Przegląd Antropologiczny - Anthropological Review, 2000, vol. 63
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Secular changes of height and body mass of children and youth in the Bydgoszcz region(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Nowicki, GrzegorzThe secular changes of height and body mass of girls and boys in the Bydgoszcz region in the period between 1935 and 1991 have been presented in this paper. Over the period of 56 years changes of the traits under invastigation showed periodical diversification. Between 1935-1946 a regress was observed, between 1952 and 1971 the greatest average secular changes took place, the years from 1972 to 1979 were characterized by a slowdown in the changes, and in the period from 1979 through 1991 there was a set back in the secular trend of the investigated traits. This is probably due to the fluctuation of the secular changes occures in age groups 13.5 years, 14.5 years, and 15.5 years. Analysis of the research results indicates that the changes are more conspicuous among boys than among girls.Item The biological meaning of preferences on the human mate market(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Pawłowski, BogusławFactors, which universally influence mate choice decisions, are: age, physical appearance, and resources. Different evidence of the biological relevance of these three factors on the human mate market is presented. The sex-specific preferences for partner's age reflect such values as Fisherian reproductive potential and fecundity for females and life expectancy related to the length of further time of paternal investment for males. Physical attractiveness is analyzed as a marker of female's age, and in the case of both sexes as a marker of hormone level, heterozygosity and therefore immunocompetence. Because attractiveness connotes genetic quality of a prospective partner and indicates higher fitness for offspring, it is not an arbitrary trait. Resources of males are discusssed as being important for females because they assure good paternal investment and therefore hihger reproductive success. Human flexibility in age and physical attractiveness preferences is also examined in relation to ecological conditions. The evidence presented here indicates that the factors influencing human mate choice decisions can be honest, biologically relevant cues of reproductive value of a prospective partner.Item A report on the occurrence of accessory triradii in the subdigital area, and carpal triradii on the palm in Polish and Czech populations(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Gąsiorowski, Adam; Hajn, VáclavThe study analyses the occurrence of accessory triradii and carpal triradii on human palms in two populations. Accessory triradii were observed in Polish and Czech populations very rarely (triradius d' was most frequent). The occurrence of the abortive main line C(Y) was observed more often in the Polish population and it was statistically significant difference. A very high symmetry was stated between the occurrence of forms C(Y) and c(X) on right and left palms. A higher frequency of occurrence was stated in the case of carpal triradius t in the Polish population and of triradius t' in the Czech population. However, the differences are not statistically significant.Item Fertility, offspring survival, and the adaptive value as related to morphological traits - methodological and interpretation problems(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Kościński, KrzysztofA great deal of research has been carried out in order to find a relationship between somatic traits and fertility, offspring survival rate and adaptive value. However, the results of these studies lack consistency. The reason behind these discrepancies is the use of inadequate statistical methods and the application of unreliable principles of interpretation. The purpose of this paper is to indicate the methods of data analysis and result interpretation, which permit optimum utilisation of the information contained in a given sample and make it possible to draw the correct conclusions.Item The comparison between two age estimation methods based on human teeth(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Żądzińska, Elżbieta; Drusini, Andrea G.; Carrara, NicolaFrom among age estimation procedures we chose two for comparison. One of them is standard method based on root dentin transparency; the other one is based on coronal pulp cavity heigth. The material consisted of X-ray photographs and longitudinally sectioned teeth of 276 individuals (174 males and 102 females) of known age. The comparison shows that the poorly known TCI method is at least as precise as the most widely applied and acknowledged procedure based on longitudinal sections of teeth.Item Becoming a hominid: Notes on the early taxonomy of Australopithecus(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Štrkalj, GoranThe paper attempts to trace the first suggestions that the Australopithecus as a member of the family Hominidae is to be found in the works of the German anthropologist Paul Adloff and the American scientist Dudley J. Morton. Adloff's and especially Morton's views, although largely neglected at the time when they were first articulated, represent the first steps towards the modern position on the taxonomy of Australopithecus.Item Age of menarche in girls with sight organ diseases(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Umławska, WiolettaThe paper attempts to clarify the reasons for sooner pubescence of girls with sight defects than that of their normally seeing peers. The age of menarche was considered depending on the degree of the sight impairment and the disease etiology as well as some selected factors of the socio-economic environment in the examined girls' familiesItem An attempt to evaluate some personality characteristics of Wrocław high school graduates of different pubescence age(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Kolasa, Ewa; Umławska, Wioletta; Olszewska, EwaAn attempt was made to establish the correlation between the time of reaching sexual maturity and the level of physical development. The material consisted of data obtained from schoolgirls of final classes of 6 secondary schools. In a questionnaire, the girls provided retrospective data concerning the age of menarche, and replied to questions being the basis for sexual maturity evaluation.Item Eightieth year of Peking Man: Current status of Peking Man the Zhoukoudian site(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Wang, Qian; Sun, LiThe current status of and recent developments around Peking Man and Zhoukoudian are reviewed. The taxonomic status, phylogenetic position, cultural attributes and taphonomy of Peking Man are in question, and a new chronological frame for the Zhoukoudian site is emerging. Post-war excavation, current Peking man specimens, the research unit, personalities, commemoration, and classic books are introduced, with special reference to the search for the long-missing Peking Man fossils.Item The many species of humanity(Polskie Towarzystwo Antropologiczne, 2000) Wolpoff, Milford H.; Caspari, RachelNaming new human species may seem to be a harmless endeavor, of little interest to all but a few specialists playing out the consequences of different evolutionary explanations of phyletic variation, but it has significant implications in how humanity is viewed because studies of race and human evolution are inexorably linked. When essentialist approaches are used to interpret variation in the past as taxonomic rather than populational, as increasingly has been the case, it serves to underscore a typological view of modern human variation. In terms of how they are treated in analysis, there often seems to be no difference between the species, subspecies, or paleodemes of the past and the populatons or races whose interrelationships and demographic history are discussed today. This is not inconsequential because both history and current practice shows that science, especially anthropology, is not isolated from society.