Zeitschrift fur Morphologie und Anthropologie最新文献

aDNA-analyses are presented for ancient bones, teeth, soft tissues and dried body fluids. The implications and perspectives for Historical Anthropology are discussed. Methods are described on examples of molecular sex determination and kinship analysis. Finally, first amplifications of DNA-sequences from pathogenes of tuberculosis and plague from ancient skeletal material are reported.

The non-destructive technique of Computed Tomography (CT) is used in an exploratory study to investigate variability in angles measured at the crown surface and the dentino-enamel junction of maxillary molars of Plio-Pleistocene hominids from Swartkrans, Sterkfontein and Kromdraai. Discriminant analysis of six angles used together successfully separates 'gracile' and 'robust' australopithecines, although individual angles do not. This study indicates that differences between teeth of Australopithecus africanus and A. robustus are not fully accounted for by gross differences in enamel thickness.

A total of n = 769 unrelated male and female individuals from eight endogamous caste (Brahmin, Kapu, Yadava, Relli) and tribal (Bagatha, Kotia, Manne Dora, Konda Dora) populations living in various districts of Andhra Pradesh (India) have been typed for haptoglobin (HP) types and transferrin (TF), group specific component (GC) and alpha 1-antitrypsin (PI) subtypes. The genetic heterogeneity among these population groups is considerable. This can be explained by lacking or at least only minimal gene flow among these caste and tribal groups, by which differences in their genetic profiles caused by locally acting genetic differentiation factors such as drift could be preserved.

The growth of thoracic and neurocranial circumference was studied in 47,099 Czech and Slovak children and adolescents of both sexes, ranging in age from 1 1/2 to 18 years. The data were obtained during our nation-wide studies on the territory of the CSFR in 1987-1988. At the end of the second year of life the values of thoracic circumference were already markedly higher than the values of neurocranial circumference. The characteristics studied show different growth dynamics: The neurocranial circumference increased markedly up to the age of four years, while thoracic circumference showed an onset on intense growth dynamics only at the beginning of the prepubertal period. Throughout the investigated period girls had lower values of neurocranial circumference than boys, yet during the period of puberty their values of thoracic circumference temporarily exceeded the values recorded in boys. After the age of 14 years boys generally had permanently a larger thoracic circumference. Similar to body height and weight both investigated circumferences show an increase in connection with the secular trend. The values of both circumferences are very similar in Czech and Slovak children of the same sex.

A comparison of the dorsal boundary of the hard palate among various primate species reveals three variations of form. The tendency towards intraspecific variation, particularly among the Prosimians and to a lesser degree in Simians, eliminates the possibility of a taxonomic interpretation. Tupaias show morphological characteristics which are considerably different from those of primates. The variation observed in this region is viewed in association with different functional parameters which may depend on the degree of prognathism.

A simple and user-friendly model for trigonometric description of the neurocranium based on newly defined points of measurement is presented. This model not only provides individual description, but also allows for an evaluation of developmental and phylogenetic aspects.

The paper presents data on the growth of the brain weight of 745 boys and 558 girls from birth to the 54th week of life and also data on the age differentiation of the brain weight of 688 male and 404 female persons in the age groups from the 6th to the 90th year of life.

Regional features play a great role in the analysis of the differentiations of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. However, this poses the question how widespread and variable these features are. In order to examine this with regard to the features commonly seen in China their occurrence and variability were determined in Chinese as well as in African crania of archaic and late Pleistocene/Holocene modern Homo sapiens. Furthermore, some features known from Africa were examined with regard to their occurrence and variability in China. Although the variability might change due to new finds, the present results for some features point to larger morphological spectra in the African than in the Chinese archaic Homo sapiens. It is furthermore remarkable that the early modern Chinese in many features show deviations from the pattern of archaic Homo sapiens of this region and exhibit broader spectra similar to those seen in African archaic and early modern Homo sapiens.

215 skulls taken from graves of the 4th to 12th century in southern Germany were cephalometrically evaluated. The correlations of the parameters S-N, PM-SN and PM-ANS were used to develop new formulas for calculating the body height, needing only parts of the skull. Compared with other methods based on the length of bones of the extremities very similar results were obtained.

Both ontogenetically and phylogenetically the facial skull of primates consists of two components: the endocranial nasal capsule, and the exocranial membrane bones. The cartilaginous nasal capsule of the fetal period constitutes the framework for the nasal cavity, and it also functions as an expansive basis for the developing facial skull. In adult animals, its ossified parts form the fragile ethmoid bone. The structure of the nasal capsule is determined on the one hand by the spatial requirements of the orbits and of the nasal cavity (with respiratory and olfactory components), and on the other hand by the biomechanical properties of the chewing apparatus. The interaction of these heterogeneous factors results in complex, species-specific compromises. Primates are characterized by a gradual reduction of their olfactory system throughout evolution and by binocular vision. Their chewing apparatus shows constructional adaptations to a varying herbivorous diet. Viewed within a phylogenetic-systematic framework, primate evolution may be taken as a natural experiment that demonstrates the influence of various factors on a complex structural system such as the nasal and facial skeleton.