American Journal of Physical Anthropology

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910201pmid: N/A

Brown, B.; Walker, A.; Ward, C. V.; Leakey, R. E.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910202pmid: 8317557

The calvaria of an adult Australopithecus boisei from Area 104, Koobi Fora, Lake Turkana, is described. The specimen, KNM‐ER 23000, comes from sediments dated to about 1.9 Ma. It consists of the frontal, both parietals, both temporals, most of the occipital as well as two small pieces of sphenoid, and a mandibular tooth root. The specimen is presumed to be an adult male, based on its size and the great development of features associated with the masticatory apparatus. KNM‐ER 23000 is close in general size and shape to KNM‐ER 406, KNM‐ER 13750, and Olduvai Hominid 5 and it has a mixture of features seen in these three roughly contemporaneous crania. The frontal, especially the tori, resembles that of OH 5; the parietals are most like those of KNM‐ER 13750; the occipital is like those of the two other Turkana specimens, and the temporals have a mixture of features from all of these, This specimen adds to our knowledge of variability in A. boisei. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Kramer, Andrew

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910203pmid: 8317558

Recently, nomina such as “Homo heidelbergensis” and “H. ergaster” have been resurrected to refer to fossil hominids that are perceived to be specifically distinct from Homo sapiens and Homo erectus. This results in a later human fossil record that is nearly as speciose as that documenting the earlier history of the family Hominidae. However, it is agreed that there remains only one extant hominid species: H. sapiens. Has human taxonomic diversity been significantly pruned over the last few hundred millennia, or have the number of taxa been seriously overestimated?

Hanihara, Tsunehiko

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910204pmid: 8317559

Distance analyses were applied to 11 craniofacial measurements recorded in samples from East and Southeast Asia, Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Micronesia for the purpose of assessing the biological affinities and possible origins of these populations. A clear separation between Australomelanesians and other populations from East and Southeast Asia and the Pacific is evident. The craniofacial variations suggest that the generalized Asian populations (Negritos, Dayaks, Lesser Sunda Islands, etc.) represent at least part of the morphological background of not only the majority of present Southeast Asians, but also the Neolithic Jomon people and their lineage in Japan, Polynesians, and western Micronesians. The original craniofacial features of Southeast Asians may have occurred as the result of convergent microevolution due to similar environmental conditions such as tropical rain forest. This supports the local‐evolution hypothesis for modern Southeast Asian craniofacial features. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Aufderheide, Arthur C.; Muñoz, Ivan; Arriaza, Bernardo

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910205pmid: 8317560

The mummification methods of an ancient maritime population on the northern coast of Chile are reviewed and the findings in an additional seven individuals are reported. Members of this cultural group, Chinchorro, practiced a selective, elaborate form of artificial mummification which persisted more than 4,000 years. Its complexity diminished with time, gradually disappearing after 2,000 B. C. One of the seven individuals herein reported is a rather poorly but spontaneously (“naturally”) preserved body that may represent the oldest mummy reported to date–about 9,000 years old. Chemical reconstruction of their diet demonstrates that the principal component was derived from marine resources with only minor supplementation from terrestrial hunting as well as food gathering from river mouth vegetal sources, confirming the marine dependence of their adaptational strategy. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Grauer, A. L.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910206pmid: 8317561

An assessment of the presence and patterns of porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions in the skeletal population (n = 1,014) from St. Helen‐on‐the‐Walls, York, are used to examine health and disease in urban medieval England. The analyses of these two lesions indicate that 58% of the population display evidence of porotic hyperostosis and that 21.5% of the population display periosteal reactions. Through differential diagnosis it is asserted that porotic hyperostosis is associated with iron‐deficiency anemia, and that periosteal reactions may be the result of endemic treponematosis and/or non‐specific infection, including parasitic infestation. An association between the presence of remodeled lesions and adulthood is noticeable for both porotic hyperostosis and periosteal reactions, as is a pattern of increased average age at death for those displaying both conditions. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Zamudio, Stacy; Droma, Tarshi; Norkyel, Kundu Y.; Acharya, Ganesh; Zamudio, Joseph A.; Niermeyer, Susan N.; Moore, Lorna G.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910207pmid: 8317562

Intrauterine growth retardation has long been recognized at high altitude. Since growth‐retarded babies have a decreased chance of survival, intrauterine growth retardation would be expected to have been selected against in populations long resident at high altitude. We have previously reported that Tibetan babies born at 3,658 m weighed more than their North or South American altitude counterparts. This study sought to determine whether Tibetans were protected from altitude‐associated intrauterine growth retardation. We compared birth weights in Tibetans living at low altitude in Kathmandu, Nepal (elevation 1,200 m), or at high altitude in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, China (elevation 3,658 m). Birth weights were similar in 45 low‐altitude and 34 high‐altitude Tibetan births regardless of whether all infants or only full‐term births were considered, or whether birth weight was adjusted for variation in maternal parity, gestational age, and infant sex. In comparison with literature observations, the altitude‐associated difference in birth weight was smallest in Tibetans, intermediate in South America, and greatest in North America. These data support the hypothesis that Tibetans are protected from altitude‐associated intrauterine growth retardation and suggest that selection for optimization of birth weight at high altitude has occurred in Tibetans. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Koufos, George D.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910208pmid: 8317563

In 1990, a new late Miocene locality named “Nikiti 1” or NKT, was discovered near the village of Nikiti (Chalkidiki, Macedonia, Greece) about 100 km east of Thessaloniki City. The locality is situated in the Nikiti Formation, which consists of yellowish sands, gravels and pebbles and has been dated to late Vallesian–early Turolian. Among the initially collected fossils there is a mandible of a hominoid primate, which is described, compared, and attributed to Ouranopithecus macedoniensis. A short review of the species in Macedonia and its phylogenetic relationships are also given. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

And, Maciej Henneberg; Louw, Graham J.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910209pmid: 8317564

A previous study (Henneberg and Louw: Am. J. Hum. Biol. 2:227–233, 1990) showed that urban schoolchildren born between August and January were taller and heavier by 13 to 17% of the standard deviation (S) than those born in February to July. The study is now extended to 1,522 impoverished rural schoolchildren from the Little Karoo district of S. Africa and to 804 German Shepherd dogs kennelled at a breeding station in the Transvaal. The dogs provided a quasi‐experimental model because for all of them nutrition and living conditions were practically identical throughout the year. The month‐of‐birth effect in the body weight of dogs was found to be stronger than that in urban children: dogs born between August and January were heavier by 22% of S than those born in February through July. In rural children the effect is present, but its magnitude is somewhat less and the peak is shifted by 2–3 months. Children born in May through October are 11% of S lighter than those born in November through April. It seems that living conditions characteristic of extreme poverty tend to diminish the effect. In both the animal model and rural children the month‐of‐birth effect decreases with advancing age and is more pronounced in males than in females. These findings are in agreement with previous observations in urban children from Cape Town. Since the living conditions of dogs and humans differ, as do the climatic conditions of Cape Town, Little Karoo and the Transvaal, it is surmised that the similarity of the effect may result from factors influencing the entire planet in a uniform way. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Wu, Liu; Turner, Christy G.

doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1330910210pmid: 8317565

The frequency and form of the middle trigonid crest (MTC) in lower permanent molars is reported for 1,131 dental casts of Bushman (San), Bantu, Solomons, Hawaiians, Pima, Eskimo, Navajo, Chinese, and American whites. The MTC occurs most often on the first molar. We found very little intra‐trait variation, so observations were scored on a present‐absent basis. The MTC is most frequent in the African samples and rare in those of the other populations. Two reference plaques can be obtained to add to the existing series in the ASU dental anthropology system. © 1993 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.