at a level consistent with species‐level distinctions. The extent of differences between these taxa is large. The differences in their facial morphology was on the order of differences between S. oedipus or S. geoffroyi and S. leucopus rather than the extent of variation among S. fuscicollis subspecies. Furthermore, a comparison of collecting localities revealed that the variation we observed among S. oedipus and S. geoffroyi was not clinal but presented a large morphological discontinuity at the boundary between taxa. Our analyses also suggested that S. leucopus is more similar to S. oedipus than is either to S. geoffroyi. Finally, it may be that there are some distinct species within the S. fuscicollis group. However, this hypothesis, along with other phylogenetic relationships suggested by this study, will require more data and further study. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Doran, Diane M.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890108pmid: 1530064

Currently two methods, instantaneous and locomotor bout sampling, are used most commonly in studies of locomotor behavior. To date, no study has addressed how comparable the results of the two methods are. This paper considers whether different sampling methods of locomotor behavior produce different results.

Dahl, Jeremy F.; Nadler, Ronald D.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890109pmid: 1530056

Cyclical changes in the vulvae of five adult lar gibbons (Hylobates [H.] lar) were studied and compared with those of eight lowlandgorillas. The results reveal that the gibbons have relatively conspicuous and specialized sexual swellings that alter shape and appearance during the ovarian cycle. At maximum extent, the genital swellings of gorillas are relatively and absolutely smaller than those of gibbons, and lack the distinctive coloration seen in the genital swellings of the smaller apes. We conclude that the female gibbon's sexual swelling is a far more conspicuous and effective signal of estrus status than that of the gorilla, and that this is not explicable in terms of allometry. Previous investigators have pointed to one‐male mating systems, monogamous pair‐bonding, or an arboreal habitat as reasons that some primates should have less conspicuous signals of estrus than others. Our findings for the gibbon are the reverse of these predictions, and indicate that sexual selection other than by intermale competition for estrous females is implicated in the ultimate causation of the gibbon's swelling. The adaptive value and significance of the female gibbon's sexual signals remain unclear, However. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Schwartz, Susan M.; Kemnitz, Joseph W.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330890110pmid: 1530057

Normative age‐ and gender‐related changes in body composition, serum lipids, testosterone, and insulin‐like growth factor (IGF‐1) were examined in the Cayo Santiago free‐ranging rhesus macaques. In both adult males and females, body weights, crown‐rump lengths, and circumference of the limbs were lowest in the oldest group (20+ years of age) as compared with other adult age classes. Body fat, as reflected in subcutaneous fatfold thickness and waist/thigh ratios, were higher in adult females than adult males. This gender dimorphism was first detectable among the 6–9 year old age group. Greatest body fat among females was observed in the 10–14 age group, whereas in males the highest values were observed in the 15–19 age group. Differences in body composition were also observed with respect to reproductive status. Although there were no gender differences in overall cholesterol levels, there were age‐related differences between males and females, and only in males were cholesterol values positively related to adiposity. There were no age‐ or gender‐related differences in triglyceride values, but levels were significantly higher in pregnant females in comparison with other reproductive states. Levels of testosterone were not significantly related to any morphometric parameter and values did not decrease significantly with age. Levels of IGF‐1 exhibited a significant age‐related decrease among adult males, and females had higher levels independent of age. The similarities between the present findings and human studies suggest that further studies in the free‐ranging rhesus macaques would provide a bridge between studies of laboratory‐housed primates and studies of human beings with respect to the etiology of obesity and life‐history changes in body composition and endocrine and metabolic parameters. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.