Adventures in Human Population Biology

Abstract

In this professional memoir I trace my career and the changes that occurred after World War II in the biological anthropology studies of human populations. I describe my academic training at the University of New Mexico and Harvard University and my research training at the US Climatic Research Laboratory. During my academic career at The Pennsylvania State University, I directed two multidisciplinary research efforts as part of the International Biological Programme and Man in the Biosphere Program. These were the high-altitude studies in Nunoa, Peru, and the migration and modernization studies of Samoan communities. I describe my participation in the development of these international science programs as well as the effects on the discipline of biological anthropology. In conclusion, I reflect on the growth and development of biological anthropology, particularly in human population biology.

A Half Century of High‐Altitude Studies in Anthropology: Introduction to the Plenary Session

“…A half‐century ago, Paul T. Baker initiated a pilot study to investigate responses to hypoxia and cold of highland Quechua‐speaking Native Americans resident in the southern Andes of Peru. As Baker noted in a memoir, it was with Gabriel W. Lasker's advice that he applied for and received a Fulbright Research Fellowship to work in Peru. With the Fulbright Fellowship and additional research funds, Baker and his family traveled to Peru in early 1962, first to work with heat tolerance in tropical forest Shipibo and Mestizo men in Pucallpa in the central lowlands, and then on to Cuzco, the pre‐Hispanic Inca capital city, where studies of cold tolerance were conducted in the outlying district of Chinchero, about 30 km north of Cuzco.…”

Paul Thornell Baker: 1927–2007

“…And finally, what of his family who was so much a part of this endeavor? Since other testaments (see Beall, 2008;Little, 1997Little, , 2008Garruto, 2007;Garruto et al, in press) have comprehensively reviewed Paul Baker's accomplishments, and he in turn has somewhat humbly reviewed his own career (Baker, 1996), I would like to build on these by focusing on the attributes of the man I remember. Hopefully, for those not personally acquainted with Paul this account will provide glimpses into the makings of a successful career and a life of exciting challenges.…”

Hematological and pulmonary responses to high altitude in Quechuas: A multivariate approach

“…Nevertheless, human populations in the Andes and Himalayas have inhabited the high-altitude environment for thousands of years, while others (e.g., in North America and Central Asia) have colonized it more recently, i.e., a few centuries ago (Pawson and Jest, 1978;Bonavia, 1991;Pettener et al, 1997). This interesting framework has motivated population biologists to investigate the adaptive mechanisms to hypoxia developed by these peoples (Baker, 1976(Baker, , 1978(Baker, , 1996Greksa and Beall, 1989;Moore, 1990;Monge and Leon Velarde, 1991;Greksa, 1991;Moore et al 1998).…”