Functional differences among the shapes of the feet in mammals, i.e. plantigrade, digitigrade and unguligrade types, were investigated in terms of muscle fiber composition, in specimens of the anterior tibial muscle, obtained from 17 species of mammals. The number of muscle fibers per unit area was the largest in the digitigrade type (on the order of 990 cells), followed by the unguligrade type (on the order of 750 cells) and was the smallest in the plantigrade type (on the order of 540 cells). With respect to the muscle fiber type, red muscle fibers for slow contraction were most frequently seen in the unguligrade type, white muscle for fast contraction in the plantigrade type and intermediate muscle fiber for plastic contraction in the digitigrade type.

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Physical characteristics of Polynesians have been closely scrutinised in the light of osteology, somatology, human genetics and growth study. It has been proved that the Polynesian physique is very unique in relation to common standards for Homo sapiens, and that their distinctiveness is phenotypically a form of hypermorphism. This Polynesian hypermorphic phenotype may have developed as the result of some evolutionary change like an ecological r-strategic adaptation in the process of colonising uninhabited islands in Oceania. At the same time, a fair number of Polynesian physical characteristics are quite similar to those of Mongoloid populations in Asia proper. This implies that the Polynesian's remote origins were somewhere in Asia, specifically the East China Sea area. Thus Polynesians, while distinctive, should be one of Asiatic Mongoloid populations, who have adapted to Oceanic environments in a very specialised way.

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Computerized three-dimensional images derived from coronal CT scan series of 10 adult skulls from Macaca fuscata of both sexes served to evaluate the paranasal sinuses. The maxillary sinus was found as the only paranasal sinus of the Japanese macaque. The hemispherical or kidney shaped maxillary sinus was almost restricted to the body of the maxilla. The maxillary sinus volume amounted to 0.88cm³, with a bigger sinus in male than in female skulls. A regression analysis between the skull length and the maxillary sinus volume in the Japanese macaque and the same data of adult humans and great apes (Koppe and Schumacher, 1990) was carried out. Whereas close relations between these measurements were found in the hominoids, this relation was very weak in the Japanese macaque, suggesting that the primate maxillary sinus can't be explained solely by structural role.

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This paper comparatively examines ritual tooth ablation in ancient China and Japan. In China, as far as it is known at present, ritual tooth ablation first appeared among the people of the Shandong-North Jiangsu region, at least 6500 years ago, and then became very popular amongst the people of the Dawenkou culture of coastal China. In Japan, on the other hand, this custom was performed extensively among the people of the Late-Final Jomon period. This results in a time lag in their periods of prevalence of about 2000 years. There are also significant differences in the form of tooth ablation in ancient China and Japan. China is represented by the bilateral ablation of the upper lateral incisors (2I² type), and with the exception of a small group, showed no remarkable temporal change after its inception. Ritual ablation in Japan was more complex and the number of teeth extracted during this custom's most prevalent period was more numerous than that of China. On the other hand, there exist several points which may suggest some relation between both countries, such as the basic similarities in the age at commencement of ablation, the prevalence of extraction of under incisors from the Late Jomon period in western Japan and the existence of the same style of ablation in the peoples of nearly the same period in China. Especially, the abrupt increase of extraction of the upper lateral incisors in the people of the Yayoi period, such as Doigahama, who show morphological resemblances with the neolithic people of northern China, may suggest the influence of Chinese tradition. Although it is difficult, at the present, to trace and conclude any specific relationship between the traditions of these two countries due to the lack of skeletal remains from China corresponding to the Late-Final Jomon and Yayoi periods in Japan, these results strongly suggest the significance and necessity for further studies.

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Kombu, an edible wild seaweed species, has played an important role in the economy of fishing villages in Hokkaido Island, Japan. Based on ecological and anthropological fieldwork on the kombu harvest, the following aspects are examined: (1) the heavy economic dependence of the villagers on kombu; (2) the process of harvesting and drying kombu; (3) the influence of weather on the quality of dried kombu, (4) the role of the hatamochi who decides when to permit the harvest; (5) factors affecting the hatamochi's decisions on the harvest; and (6) other collectors' responses to the hatamochi's decisions. From these descriptions and analyses, it is concluded that kombu collectors need the hatamochi in order to produce kombu of good quality, and that the system results in effective resource use.

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This paper compared bone density loss on radial and ulnar sides of the second metacarpal on the mid-shaft and base, using microdensitometry. The specimens were 114 male and 115 female Japanese cadavers aged 30 to 98 years. On the mid-shaft, cortical thickness and total bone density were greater on the ulnar side than on the radial. On the base, total bone density was greater on the ulnar part, followed by the middle, than on the radial, regardless of age. Bone density loss was more considerable in women than in men, and on the base than on the mid-shaft of bone, regardless of side and part. Apparent bone density indicated no significant differences in its aging between radial and ulnar sides on both mid-shaft and base of the bone.

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