Showing papers on "Biological anthropology published in 2007"

The Status of the Race Concept in Contemporary Biological Anthropology: A Review

Abstract: The race concept dominated the study of human biological variation for centuries. Prior to, and especially after, the Second World War, a number of anthropologists questioned the scientific value o...

Diet and Dental Health in Predynastic Egypt: A Comparison of Hierakonpolis and Naqada

Abstract: Seven dietary indicators on 364 dentitions of working class Predynastic Egyptians from Hierakonpolis and Naqada are examined in this dissertation. The majority of the samples from both sites date to the Naqada II period (3500-3200 BC), during which these were the two main urban centers for Upper Egypt. Both sites are located on the west bank of the Nile approximately 130 km from one-another. The samples consist of adults and juveniles ranging from 6 years to over 50 years of age. The dietary indicators, which include caries, calculus, abscess, periodontal disease, macrowear, microwear, and hypoplastic enamel defects are used to look for statistically significant differences between working class inhabitants of the two sites as well as between the sex and age groups within each site. The analysis is used to address four main research questions. (1) What combination of the above indicators is the best for establishing an overall picture of diet and dental health? Results illustrate the importance of using a wide array of indictors. (2) Which of the available flora and fauna were being eaten? While each specific food could no be identified individually, cultivated items, such as wheat, barley or millet were being eaten in the form of bread, that raw vegetables were consumed by all individuals at Hierakonpolis but mostly women and children at Naqada, and that at least some meat and/or fish was consumed at both sites. (3) Were food types found as burial offerings being eaten? Consumption of at least two burial offerings, bread and yellow nutsedge (Hierakonpolis only), are supported by the data. (4) Were the working class inhabitants of Hierakonpolis and Naqada consuming the same diet? Differences and similarities in the diet and dental health between inhabitants of the two sites are examined. While the major Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. portions of the diet appear to be similar, this study found both dietary and behavioral differences between the working class members of these sites. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.

Obscurantist Holism Versus Clear-Cut Analysis: Will Anthropology Obviate the Biology-Culture Divide?

Abstract: Although holism has long been a central theme in anthropology, current perception is that anthropological discourse is being pulled apart along its biology-culture seams. Despite reservations among sociocultural theorists, Darwinism remains the only body of theory that purports to link sub-disciplines of anthropology. The importance of holism in anthropology is reconciled here with disciplinary fragmentation and evolutionary theory. While Darwinism appears to provide interdisciplinary theoretical ties, it cannot successfully relate sub-disciplines of anthropology because this theory itself relies on a preformationist divide between inherited and acquired characteristics. Increasingly subtle language of genetic information and constraints does not ameliorate this problem. Research potential for the ecological constraints model in biological anthropology is discussed. Developmental systems theory (DST) is advocated as a tool for working toward a holistic anthropology [Susan Oyama, Paul Griffiths, and Russell Gray, ``Introduction: What is Developmental Systems Theory?,'' in Susan Oyama, Paul Griffiths, and Russell Gray, eds., Cycles of Contingency: Developmental Systems and Evolution (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001), 1–11].

Unity and diversity: Genetic studies on the population of China

Abstract: Biological Anthropology was established in the 19th century, prior to the acceptance of Wallace and Darwin's theory of natural selection and the re-discovery of Mendel's work on Pisum sativum. Initially named Physical Anthropology, it relied on the analysis of physical traits and used mainly fossils (especially human bones) as evidence of the human evolutionary process. With the establishment of the Darwinian Theory and its re-definition as the Modern Synthesis, anthropologists had access to new forms of data, and many began to call themselves "biological anthropologists". In the beginning of the 20th century Biological Anthropology initiated a new era, with biochemical genetics and later with the direct study of DNA. “Old” questions, such as the shared ancestry of humans and the great apes or the impact of evolutionary forces on population structure, were now able to be scrutinized using these newly developed tools. The displacement of the analysis of diversity from phenotypic traits towards the study of the genetic basis of variation has demanded theoretical, methodological and technical developments. With new technologies being rapidly introduced in the Anthropological field and with the establishment of genomic databases, a great amount of comprehensive genetic data has been collected for populations around the world. The expanding amount of information derived from genome-wide polymorphism analysis is expected to have a dramatic impact on our perception of the human evolutionary history, as well as on aspects related with human health. Furthermore, advances in molecular genetic methodologies have enabled the recovery of DNA fragments from ancient remains, thus allowing the direct study of the genetic pool of extinct populations, and therefore contributing with new evidences for the origin of our species. This volume starts with the contextualization of the emergence of genetic markers and its impact in the advances of Biological Anthropology. Tools and theoretical methods that are presently used in this field are addressed, and their application to various pertinent topics in Anthropology (such as the peopling of the Americas or the relation among primates) is also revised. Moreover, a great attention is put toward ancient DNA studies, not only in its applications but also in its controversial use and problems.

A history of Oxford anthropology

Abstract: List of Figures List of Contributors Preface Introduction Peter Riviere Chapter 1. Origins and Survivals: Tylor, Balfour and the Pitt Rivers Museum and their Role within Anthropology in Oxford 1883-1905 Christopher Gosden, Frances Larson and Alison Petch Chapter 2. The Formative Years: the Committee for Anthropology 1905-38 Peter Riviere Chapter 3. How All Souls got its Anthropologist John Davis Chapter 4. A Major Disaster to Anthropology? Oxford and Alfred Reginald Radcliffe-Brown David Mills Chapter 5. 'A feeling for form and pattern, and a touch of genius': E-P's Vision and the Institute 1946-70 Wendy James Chapter 6. Oxford and Biological Anthropology Geoffrey Harrison Chapter 7. Oxford Anthropology as an Extra-curricular Activity: OUAS and JASO Robert Parkin Chapter 8. Oxford Anthropology since 1970: through Schismogenesis to a New Testament Jonathan Benthall Appendix: Reflections on Oxford's Global Links Compiled by Wendy James Bibliography Index

The evidence for tuberculosis in the Eastern Mediterranean : past and current research and future prospects.

Abstract: A celebration of Patricia Smith’s distinguished career, the papers presented in this Festschrift focus on a region and research topics that have fascinated and challenged her since her student days. The broad intellectual and geographic range covered by the papers offers a wealth of information and insights into the biology of past and present populations of the Eastern Mediterranean, a region rich in history and human diversity. Contents: 1) The future of physical anthropology (Phillip L. Walker); 2) Dental development and life history in primates and a comparison of cuspal enamel growth trajectories in a specimen of homo erectus from Java (Sangiran s7-37), a Neanderthal (Tabun c1), and an early homo sapiens specimen (Skhul ii), from Israel (M. Christopher Dean); 3) Were there Neanderthals in the Levant? (Silvana Condemi); 4) Dental development and pathology from the Levantine Middle Palaeolithic: evidence from the Kebara and Qafzeh hominids (Anne-Marie Tillier ); 5) Tooth components in archaic homo sapiens/Neanderthal specimens from Israel and their taxonomic affiliation (Uri Zilberman); 6) Dental attrition: Neanderthals, Romans and Egyptians, and the question of where we go now (Don Brothwell); 7) A final Natufian population: health and burial status at Eynan-Mallaha (Fanny Bocquentin); 8) Morbidity and mortality in the late PPNB populations from Basta and Ba'ja (Jordan) (Michael Schultz, Tyede H. Schmidt-Schultz, Julia Gresky, Kerstin Kreutz, Margit Berner); 9) “What ceremony else?” Taphonomy and the ritual treatment of the dead in the pre-pottery Neolithic b mortuary complex at Kfar Hahoresh, Israel (Tal Simmons, Nigel Goring-Morris and Liora Kolska Horwitz); 10) Is house 12 at Bouqras a charnel house? (Deborah C. Merrett and Christopher Meiklejohn); 11) Times of stress at Catalhoyuk (Theya Molleson); 13) Artificial cranial deformation in the aceramic Neolithic Near East: evidence from Cyprus (Francoise Le Mort); 14) A retrospective view of cauterization: evidence from Anatolia (Metin Ozbek); 15) Inter-group variation in long bone morphology: an osteometric and radiological study of past populations of Israel (Leonor Dujovny); 16) Human remains from the Nahal Tzeelim Cave, the Dead Sea area (Baruch Arensburg); 17) The EB IA burials of Bâb Edh-Dhrâ, Jordan: bioarchaeological evidence of metabolic disease (Donald J. Ortner, Evan M. Garofalo, Molly K. Zuckerman); A Roman-Byzantine population from Ghiv'at Shappira, Jerusalem (Israel) (Baruch Arensburg and Anna Belfer-Cohen); 18) Challenges in the study of health and disease in the Crusaders (Piers D. Mitchell); 19) The evidence for tuberculosis in the eastern Mediterranean: past and current research, and future prospects (Charlotte Roberts and Jane Buikstra); 20) The emergence of the zoonotic pathogens in the southern Levant (Gila Kahila Bar-Gal and Charles L. Greenblatt); 21) Bones, teeth and ancient DNA unravel major issues in Levantine bio-history (Israel Hershkovitz and Mark Spigelman); 22) From physical anthropology to molecular genetics: studies of Israeli populations in the 20th century (Batsheva Bonne-Tamir); 23) The genetic history of populations in the southern levant as revealed by y chromosome polymorphisms (Almut Nebel, Dvora Filon, Ariella Oppenheim and Marina Faerman); 24) Forensic anthropology in Israel (Tzipi Kahana and Jehuda Hiss).

Essentials of Biological Anthropology: Selected Chapters

Abstract: Pavel Blaha – Charles Susanne – Esther Rebato (eds.) Prague, Karolinum Press, scheduled 2006, paperback, first edition This volume deals with important current anthropological topics. Written by distinguished and well-known scholars from Spain, Czech Republic and Belgium it offers reader a good overview of the modern anthropology. Its content ranges from growth and development of human being to genetics, from human evolution to population genetics, and even to applied anthropology. The chapters are subdivided into four sections: 1st How to define anthropology, 2nd Evolution, 3rd From Growth to Senescence, 4th Anthropology and Society and 5th Applied Anthropology. The volume is accompanied by a vast number of tables, charts and B&W pictures

The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology: A New Voyage of Discovery

Abstract: The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology was established as the first online journal in the field in the month of July 2007 1 . The inaugural issue of the journal (2007, Vol. 1, No. 1) exemplifies the goals set forth by the editorial board. Since its inception, I have received huge response in terms of the number of articles from across the world. All the articles are peer reviewed and the editorial board has selected only those articles which have some international value. The main objective of this new journal is to promote for the public benefit the advancement of education, research and knowledge in the field of biological anthropology. The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology provides an international forum for publication of original articles, reviews and correspondence on subjects that cover practical and theoretical areas of interest relating to the wide range of Biological/Physical anthropology. Subjects covered include Human Origins and Evolution, Pre-historic Archaeology, Human Biology, Human Genetics, Molecular and Biochemical Anthropology, Human Growth and Development, Nutritional Anthropology, Human Ecology, Skeletal and Forensic Anthropology, Primatology, Primate and Human Behavior, Dental Anthropology, Sports Anthropology, Anthropometry, Health, Disease and Demography, Clinical and Medical Anthropology, Epidemiology, Community Health, Neuroanthropology, Population Genetics and Paleopathology. Submissions dealing with the general concept, theory, methods and ethics in anthropology having bearing on biological anthropology are also acceptable. Letters to the editor that relate to manuscripts published recently in the journal or comment on any aspects of the Journal are welcomed. Like most international and peer reviewed journals, The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology is run by professional editorial board with valued input from renowned experts in the field. We very much appreciate the advice and support provided by the members of our editorial board as we move forward with this exciting new endeavor. I am pleased to inform that the journal is now covered/indexed by Google Scholar, SOCOLAR, EBSCO, DMOZ (Open directory project), IMSEAR (WHO Global Index Medicus), DOAJ, SCIRUS, Ulrich's Periodical Directory, Global Health CAB Abstracts, Academic Search Premier. In the next few years, we are looking forward for indexing in Pubmed/Medline. The second issue of The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology publishes wide variety of manuscripts covering many aspects of Biological Anthropology. This issue has 19 manuscripts including 8 original articles, 5 review articles, 3 technical notes and 3 case reports. The issue begins with an original study by Rose Taylor-Weale and Lucio Vinicius of University of Cambridge, U.K. who investigated the role of two competing ecological pressuresclimate and life history in hunter-gatherer anthropometrics 2 . The second paper by Jervas Ekezie and Barnabas Danborno of College of Medicine and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria describes the spousal differences and similarities in physical and cultural traits in a Nigerian population 3 . Other original study by Michael W. Pendleton and Bonnie B. Pendleton of Texas A&M University presents evidence for the possible ritual or psychotropic use of Acacia flowers prior to abandonment of a prehistoric Mimbres-Mogollon archeological site 4 . Another paper by G. Kuhn, Ph. Gruber, R. Muller and F. Ruhli of University of Zurich, Switzerland provides three-dimensional evaluation of structures by Micro Computerized Tomography in analysing tail vertebra of autotomizing lizards 5 . The fifth study by J.S. Thakur, Sutapa Bandyopadhyay and Kamlesh P Joshi of The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology: A New Voyage of Discovery 2 of 4 Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India discusses the role of Anti Tobacco Volunteers as a part of Tobacco Control Strategy in a Tertiary Care Hospital 6 . The sixth original study by Barnabas Danborno, Samuel S. Adebisi, Alexander B. Adelaiye and Samuel A. Ojo of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria describes Sexual Dimorphism and Relationship between Chest, Hip and Waist Circumference with 2D, 4D and 2D:4D in a Nigerian population 7 . Another study by Shyamal Koley of Department of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India shows the reaction patterns of the anti-LH lectin and leucocytes in patients with diabetes mellitus 8 . The last original study by Kaushik Bose, Samiran Bisai, Falguni Chakraborty, Argina Khatun and Hiranmoy Bauri compares data on body composition of two tribal populations of Keonjhar, Orissa, India 9 . As we move forward, R.S. Balgir of Division of Human Genetics, Regional Medical Research Center (ICMR), Bhubaneswar, Orissa, India reviews and discusses epidemiology, population genetics and phenotypic diversity of sickle cell disease in the light of recent findings in India 10 . Mahua Sengupta of Biological Anthropology Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, India gives distribution and present situation of thalassemia among various tribal communities inhabited in the different parts of India critically analyze whether the strategies adopted for the control of thalassemia in India, are feasible for tribal population also 11 . Abhik Ghosh of Anthropology Department, Panjab University, India reviews various prehistoric sites of the entire Chotanagpur region, India. This paper is a first part of the series and other parts will appear in subsequent issues of the journal 12 . Vikas Gautam, Shashank Shekhar, D.R. Arora and B. Arora, Microbiologists from Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh, India and other associated institutes discuss the use of biological weapons in historical context as well as in modern times and describes various preventive measures and diagnostic techniques 13 . John Mao, an anthropologist from Chandigarh, India describes the practice of foot binding-a ritual performed in respect to the Chinese culture 14 . Under technical notes, the first paper by Balwant Rai, a forensic odontologist from India describes how a dental root can be used for estimating age of the person 15 . In another study, Balwant Rai and S.C. Anand, odontologists from India successfully tried to estimate age in children from dental radiograph by regression method 16 . Other study by Balwant Rai investigates the relationship between the stage of calcification of various teeth and skeletal maturity stages 17 . There are three case reports by Satheesha Nayak of Melaka Manipal Medical College (Manipal Campus), Karnataka, India. The first paper reports a rare case of incomplete occipitalization of the atlas vertebra 18 . The second paper reports partial obstruction of jugular foramen by abnormal bone growth at jugular fossa in skull 19 . The last paper of this issue reports presence of accessory renal artery and kinking of aorta due to the abnormal origin of renal arteries 20 . I am thankful to all the members of the editorial board and other outside experts who critically reviewed the manuscripts for this issue. We hope you enjoy reading this issue of new discoveries and up-to-date reviews. Please do E-mail me (gargkk@yahoo.com) your questions, queries, comments and pre-submission enquiries.

Heading towards the destination: The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology on the move

Abstract: The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology has completed one year of its successful publication. The earlier two issues 1,2 show that The Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology is heading towards its destination i.e. One of the recognizable publication in the field of Physical/Biological Anthropology. I am receiving manuscripts from all corners of the world. I am quite thankful to the members of the editorial board for quality publication. This kind of peer-review process for the manuscripts makes the journal an international publication of quality. The editorial board of the journal believes in taking less time in reviewing a manuscript for publication. Now, in this modern era, where online publication system prevails, this feature i.e. the time from the receipt of a manuscript to its publication is the most important subject in the publication of an international academic journal. I, together with members of the editorial board of the journal, would like to express sincere gratitude to our publisher, Internet Scientific Publications, Texas, USA for their all kind of support. The free full text web availability of the issues of the journal seems to have provided access to readers from all over the globe. I usually receive enquiries and suggestions from anthropologists and bio-scientists all over the globe. These early encouraging results suggest that the journal is heading towards achieving international quality publication in the field of Biological Anthropology. As you know the journal; is abstracted by many international abstracting and data base agencies, as a result of which we receive quality manuscripts in all the subfields of Biological anthropology and allied disciplines. At the same time, we feel that due to the international status and unique title of the journal (The only online publication in the field of Biological Anthropology), we will explore many new discoveries in some of the upcoming fields of biological anthropology like reconstruction of face from skull, DNA profiling of ancient material and applications in forensic sciences. The third issue of the journal contains articles from nearly all over the globe. The issue publishes 18 articles including 13 original article, one review article and four case reports. The present issue covers wide variety of manuscripts in the diverse field of biological anthropology. In this issue, the original articles cover every aspect of biological anthropology like nutritional status 3,4 , growth and development of head dimensions 5 , anthropometric and menstrual Characteristics 6 , height estimation from anthropometric measurements 7 , association of hand grip strength with body parameters 8 , maternal age, ethnicity and demography 9 , dermatoglyphic variations 10 , cigarette smoking and age at natural menopause 11 , Ethnic/geographic variation of the Val34Leu polymorphism of coagulation factor XIII 12 , maxillary molar and premolar indices 13 , fat deposition variation in urban and rural populations 14 , age Changes In Physiological Variables And Muscular Strength 15 . The review article is the part II of the series “Prehistory of the Chhotanagpur region” 16 . The case reports present some new cases encountered during anatomical and osteological case work 17,18,19,20 . I look forward to the comments of the readers for this third issue of the journal.

CSI Ozarks: Practicing Forensic Anthropology

Abstract: There are few opportunities for biological anthropologists to apply their work to the real world. The primary exception is forensic anthropology, in which biological anthropology is applied to the legal process in the attempt to discern skeletal features that can be used to determine the age, sex, stature, ancestry, and sometimes cause of death, of individuals.

Language families and quantitative methods in South Asia and elsewhere

Abstract: McMahon, A. M., & McMahon, R. (2007). Language families and quantitative methods in South Asia and elsewhere. In M. Petraglia, & B. Allchin (Eds.), The Evolution and History of Human Populations in South Asia: Inter-disciplinary Studies in Archaeology, Biological Anthropology, Linguistics and Genetics.. (pp. 363-384). Springer.