Human migrations in the ancient Near East are attested from the earliest historical times, and continue intermittently throughout the ages. The archaeological evidence for population movements is attested primarily by new pottery assemblages and changes in burial customs. In addition, ancient Near Eastern texts and the writings of the Classical historians provide rather extensive data on the extent of human dispersals in the ancient world. These ancient migrations were primarily of two types-voluntary and forced. This paper discusses the circumstances leading to the former type, such as famine and warfare, as well as the reasons for the latter, namely, the imperial policies which resulted in mass deportations and population transfers.

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General hyperostotic diathesis diagnosed as diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) was found in an almost complete skeleton from the Edo period (1603-1867 A.D.) and is described here from a paleopathological view point. A remarkable ossification was found in the thoracolumbar spines, partly forming an ankylosis between Th-12 and L-1 by exuberant osteophytes with “dripping wax” and/or “candle flame” appearance. In the extraspinal skeleton, abnormal hyperostoses were found at muscle and ligament attachments in both axial and peripheral skeletons. These abnormal ossifications occur in various diseases including spondylosis deformans (SD), ankylosing spondylitis (AS), ankylosing spinal hyperostosis (ASH), and DISH, all of which are discussed in this article from the viewpoint of historical concept of diseases and differential diagnosis.

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The degree of dental attrition of the Kanenokuma skeletal series, which are famous for the skeletons of the Yayoi type, were investigated. For comparative study, specimens which are in a good state of preservation have been assigned to age categories by the observation on some morphological features in the skeletal remains, and by using Tochihara's inspective method, they were compared with the dental attrition of modern Japanese which were examined by Tochihara in 1957. The results indicated that the dental attrition of the Kanenokuma population was pronounced in comparison with modern Japanese. Moreover, the degree of dental attrition was considerably useful for adult's age estimation when the standards of population-specific rates of functional dental attrition are assessed.

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Human adult lactose absorption in Mongolia is investigated. Each test subject was determined to be a lactose absorber or a malabsorber by the use of a field version of the lactose tolerance test with breath hydrogen determination. The phenotypic frequency of adult lactose absorber in Mongolians was shown to be relatively low compared to other milk using populations in Europe, Arabia and Africa. The frequency was also compared with those of two Chinese populations, Han and Inner Mongolians, where no statistically significant difference was found.

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Both metric and non-metric morphological data have been obtained for skull samples from the Ubayama shell-mounds, a rich source of archeological specimens from the Jomon period in the Kanto district of Japan. All the useable skull specimens were measured, and these data were compared to those from other sites, Tsukumo, Yoshiko, etc. Some regional differences were found, notably in the height and curvature of the cranial vault, and orbital and mandibular configuration, but temporal differences between Middle and Late Jomon times remain obscure, at least in the Ubayama samples. Further investigations will be necessary to clarify the causative factors for the variations in features.

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Metric raw data and associated information on the skulls from Ubayama shell-mounds, a site in Chiba Prefecture of the Middle and Late Jomon periods, are presented.

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