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Physical anthropology and archeology

TL;DR: This book discusses Evolutionary Anthropology and Its Historical Development, which aims to explain the development of human evolution through the fossil record and the role of language in the evolution of species.
Abstract: Part 1. Introduction To Evolutionary Theory Part 2. Two The Primates And Their Evolution Part 3. Human Physical And Cultural Evolution Part 4. Variations In Modern Homo Sapiens Appendix Genes And Proteins...489 Glossary...495 References...498 Index...503 Acknowledgments...518
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: An in-depth examination of the racial and ethnic reporting by whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics in the 2000 census shows the emerging pattern, labeled here as the "Americanization" ofracial and ethnic identities, is of simplified racial identities with little acknowledgment of complex ancestries.
Abstract: Images and interpretations of the past, present, and future of the American racial and ethnic landscape are contradictory. Many accounts focus on the increasing diversity that results from immigration and differential natural increase as well as the proliferation of racial and ethnic categories in census data. Less attention has been paid to the formation and erosion of racial and ethnic identities produced by intermarriage and ethnic blending. The framers and custodians of census racial classifications assume a “geographic origins” definition of race and ethnicity, but the de facto measures in censuses and social surveys rely on folk categories that vary over time and are influenced by administrative practices and sociopolitical movements. We illustrate these issues through an in-depth examination of the racial and ethnic reporting by whites, blacks, Asians, and Hispanics in the 2000 census. The emerging pattern, labeled here as the “Americanization” of racial and ethnic identities, and most evident for whites and blacks, is of simplified racial identities with little acknowledgment of complex ancestries. National origin is the predominant mode of reporting racial and ethnic identities among Asians and Hispanics, especially first-generation immigrants. The future of racial and ethnic identities is unknowable, but continued high levels of immigration, intermarriage, and social mobility are likely to blur contemporary divisions and boundaries.

253 citations

Book ChapterDOI
01 Jan 1987
TL;DR: In recent years there has been growing skepticism among some students of the pre-Sapiens sapiens hominids that the earlier romantic views, which pictured early man as a mighty hunter, are an accurate construction of the past.
Abstract: In recent years there has been growing skepticism among some students of the pre-Sapiens sapiens hominids that the earlier romantic views, which pictured early man as a mighty hunter, are an accurate construction of the past. In fact, the trend in much recent work has been to modify this view and to see as unwarranted much of the evidence previously cited in support of the “mighty hunter” view of the past. Some have begun the serious investigation of the distinct possibility that early man was more commonly a scavenger of animal carcasses than a successful predator. This view, while seriously discussed for the pre-Homo erectus hominids, has not been popularly adopted for the investigation of Homo erectus himself. In fact, many theorists consider Homo erectus to be the author of what is referred to as the “hunting way of life” and believe that this shift may in fact stand behind the species’ successful radiation into new environmental zones (Shipman 1984).

52 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a concentration on the process of state formation, as distinct from focusing on the state as an entity, and suggest ways in which this process might be examined empirically.
Abstract: In this paper I seek to do three things. First, I hope to isolate a number of conceptual problems which historians have in dealing with 'the state'. In seeking to resolve these conceptual problems, I propose a concentration on the process of state formation, as distinct from a concentration on the state as an entity. Second, I hope to suggest ways in which this process might be examined empirically. Finally, and fairly briefly, I hope to demonstrate the ways in which this project might be of value to the field of seventeenth-century studies as a whole.

48 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors make an estimate of the age group (pre-childbearing, reproductive, postchildbearing) of each of the 188 extant Venus figurines and compare them with contemporary hunter-gatherer women in three reproduction-related age groups.
Abstract: Upper Paleolithic Venus figurines are traditionally explained as symbols glorifying female fertility. This study suggests the hypothesis that Venuses represent women throughout their entire adult life, not just when they are pregnant; therefore, it is womanhood rather than motherhood that is symbolically recognized or honored. First an estimate is made of the age group (pre-childbearing, reproductive, post-childbearing) of each of the 188 extant Venuses. Contemporary hunter-gatherers are then used to estimate the age structure of Upper Paleolithic groups. A comparison of the proportions of both Venuses and contemporary hunter-gatherer women estimated to be in the three reproduction-related age groups results in statistically significant support for the womanhood hypothesis. Motivations for sculpting the figurines, and their functions, are suggested by considering the probable economic, social, and reproductive roles of Paleolithic women.

42 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
Md. Golam Hossain1, Aik Saw, Alam R, Fumio Ohtsuki, Tunku Kamarul 
TL;DR: Stepwise regression analysis revealed bizygomatic breadth,Head circumference, minimum frontal breadth, head height and morphological facial height to be the best predictor craniofacial measurements with respect to CI.
Abstract: INTRODUCTION Cephalic index (CI), the ratio of head breadth to head length, is widely used to categorise human populations. The aim of this study was to access the impact of anthropometric measurements on the CI of male Japanese university students. METHODS This study included 1,215 male university students from Tokyo and Kyoto, selected using convenient sampling. Multiple regression analysis was used to determine the effect of anthropometric measurements on CI. RESULTS The variance inflation factor (VIF) showed no evidence of a multicollinearity problem among independent variables. The coefficients of the regression line demonstrated a significant positive relationship between CI and minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01), bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) and head height (p < 0.05), and a negative relationship between CI and morphological facial height (p < 0.01) and head circumference (p < 0.01). Moreover, the coefficient and odds ratio of logistic regression analysis showed a greater likelihood for minimum frontal breadth (p < 0.01) and bizygomatic breadth (p < 0.01) to predict round-headedness, and morphological facial height (p < 0.05) and head circumference (p < 0.01) to predict long-headedness. Stepwise regression analysis revealed bizygomatic breadth, head circumference, minimum frontal breadth, head height and morphological facial height to be the best predictor craniofacial measurements with respect to CI. CONCLUSION The results suggest that most of the variables considered in this study appear to influence the CI of adult male Japanese students.

38 citations