Biological Anthropology - Science topic

Teaching a module entitled ‘Decolonising Anthropology’ means having to approach numerous difficult and challenging subjects with students. It also means having to respond to and reflect on the traumatic responses that these topics bring about in individuals. During classes in this module, on the use of human remains in biological anthropology, stud...

Call for Papers Conference GfA in Kiel, 30th March - 3rd April 2025

En los últimos años se ha puesto en debate el conocimiento científico producido en torno de los pueblos indígenas o que indirectamente los afecta. En particular, existe una tensión entre dichos pueblos y quienes investigan en el campo de la antropología biológica, porque estudian los cuerpos de sus ancestros o de las comunidades vivientes, escriben...

Studies of hunter–gatherer locomotion inform a wide range of academic fields, from human behavioural ecology and hominin evolution to sports science and evolutionary health. Despite celebrated ethnographic examples of hunter–gatherer locomotor proficiency in running, climbing, swimming and diving, there has been limited systematic analysis of cross...

Literature review publication with a subjective choice of topics. Subsections discussing the origins and phylogenetic analysis of the family Sciuridae, including the oldest found species of squirrel, the history of the systematics of the Sciuridae family, and the oldest fossil skeleton of a flying squirrel. The focus is on the Central European red...

Osteological data, such as biological sex, constitute a base for research in paleodemography and palaeopathology, as well as for understanding past socio-cultural practices. Despite extensive research efforts concerning cremated human remains over the past decades, an internationally acknowledged, standardized osteological protocol is not fully agr...

The objective of this literature review is to examine how the humanitarian crisis of migrant death at the US-Mexico border epitomizes the antemortem and postmortem dimensions of structural violence and the lasting effects it can have on the human body. The review aims to expose biological scientists to applied embodiment research in the US-Mexico b...

The objective of this literature review is to examine how the humanitarian crisis of migrant death at the US-Mexico border epitomizes the antemortem and postmortem dimensions of structural violence and the lasting effects it can have on the human body. The review aims to expose biological scientists to applied embodiment research in the US-Mexico b...

Over the time, asymmetries have arisen in bioanthropological practice in Cuba. The goals of this paper are to identify them and reflect on the challenges that they represent, by means of specific examples. Among the inequalities described are the insufficient number of human resources, which is a challenge for the training and replacement of future...

In this talk, Lorena Madrigal shares her reflections on how researchers from the global North engage with their counterparts in the global South, particularly regarding bioanthropological studies. For this, she uses Aleš Hrdlička's practices in the early 20th century as an emblematic example. Madrigal discusses her dissatisfaction with the disparit...

On September 23–25, 2024, the XII International Interdisciplinary Scientific and Practical Symposium “Man and (co) societies in the context of health care: problems of medical anthropology in the past, present, and challenges of the future” was held in Moscow. The symposium was organized by the Association of Medical Anthropologists (AMA) and the M...

In modern human societies, social interactions and pro-social behaviours are associated with better individual and collective health, reduced mortality, and increased longevity. Conversely, social isolation is a predictor of shorter lifespan. The biological processes through which sociality affects the ageing process, as well as healthspan and life...

Big Epidemiology represents an innovative framework that extends the interdisciplinary approach of Big History to understand disease patterns, causes, and effects across human history on a global scale. This comprehensive methodology integrates epidemiology, genetics, environmental science, sociology, history, and data science to address contempora...

A greater degree of Late Quaternary hominin morphological variability is present in eastern Asia than previously assumed. Indeed, a number of distinct populations are present, some that now have new specific names: Homo floresiensis; H. luzonensis; H. longi; H. juluensis. With this piece, we describe the various groupings based on the current homin...

The session seeks to establish a collaborative network of researchers interested in advanced computational approaches in biological anthropology and related fields. Specific objectives of the session include: - Understanding how AI and big data are reshaping biological anthropology. - Providing a forum for experts in isotopic analysis, geometric m...

An exploration into past studies in biological anthropology and how they falsely paved the way for a patriarchal society in humans.

Remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic led to a range of pedagogical challenges for anthropology laboratory courses. In biological anthropology courses such as Human Osteology, hands-on experience is essential to achieving learning outcomes, including basic bone and feature (i.e., landmark) identification, identification from fragmentary rema...

Objectives: With the increased use of 3D-generated images in biological research, there is a critical need to adapt classical anatomical measurements, traditionally conducted with calipers, to a virtual environment. We present detailed protocols for measuring bicondylar length, a critical dimension of the femur, using three dif­ferent imaging softw...

Introduction. Greek sculpture and vase painting, despite the comprehensive study of specialists in many fields of science, can represent a source of information for historical and biological anthropology. The vase painting and sculpture of the ancient Greeks has been studied in the context of ethnic and biological continuity with the modern Greek p...

Organ–skeleton relationships are understudied in biological anthropology. The torso skeleton is often used to infer the organ size and evolution in hominins; ribcage “types”, in particular, are used to infer the abdominal organ size in hominins. This study is a quantitative examination of the relationship between the lower ribcage and two organs: t...

The PDF of the book for a personal use is available at https://www.archaeopress.com/Archaeopress/Products/9781803278353

Antropologia Dentária é um subcampo da Antropologia Biológica que se dedica a recolher informações sobre o Homem e seus parectes mais próximos extantes e extintos enquanto seres bioculturais através dos dentes e ossos da cavidade oral. Este capítulo é um texto introdutório de cunho didário e de referência para estudantes e pesquisadores que estão i...

to access: https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/investigating-connections-between-industrial/docview/3097996529/se-2?accountid=14605 This dissertation research uses a biocultural approach to evaluate how rural environments characterized by industrial agriculture impact the lives and biologies of pre-pubertal and pubertal girls living in...

Objectives The osteological paradox recognizes that the presence of lesions is not always directly related with increased mortality. When combined with the clinical, historical, and epidemiological literature on scurvy, survivorship analysis, a form of statistical analysis to assess the relationship between the presence of diseases in the archeolog...

Evidence suggests that both craniometric and cranial morphoscopic (MMS) traits elucidate information about cranial phenotypic variation and are appropriate proxies of genetic variation. Yet, the types of variation underlying the expression of craniometric and MMS traits are unknown. Recent data sets of matched skeletal metric and MMS data enable a...

The authors of this paper, who come from a tradition of collaboration among colleagues with backgrounds in biology, archaeology and biological anthropology, have formed a research group focused on the generation of information from multiproxy analysis (multiple indicators) from biological material. The emergence of the new scenario “the Pandemic” (...

A great deal of ink has been spilled over the prob lems exhibited by researchers attempting to incorporate ancient DNA (aDNA) data into anthropologi-cal models of prehistory. The prob lems are both ethical and interpretive. Several of the chapters in this volume have compellingly and comprehensively discussed the ethical violations abundantly seen...

Objectives Age at death estimation is a key element to many research questions in biological anthropology, archeology, and forensic science. Dental cementum is a tissue of choice for the estimation of age at death in adult individuals as it continues deposition for the entirety of an individual's life. Previous works have devised regression formula...

Bıologıcal Anthropology

This article analyzes the developments that Foucault makes around the analytic of finitude in his book Words and Things to elucidate the conceptual differences with which Freud and Lacan approach the subject of psychoanalysis. It is intended to recognize the power of the Foucaultian critique of the anthropological quadrilateral and review whether o...

An understanding of what death and dying entail is termed a concept of death (CoD), and the human CoD is often viewed as one of the characteristics that distinguishes our species. In this research, I identified an analogous understanding of death and dying in our closest living relatives—genus Pan. Linguistic frameworks designed for studying the Co...

The questions – When did humans arrive in the Americas? Who were they, or from where did they come from? – are enduring and fascinating inquiries that have been approached from different perspectives, thanks to the contributions of archaeology, biological anthropology, and linguistics, among other disciplines. As a result, and after several centuri...

It discusses methodological issues on biological anthropology research.

The term craniovascular traits refers to the imprints left by arteries and veins on the skull bones. These features can be used in biological anthropology and archaeology to investigate the morphology of the vascular network in extinct species and past populations. Generally, the term refers to macrovascular features of the endocranial cavity, like...

Porosity is an independent predictor of fracture risk, particularly at common sites of osteoporotic fracture. Pores concentrate mechanical stress, allowing microcracks to initiate and propagate into fracture even under low nominal stress. Localized mechanical strain also regulates the frequency and extent of bone remodeling, influencing how pore sy...

Over the years, the field of forensic anthropology has become more diverse, bringing unique perspectives to a previously homogeneous field. This diversification has been accompanied by recognizing the need for advocacy and activism in an effort to support the communities we serve: marginalized communities that are often overrepresented in the foren...

Over the years, the field of forensic anthropology has become more diverse, bringing unique perspectives to a previously homogeneous field. This diversification has been accompanied by recognizing the need for advocacy and activism in an effort to support the communities we serve: marginalized communities that are often overrepresented in the foren...

As the human–primate interface expands, many nonhuman primate (NHP) populations exploit anthropogenic foods to survive, while some populations opportunistically target them. Though anthropogenic food consumption is sometimes associated with greater reproductive output and survival in these populations, there is a dearth of research on possible heal...

Between 2021 and 2022, the company ArqueoHoje was involved in the rehabilitation project of the Gorjão Palace (Bombarral Municipal Museum), having diagnosed the architectural and underground stratigraphy and monitored the archaeological work of the remaining damaging actions. In 2023, the Municipality of Bombarral promoted renovation works inside t...

From ancient times till date, human have continued on an endless pursuit to discover and provide answers to essential questions that bother around the nature of the world, the nature of his existence as a person and the nature of his existence as a living being in the world.1 In this struggle, there are various attempts that aim at defining personh...

Human evolution is defined by a multifaceted interplay of biological and cultural factors, which comprise the focus of a diverse spectrum of scientific fields. This edited volume aims to establish interdisciplinary links through a series of nine studies that critically discuss the current methods, hypotheses frameworks, and future perspectives for...

Human evolution is defined by a multifaceted interplay of biological and cultural factors, which comprise the focus of a diverse spectrum of scientific fields. This edited volume aims to establish interdisciplinary links through a series of nine studies that critically discuss the current methods, hypotheses frameworks, and future perspectives for...

Human evolution is defined by a multifaceted interplay of biological and cultural factors, which comprise the focus of a diverse spectrum of scientific fields. This edited volume aims to establish interdisciplinary links through a series of nine studies that critically discuss the current methods, hypotheses frameworks, and future perspectives for...

Human evolution is defined by a multifaceted interplay of biological and cultural factors, which comprise the focus of a diverse spectrum of scientific fields. This edited volume aims to establish interdisciplinary links through a series of nine studies that critically discuss the current methods, hypotheses frameworks, and future perspectives for...

RESUMO Pesquisas a respeito de remanescentes humanos submetidos à ação térmica têm ganhado volume ao longo das últimas décadas dentro da Antropologia Biológica, especialmente dentro do campo forense. Tais estudos contribuem para uma melhor compreensão dos processos transformativos pelos quais o esqueleto passa quando expostos a altas temperaturas e...

Understanding the factors shaping human crania has long been a goal of biological anthropology, and climate, diet, and population history are three of the most well-established influences. The effects of these factors are, however, rarely compared within a single, variable population, limiting interpretations of their relative contribution to crani...

The origin of language is one of the most widely discussed topics in the field of Humanities. Fortunately, we currently have a wide range of evidence that allows us to investigate this issue empirically. Thus, the aim of this paper is to revise some of this evidence, focusing particularly on biological, anthropological and psychological data. Final...

Objectives: The goal of this study was to evaluate the application of the short form of the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Survey (IPAQ-SF) in the rural Senegalese Fulani pastoralist population by combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Design and participants: For the quantitative method, 101 men completed the IPAQ-SF questi...

CT imaging is increasingly vital in biological anthropology, especially regarding mummified remains, owing to its non-invasive approach and superior skeletal visualization compared to 2D radiographs. However, CT datasets are extensive and require time-consuming analysis to complete “digital dissections” of bone from mummified tissues; deep learning...

Between Europeans and natives: Who would die the most? Mortality and morbidity of tuberculosis, syphilis, plague, cholera and yellow fever Summary Objectives-Diseases and Epidemics have a profound impact on human societies. They have not spared societies that have long been marginalized and under colonial domination. This is the case of Senegal, wh...

The study of the biological aspect of past populations is in constant development through the application and improvement of methodologies besides the discoveries of new (fossil) human remains. It is worth noticing that, in the last decades, technological advances and multidisciplinary approaches applied to biological anthropology have allowed us t...

It is a comprehensive book for UPSC Mains Biological Anthropology. This is first in the series of books. This book is a one stop solution with interesting diagrams and updated facts to give aspirant a subtle competitive edge.

The biomechanics of limb bone curvature are complex, and though anterior curvature clearly exhibits some relationship with behavior, the mechanisms shaping it and its biomechanical purpose remain unclear. Among both Neanderthals and humans, anterior limb bone curvature correlates strongly with other limb bone adaptations known to reflect high mobil...

We wrote this book for undergraduate and graduate students of the helping professions. It is a complete view of development from an ethological and cognitive behavioral perspective. It is unique in its synthesis of biological, anthropological and psychological accounts of development.

The Department of Anatomy at the University of Otago offers anatomical sciences education for various programs, but currently, little information is available on how the academic performance of anatomy students differ based on ethnicities. Here, we aim to determine if there is an ethnic disparity in academic performance among anatomy students at th...

In recent years, the use of a set of sieves became a crucial part of the methodology in studies of burned human bone from archeological and forensic contexts. A set of three sieves (10 mm, 5 mm, 2 mm) is widely used in studies of burned human remains, particularly those from the British Isles, in order to determine bone fragmentation, following met...

Objectives: Recently, Berg and Kenyhercz (2017) developed a free web-based software package, (hu)MANid, that classifies mandibles by ancestry and sex based on either linear or mixture discriminant analysis of 11 osteometric and six morphoscopic variables. The metric and morphoscopic variables assessed using (hu)MANid have been determined to be hig...

The advancements of new methods for understanding the microbial world provide an opportunity to reevaluate the views of biological anthropology and disease epidemiology. Recent developments in microbial research offer a wider comprehension of the pathogenesis of skin malignancy. Current research supports the idea that the skin microbiota is indeed,...

This book examines and critiques the biological, anthropological, sociological, and theological assumptions underlying contemporary transgender ideology. It shows, from Christian theology, medical research, and contemporary understandings of the self, how these assumptions which underlie transgender ideology are unhelpful for individuals, families,...

This book chapter discusses fossil types and formation, chronometric and relative dating methods, how to reconstruct past environments, and how to use these factors in site interpretation. Includes a discussion on archaeological ethics.

Previous research on the effects of body mass on the pelvic girdle focused mostly on adult females and males. Because the ontogenetic plasticity level in the pelvis remains largely unknown, this study investigated how the association between body mass index (BMI) and pelvic shape changes during development. It also assessed how the large variation...

The evolution of monogamy has been a central question in biological anthropology. An important avenue of research has been comparisons across "socially monogamous" mammals, but such comparisons are inappropriate for understanding human behavior because humans are not "pair living" and are only sometimes "monogamous." It is the "pair bond" between r...

In biological anthropology, bilateral asymmetry in living adult samples is a well-studied field. During the last decade, researchers have become more interested in its developmental characteristics in individuals of both living and past populations. It is still the upper limb that gets attention, as handedness and its effects on the bones via biome...

We describe a process of restitution of nine unethically acquired human skeletons to their families, together with attempts at redress. Between 1925–1927 C.E., the skeletonised remains of nine San or Khoekhoe people, eight of them known-in-life, were removed from their graves on the farm Kruisrivier, near Sutherland in the Northern Cape Province of...

Despite a growing focus on diversity initiatives in the field of anthropology, accessibility to advancement is growing further out of reach for many students and early career professionals. There has been a noticeable uptick in the cost of organization membership fees, the culmination of conference costs, and the cost of certifications. This stands...

The book presents and discusses important factors that contributed to the development of social relations among human beings, as well as to the rise of distinctive cultures. This is done in an interdisciplinary way, using the data from paleoanthropology, biological anthropology, archaeology, psychology, as well as other disciplines that share commo...

Anthropological education and research claim the use of anatomical specimens is invaluable; however, the commercial trade of human remains has deeply colonial and ethical consequences that have historically been ignored within institutions. The epistemic entitlement of biological anthropology to osteological specimens has thus contributed to the un...

Background: Understanding the anatomy and morphological variability of the orbital region is of great importance in clinical practice, forensic medicine, and biological anthropology. Several methods are used to estimate sex based on the skeleton or parts of the skeleton: classic methods and the geometric morphometric method. The objective of this...

The historical relationship between the cognate fields of biological anthropology and human population genetics is complicated. Of Cavalli-Sforza’s contributions to this dialogue, The Human Genome Diversity Project has had some of the most interesting cultural reverberations to the present day.

Objectives: So far, no 87 Sr/86 Sr mobility studies have been done for Neolithic remains from Belgium and information on the Sr isotopic variability in the region is scarce. This study aims to explore mobility in a Final Neolithic population from the funerary cave 'Grotte de La Faucille', contribute to the understanding of the isotopic composition...

In the past decades, it has been increasingly recognized that some areas of science, such as anthropology, have been plagued by racist, Western-centric, and/or sexist biases. Unfortunately, an acculturation process to racism and sexism has been occurring for generations leading to systemic inequities that will take a long time to disappear. Here, w...

The primate bony labyrinth has been the focus of much research in biological anthropology. Variation in the inner ear anatomy of primates has been argued to be related to body mass as well as to differences in auditory function (cochlea) and locomotion (semi-circular canals) across taxa. We carried out a linear morphometric study on a taxonomically...

In forensic anthropology, and biological anthropology more broadly, age estimation is a crucial element of the biological profile. The development of osteoarthritis (OA) is correlated with age and, in 2019, Winburn and Stock published a method of estimating age in a sample of 408 white American individuals using OA presence/absence. The current stu...

Evo-Devo Virtual Dissection with VH Dissector as an Adjunct to Onto-Phylogenetic Soft-Embalmed Cadaveric Dissection Noel T. Boaz, Ph.D., M.D. Director, Laboratory of Biological Anthropology & Anatomy, Integrative Centers for Science and Medicine, Martinsville, VA 24112 Introduction: The Visible Human database accessed via VH Dissector or the Sectra...

The 500th anniversary of the tragic 1526 Mohács battle is quickly approaching. The Duna–Dráva National Park, manager of the Memorial Park of Mohács, has initiated a series of research and development to commemorate the battle anniversary, among others the excavation of some of the Memorial Park’s mass graves, the individual identification of the mi...

W.W. Howell’s craniometric online data provide broad world-wide coverage of cranial variation. However, there are significant gaps in its geographic and temporal coverage. One region of the world that is particularly underrepresented is the Asia-Pacific region, an area that encompasses the islands of Oceania (Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia),...

Asymptomatic variations (AV) in bones and teeth are widely used in biological anthropology, particularly to understand intra- and inter-population affinities. This study focuses on the first step of any study: the repeatability and reproducibility of the method implemented. Using the Kappa coefficient, the reliability of 198 variables divided into...

(in press, 2023)

The growth and development of children has an important place in the study of their entire anthropological status, both from the point of view of biological anthropology and from the point of view of medical sciences, physiology, psychology, and especially from the aspect of kinesiology. Although students are considered to be the most physically ac...

The evaluation of bone mineral density (BMD) is an important task in paleopathology. Techniques commonly applied in bone quantity assessment, such as DXA or radiogrammetry (XR), suffer from several limitations when applied to skeletal remains. In recently published research, we developed a new methodology and new reference curves for the evaluation...

The regular and intense practice of a specific physical activity may lead to the development of pathological and non-pathological changes on the human skeleton. This applies, for instance, to horse riding, a determinant activity in human history, the archaeological identification of which can shed light on the lifestyles of past populations. This c...

Studies in biological anthropology aiming to identify specialized activity based on bone morphology have become prevalent in recent years. Such studies aim to analyze osteological modifications like degenerative joint disease, entheseal changes, and cross-sectional bone geometry as a means for reconstructing daily life in past populations. In parti...