Big feet in Polynesia: a somatometric study of the Tongans

Abstract

Somatometric research was conducted in Tonga, Polynesia, with a focus on foot and hand size and proportions. Data were taken on 140 adults (90 females and 50 males) and compared with those of other population groups. In addition to their heavy body-build, Tongans were found to have significantly longer and wider feet and hands than the Japanese, French, Australian Aborigines, or Bamanann-Fulbe West Africans. The significance of these physical characteristics of Polynesians is discussed from a micro-evolutionary viewpoint.