Rapid change in height and body proportions of Maya American children

Bogin, Barry; Smith, Patricia K.; Orden, Alicia Bibiana; Silva, M. I. Varela; Loucky, James

doi:10.1002/ajhb.10092

Cited by 251 publications

(211 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Most recent analyses continue to interpret variation in human limb proportions as being adaptive in response to environmental stress (Temple et al 2008) and relatively stable throughout development (Cowgill et al 2012). This sits somewhat at odds with evidence for plasticity of human body size and limb proportions (Tanner et al 1982;Bogin et al 2002), and evidence that environmental plasticity of many phenotypic characteristics can influence heritability estimates (Wells and Stock 2011). A comparison of variation in physique among the Andaman Islanders and Later Stone Age (LSA) Southern Africans (Khoisan) demonstrates that these populations share small body size and adaptations characteristic of other low-latitude populations (Kurki et al 2008); however, it is unclear whether other negrito populations share these phenotypic characteristics.…”

Section: Variation In Human Phenotype and Among Negrito Populationsmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Skeletal Phenotype of “Negritos” from the Andaman Islands and Philippines Relative to Global Variation among Hunter-Gatherers

Stock

2013

Human Biology

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The "negrito hypothesis" suggests that populations of small-bodied foragers in South and Southeast Asia who share common phenotypic characteristics may also share a common, ancient origin. The key defining characteristics of the "negrito" phenotype, small body size, dark skin, and tightly curled hair, have been interpreted as linking these populations to sub-Saharan Africans. The underlying assumption of this interpretation is that the observed phenotypic similarities likely reflect shared ancestry rather than phenotypic convergence. Current genetic evidence is inconclusive, as it both demonstrates that negrito populations have genetic affinities with neighboring populations but also rare and ancient variation that suggests considerable isolation. This study investigates the skeletal phenotype of Andaman Islanders and Aeta foragers from the Philippines in the context of the phenotypic variation among other hunter-gatherers globally, to test whether they show a common, unique physique apart from small body size. Particular emphasis is placed on the comparison of negrito phenotypes to African, Asian, and Australian hunter-gatherer diversity to investigate phenotypic similarities to other populations globally. The results demonstrate that despite sharing small adult stature, the Andaman Islanders and Aeta show variation in body dimensions. In particular, the Andaman Islanders share a pattern of narrow bi-iliac breadth and short upper limbs with the Khoisan (Later Stone Age Southern Africans), whereas the Aeta and Efé show broader bi-iliac breadths relative to lower limb lengths. Although general similarities in size and proportions remain between the Andamanese and Aeta, differences in humero-femoral indices and arm length between these groups and the Efé demonstrate that there is not a generic "pygmy" phenotype. Our interpretations of negrito origins and adaptation must account for this phenotypic variation. Abstract The "negrito hypothesis" suggests that populations of smallbodied foragers in South and Southeast Asia who share common phenotypic characteristics may also share a common, ancient origin. The key defining characteristics of the "negrito" phenotype, small body size, dark skin, and tightly curled hair, have been interpreted as linking these populations to sub-Saharan Africans. The underlying assumption of this interpretation is that the observed phenotypic similarities likely reflect shared ancestry rather than phenotypic convergence. Current genetic evidence is inconclusive, as it both demonstrates that negrito populations have genetic affinities with neighboring populations but also rare and ancient variation that suggests considerable isolation. This study investigates the skeletal phenotype of Andaman Islanders and Aeta foragers from the Philippines in the context of the phenotypic variation among other hunter-gatherers globally, to test whether they show a common, unique physique apart from small body size. Particular emphasis is placed on the comparison of negrito phenotypes to African, As...

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Section: Variation In Human Phenotype and Among Negrito Populationsmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Skeletal Phenotype of “Negritos” from the Andaman Islands and Philippines Relative to Global Variation among Hunter-Gatherers

Stock

2013

Human Biology

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“…(Auyeung et al, 2009). It is also thought that poor nutrition in utero (Elia et al, 2007) and childhood (Tanner et al, 1982;Gunnell et al, 1998;Jantz and Jantz, 1999;Bogin et al, 2001Bogin et al, , 2002 reduces leg length relative to trunk length and/or trunk plus head length, and this will affect the prediction of height from lower limb measurements. The extent to which these considerations apply to upper limb measurements, especially distal limb lengths (for example, ulna length), is unclear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ulna length to predict height in English and Portuguese patient populations

et al. 2011

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Background/Objective: This study assessed the extent to which ulna length could be used to predict height and body mass index (BMI) in various groups of English and Portuguese hospitalised patients, and tidal volumes in critically ill patients at risk of requiring ventilatory support. Subjects/Methods: Bedside measurements of weight, height and ulna length were made in 507 patients (432 English, 75 Portuguese; 264 men, 243 women) with a mean age of 61.8 ± 18.9 years, height 165.1 ± 9.5 cm and BMI 26.7 ± 5.43 kg/m 2 . Results: Ulna length could be measured with ease in all subjects. The intra-observer technical error of measurement in the same subjects was 1%. Within each category of men and women aged o65 years and 65 years and over, there was no significant difference between the English and Portuguese in the intercept or regression coefficients for the ulna-height relationships. A strong relationship was found between predicted and measured height (r ¼ 0.963, standard error of the estimate 4.6 cm). The overall mean and s.d. of the difference was 0.3±2.7% of height, with no significant difference between English and Portuguese populations. The discrepancy between measured and predicted BMI corresponded to 0.7 ± 5.5% (s.d.) (all subjects) and for ventilatory volumes predicted from height (critically ill subjects only) 0.7±7.1%. Conclusion: Height can be predicted from ulna length with precision and ease in a wide range of patient groups, and without the need to use different equations in English and Portuguese populations. The predicted measurements are acceptable in most clinical circumstances.

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“…Cranial and dental remains are not as directly affected by behaviour and activity (as compared to the postcranial skeleton) so they should preserve genetic information more directly. The postcranial skeleton is more subject to environmental influences and mechanical factors resulting from mobility and activity (Bogin and Loucky 1997;Pearson 2000;Bogin et al 2002). Nevertheless there is a genetic component to body size and physique (Trinkaus et al 1994;Bogin 1999).…”

Section: Why Use Human Remains To Explore This Issue?mentioning

confidence: 99%

A bioarchaeological study of mid-Holocene communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: the interface between foraging and pastoralism

Ginter

2009

Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa

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The late Holocene marks a period of significant population movement and subsistence change throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa. Around 3500 BP it appears that foraging populations in southernmost South Africa began to experience stress related to an increasing population and changing climatic conditions. Approximately 1500 years later a new form of subsistence -sheep herdingemerged in areas previously occupied solely by foragers, but was not exclusively adopted. The mechanisms surrounding the introduction of this new subsistence strategy -an indigenous adoption via diffusion or a foreign migration -remain unresolved. This study takes a biological approach to this significant question in southern African prehistory by exploring a collection of Later Stone Age skeletal remains that predate and postdate the appearance of pastoralism in order to determine if any significant changes in skeletal morphology indicative of population discontinuity can be identified at 2000 BP.A collection of seventy-three Later Stone Age adult skeletons (31 M, 42 F) with newly generated radiocarbon dates ranging from 8000 BP to 300 BP (uncalibrated) from the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa forms the basis of this study. Questions surrounding population continuity or discontinuity associated with the advent of sheep herding are investigated by examining metric variables collected from the cranium, post cranial skeleton and dentition, in conjunction with cranial discrete traits. Some changes in skeletal morphology are observed, but the timing, pattern and magnitude of these changes are not consistent with a foreign migration. A reduction in overall skeletal size in the absence of changes in shape corresponds with the period of forager intensification. Body size rebounds at around 2000 BP when evidence for a new form subsistence, sheep herding, is first observed in this region, suggesting that some foragers may have adopted sheep and the herding way of life as a stress relieving mechanism, while others maintained the foraging lifestyle. The timing of the observed changes in skeletal size, the absence of shape changes and the homogeneity in cranial discrete trait frequencies through time argues against the idea that sheep herding was introduced to the Cape region by outsiders. Rather, the findings of the current study suggest sheep herding was an indigenous development among existing foragers.iii

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Rapid change in height and body proportions of Maya American children

Cited by 251 publications

References 22 publications

The Skeletal Phenotype of “Negritos” from the Andaman Islands and Philippines Relative to Global Variation among Hunter-Gatherers

The Skeletal Phenotype of “Negritos” from the Andaman Islands and Philippines Relative to Global Variation among Hunter-Gatherers

Ulna length to predict height in English and Portuguese patient populations

A bioarchaeological study of mid-Holocene communities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa: the interface between foraging and pastoralism

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