Results obtained in a joint Japanese-Chinese field study in Hainan Island are presented. Three national minority groups, Li, Miao and Hui, together with Han as control were studied. A total of 23 blood genetic markers comprising 9 blood groups, 7 red cell enzymes and 7 serum proteins, and also alpha and beta thalassemias were examined, and phenotype and allele frequencies are tabulated. The distributions of allele frequencies differ markedly among the four groups, although falling in general within that of southern Chinese. Two sample groups of Li, i.e., Qi-Li and Benti-Li, are more similar to each other than the two sample groups of Miao, probably reflecting different backgrounds in migratory history of Li and Miao. Judging from high frequencies of both alpha and beta thalassemias and G-6PD deficiency in Li and Miao, it was considered that malaria played a major role in determining these characteristics.

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Univariate and multivariate statistical procedures were applied to 24 measurements recorded in 944 crania from East and Southeast Asia and Oceania to assess the possible origins and affinities of these populations with special reference to the origin of Jomonese. The results show that Jomonese are much more like the prehistoric mainland Southeast Asians and recent aboriginal people in Borneo, the Dajaks, than like East Asians, Polynesians (Hawaiians), western Micronesians (Guamanians), Melanesians, and Australians. The orthodox view of Southeast Asian prehistory has held that the region was occupied by Australomelanesians before the southern expansion of Chinese between 2, 000 and 4, 000 years ago. The contradictory findings presented here form the basis of an alternative view that Southeast Asian craniofacial features resulted from local evolution, not admixture. The present findings favor the prehistoric Southeast Asians, with lesser admixture with East Asian invaders from the north, as the most likely source for not only the present-day Southeast Asians, but also prehistoric Jomonese, and the Pacific populations.

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Nonmetric traits of Peruvian skulls were examined for evidence bearing on their populational affinities. Significant frequency differences from the Peruvian gradually increased in number with geographic distance, and clines were seen in the frequency patterns of several traits of cranial series compared. Distance analyses based on the MMDs revealed that the Peruvian and Ontario Iroquois formed an intimate cluster, which shows a closer affinity with the Arctic peoples, especially the Aleut, than with other Siberians. As a result, we can conclude that the American Indians are derived from the North Asian populations including the Arctic peoples, though their exact origins remain unclear.

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A mathematical model of the dispersal of colonies produced by the stochastic migration process depending on the total population of the group is considered. The expected velocity of the spatial expanding of the settlement range of colonies is analyzed, utilizing the fractal concept applied to the pattern of spatial distribution of colonies. The model is used to consider the spreading phenomenon of early farming in Europe, with the data of neolithic sites with C-14 dates.

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An ice-free corridor is believed to have existed during the late Pleistocene, but it is suspected that ecological conditions may have been severe. Hence, it is controversial whether the route could have been used by the first Americans in their southward expansion from Beringia to the interior of North America. Two demographic models, both assuming negative population growth in the corridor, are examined to evaluate the possibility of a successful crossing. First, a deterministic reaction-diffusion model shows that the condition permitting traversal could have been met, provided the diffusion coefficient (one-half the variance of random migratory activity) was not too large. Based on the mitochondrial DNA sequence divergence data of Vigilant et al. (1989), I obtain an estimate of the diffusion coefficient applicable to prehistoric hunter-gatherers, which is smaller than available estimates for recent humans. Second, the average waiting time between two successful crossings is derived from a probabilistic branching chain model with migration. Although there is much uncertainty regarding the appropriate values of the parameters, the average waiting time appears to be too long. Taken together, the theoretical analyses of this paper suggest that the ice-free corridor probably could not have served as the principal dispersal route.

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The late Pre-Pottery Neolithic B (PPNB) represents an important period of transition in North Syria, with the evolution from primitive to more advanced farming communities. The transition took place rather rapidly, involving a range of profound changes in human life-style. This paper examines the changing nature of the stone tool manufacturing behavior in this period. The analysis shows that the change is characterized by the increasing use of locally available raw material and a shift from well-organized blade to more expedient flake technologies. It is argued here that the change in lithic manufacturing was closely related to changing patterns in raw material economy, settlement pattern, and subsistence during the late PPNB. An ethnoarchaeological model suggests that, among those, the shift in subsistence or the decreasing importance of hunting appears to have been a more influential factor for the change in lithic manufacturing behavior.

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Twelve artificially deformed and 14 undeformed skulls of Filipinos were measured to examine the morphometric differences between them. Univariate statistical analyses on the craniofacial measurements seem to support the conclusion by previous authors that the facial skeleton is not consistently affected by artificial deformations of the cranial vault. Mahalanobis' D² distances based on craniofacial measurements suggest that the type of cranial deformation in the Philippines is similar to that of Chinook Amerindians in the North Pacific coast of North America. The anteroposteriorly deformed skulls of both Filipinos and Chinook Amerindians have smaller cranial length and larger cranial breadth, and the sagittal frontal and occipital indices tend to be closer to unity than in undeformed skulls. Mahalanobis' D² distances further showed that Filipinos with no cranial deformation were morphologically closer to geographical neighbors such as Guam Islanders and southern Chinese.

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For the purposes of anthropometrical reference, two groups of Japanese school children, aged 7 to 12, were measured: (1) an urban Tokyo group of 133 boys and 139 girls in 1985, and (2) a rural Zinego (Akita Prefecture) group of 117 boys and 136 girls in 1987. Means and standard deviations of 20 measurements and 17 indices of the Tokyo group, and of 14 measurements and 15 indices of the Zinego group and of the Tokyo and Zinego combined group are presented. Distribution normality for all measurements and indices was checked in each age group of each sex. Also, regional difference and sex difference were examined using the t-test and nonparametric test, because of non-normal distribution in many measurements arising from insufficient number of subjects. A difference of growth pattern between the Tokyo and Zinego groups in the same sex was suggested.

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