Zeitschrift fur Morphologie und Anthropologie最新文献

Interspecific variation of the deciduous mandibular canine's mesial cristid in 51 anthropoid taxa is assessed. In 84% of the taxa observed, mesial cristids were well developed and provided incisor-like occlusion with di2. In 5 of the remaining 8 taxa, lingual cristids provided incisor-like occlusion with dc1. Comparisons between dc1s and C1s of conspecific adult males and females show that in 85% of the species observed the magnitude of mandibular canine incisor traits follows this order: deciduous > adult female > adult male. This within-species variation is inversely related to the likely adaptive value of the canine as a weapon and to canine crown height. A selection model based on these data is derived and applied to human canine evolution. The relevance of these data to the field vs. clone theory debate about dental development is also discussed.

Projections, tubercles, or spines of bone at the anterior margin of the piriform aperture occur in widely varying forms among catarrhine primates. This paper describes, illustrates, and tabulates the frequencies of such structures by age and sex in a large collection of Pan troglodytes verus skulls. In the overall sample of 263 skulls where the region could be observed, these protuberances of bone occur bilaterally in 10.7% of specimens and unilaterally in an additional 3.4%. They increase in frequency with age to a high of 16.9% in adult and older animals. Among adult specimens, these projections of bone in the anterior nasal region are present more commonly in females than in males. In a comparative context, variants on this structure in nonhuman primates, some of them documented previously, should help to counter the cladistic conception that the anterior nasal spine is an apomorphic or evolutionary novel morphological structure in hominids.

The body height of Australopithecus afarensis A.L. 288-1 ("Lucy") has recently been estimated and calculated as between 1 m to 1.06 m; other estimates give ca. 1.20 m. In addition, it is often stated that her relative leg length was shorter than that of modern humans. Using relative leg-, femur- and tibia length it is shown that both statements together can not be true; either her body height must at least have been around 1.06 to 1.10 m to give "Lucy" human-like leg proportions, or, to achieve a shorter, more ape-like leg ratio, a body height of ca. 1.20 m must be assumed.

Adult skeletal remains from 19th century historic cemeteries were used to test the accuracy and precision of age estimations based on the cortical bone histological technique proposed by Thompson [6, 7]. Comparison of estimates made from anterior microscopic fields versus peripheral fields (N = 29 femora) indicates general age agreement, with 6/29 demonstrating marked differences between sampling locations. Three cases of unilateral trauma show no consistent effect on bone age estimates. Among sixteen adults of known age, the ages of eight were accurately estimated; five were estimated to be significantly older and three were estimated to be younger than they were. It is argued that cortical erosion/diagenetic destruction may contribute to overestimation by obscuring the periosteal regions required for application of the technique. While not without its shortcomings, it is concluded that the Thompson technique is relatively robust and merits further development.

1079 male fetuses and 727 female fetuses at the age of 20 to 41 weeks were investigated for the process of asymmetry and sexual dimorphism of lungs weight formation as well as developmental correlation between the weight of the lungs and the size of the heart. Statistical analysis of the results was applied. It was ascertained, among others, that asymmetry of lungs weight occurs in the investigated developmental period--the right lung is heavier than the left one about 20 to 30%. Between the increase in the weight of the lungs and the size of the heart positive correlation occurs, but it is not of directed character. A substantial, intersexual differentiation of lungs weight was not ascertained.

On the basis of 552 boys and 542 girls aged 6 to 20 years, this study examines the estimation of stature from dimensions and maturity of second metacarpals by means of linear regression equations. A combination of length and width measurements provided a more accurate estimation than each measurement individually. When taken alone, length produced a more accurate estimation than width. Sex and age factors are useful for the estimation of stature, though these variables are often unknown in the isolated bone. The samples are divided into immature and mature groups (according to skeletal maturity). Regardless of sex, stature could be estimated from the metacarpal length and width with a standard error of 4.19 cm by means of a multiple linear equation in the immature group. The mature group should be considered with adults for this purpose. Thus, taking into account their skeletal maturity, living stature could be practically estimated from the second metacarpal with significant degrees of accuracy in children.

Southern Chinese girls aged 11 years and 9 months to 12 years and 3 months in Hong Kong have a mean menarcheal age of 11.50 years (standard deviation of 0.47) using the recollection method. Highly significant differences are found when compared to the 12-year-old girls in Hong Kong studied in the past decades. Therefore, a secular trend of earlier menarcheal age is demonstrated.

Data on deciduous tooth emergence of 312 children aged 4 to 31 months of Punjabi parentage are presented. Probit analysis was used to derive the median age of tooth emergence. Female children are found to be advanced with respect to tooth emergence than their male counterparts. While comparing the present data with those from other populations it is found that, in general, the mean number of emerged teeth in Punjabi children is more at most ages, with lower median age of eruption for most teeth. Magnitude of interage variability in the eruption times is noticed to be maximum in the 16-17 and 20-21 months age groups. The findings of the study suggest that number of teeth can be used as a parameter for the estimation of age.

Thirty-four populations from Siberian and other circum-Pacific regions were compared in terms of facial flatness measurements of the cranium. While fundamentally having an extremely flat face, Siberian populations tend to be differentiated into two or three subgroups. On the other hand, other Mongoloid populations show greater variation in facial flatness. The less flat faces of the American Indians are almost equal to those of the Europeans. In Japan, the existence of two contrasting groups in terms of facial flatness have been found.

Correlations of skeletal maturation with stature and body weight were studied in one hundred and seventeen Southern Chinese girls aged eleven years nine months and twelve years three months born and brought up in Hong Kong. The skeletal maturation was assessed from the left hand and wrist radiographs by the Greulich and Pyle Atlas Method. The early maturers in skeletal development were significant taller and heavier than the late maturers with p less than 0.001.