PubMed · 11639876
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H Wurm. 1993. [Not Available].. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11639876/
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It is well known that there are measurable differences between whites and blacks in the size and proportions of skeletal components. There are also metric differences among populations within these racial phenotypes. The population specific quantification of this variation can be used to aid in the identification of racial affinity in the absence of a more racially definitive skeletal element like the skull. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to quantify these differences in the pelvis of South African whites and blacks. A sample of 400, ostensibly healthy known sex/race os coxae was examined. Skeletal material was obtained from the Pretoria and Dart collections. A series of 13 measurements were taken Data were subjected to SPSS stepwise and direct discriminant function analysis. Pubic length was chosen as best for discriminating between races for males and iliac breadth as best in females. Highest average accuracies (Function 1) were 88% for males (pubic length, greater sciatic notch posterior width, acetabulum diameter, total height) and 85% for females (pubic length, greater sciatic notch posterior width, acetabulum diameter, iliac breath). In conclusion, this research resulted in the development of standards of identification tailored to this population and unquestionably demonstrates that race differences in the skeleton are highly significant and must be considered in all skeletal analyses.
The deluge of data from the human genome project (HGP) presents new opportunities for molecular anthropologists to study human variation through the promise of vast numbers of new polymorphisms (e.g., single nucleotide polymorphisms or SNPs). Collecting the resulting data into a single, easily accessible resource will be important to facilitate this research. We created a prototype Web-accessible database named ALFRED (ALelle FREquency Database, http://alfred.med.yale.edu/alfred/) to store and make publicly available allele frequency data on diverse polymorphic sites for many populations. In constructing this database, we considered many different concerns relating to the types of information needed for anthropology, population genetics, molecular genetics, and statistics, as well as issues of data integrity and ease of access to data. We also developed links to other Web-based databases as well as procedures for others to make links to the data in ALFRED. Here we present an overview of the issues considered and provisional solutions, as well as an example of data already available. It is our hope that this database will be useful for research and teaching in a wide range of fields, and that colleagues from various fields will contribute to making ALFRED an important resource for many studies as yet unforeseen.
This paper contrasts levels of sexual size dimorphism in second metacarpal osteometric and geometric morphology in two bioculturally distinctive populations: 19th century Euro-Canadian settlers, and proto/historic central Canadian Inuit. Significant within-group sexual size dimorphism is found for all variables, though few show significant interpopulation differences. However, in every case the Euro-Canadian sample is more dimorphic than the Inuit sample. Notably, differences reside in geometric measures (total area, Imax) sensitive to variation in functional strain, and thus are interpretable in light of proximate causal models, i.e., activity profiles distinct from generalized mode of subsistence. Other proximate factors, such as nutritional stress acting to diminish Inuit sexual size dimorphism, may also play a role. However, models often cited to explain dimorphism, such as marriage practice (e.g., polygyny) or division of labor situated in mode of subsistence, do not. The higher sexual size dimorphism in the 19th century settler sample belies the notion that technological progress inevitably leads to reduced dimorphism.