Journal of the Anthropological Society of Nippon

Dental Variation of the Polynesian Populations

Tsunehiko HANIHARA

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 291-302
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.291

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Metric and nonmetric dental variation was studied for several samples from Polynesia and Southeast Asia. Within the Polynesian samples, the Tonga sample aligns with a sample from Marquesas. A few Hawaiian samples form a relatively tight cluster. The sample from the Society Islands shows a dispersed arrangement. Extending the comparisons to include the Polynesian and Southeast Asian samples affirms the existence of a relatively homogeneous Polynesian dental morphological pattern. Among the Polynesian samples, Tonga shows the closest affinity to the early Thailand sample. This finding supports the orthodox view for the initial settlement of ancestral Polynesians in Tonga and Samoa from somewhere in Southeast Asia. Moreover, the metric dental affinity of Marquesans with Tongans is compatible with the hypothesis that the Marquesas Islands may have been initially colonized in eastern Polynesia.

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The Frequencies of Accessory Tubercles and Other Traits in the Upper Deciduous Second Molar

E. KANAZAWA, M. SEKIKAWA, M. NATORI, Y. KAMIAKITO, T. OZAKI

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 303-310
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.303

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Small irregular cuspules or tubercles are often seen on the occlusal table of the human deciduous molar as well as the permanent molar. These frequencies were investigated semi-quantitatively with the use of moire contourography. The moire photographs of the occlusal surface were taken with the tips of the paracone, protocone and metacone aligned in a horizontal plane parallel to the grating of the moire contourography. Contour interval was set at 0.2 mm. The frequency of occurrence of a tubercle was counted in three grades according to its contour patterns. Materials were Japanese deciduous upper second molars of 23 males and 33 females with negligible attrition. The frequencies of appearance of tubercles were as follows (sexes pooled): (1) mesial paracone tubercle, 62.5%; (2) mesial accessory tubercle, 76.8%; (3) protoconule, 19.6%; (4) lingual paracone tubercle, 87.5%; (5) metaconule, 26.8%; (6) distal accessory tubercle, 14.3%; (7) CARABELLI's cusp, 82.1%; (8) buccostyle, 17.8%. The incidence of the traits was compared with those in the permanent first molars previously studied. The traits nos. 4, 5, 7 and 8 were significantly more frequent in the deciduous molars than in the permanent first molar, when tested by x2 test. On the other hand, the traits nos. 1, 2, 3 and 6 which located on the mesial and distal marginal ridge did not show significant difference between both molars. This suggested that there might have been differences of phylogenetical origins between traits on the marginal ridge and those in the occlusal table and/or on buccal and lingual surfaces.

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Pregnancy Bony Imprint on Japanese Female Pelves and Its Relation to Pregnancy Experience

Yuriko IGARASHI

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 311-319
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.311

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Pelvic bones from 20 modern-Japanese female cadavers were examined in order to ascertain the relationship between the bony scar in the pre-auricular area of the ilium and pregnancies and/or parturitions. The age of cadavers ranged from 49 to 99 years. Sixteen women were reported to have born some children, and four were reported to have never given birth. In several cases, additional information on the number and spacing of deliveries and miscarriages was obtained. The scars were classified into three categories: PP (marked), P (moderate) and N (absent). It can be hypothesized that the scars result from the experience of pregnancy rather than parturition, that their development is possibly related to the number of pregnancies, and that they do not disappear even 18-65 years after the last childbirth.

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Pelvic Pregnancy Imprint Incidence Variation among Jomon Japanese and Its Potential Implication to Demographic Profiles

Yuriko IGARASHI

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 321-329
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.321

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"Pregnancy imprint" in the pre-auricular area of the ilium was examined on female skeletons which were unearthed from several Jomon sites (six sites in Hokkaido, the Sanganji shellmound site, the Yoshiko shellmound site, the Ikawazu site, the Tsukumo shellmound site: for the locations, see Table 1 and Fig. 1), and its incidence was compared among these series. The pregnancy imprint was evaluated using the criterion of IGARASHI (1992) into three categories: PP a marked pregnancy imprint; P a moderate imprint; N, no imprint. In the pooled skeletal series, individuals with pregnancy imprint (P) appeared in teen-aged women, and women with pregnancy imprints (PP or P) increased in proportion with age (Fig. 2). The PP women increased in proportion with age, but the P women did not increase so much (Fig. 2). These results suggest that in Jomon people, as in modern Japanese females, the pregnancy imprint was probably caused by the experience of pregnancies, and the PP category scars indicate more pregnancy experiences than the P category scars. The average number of pregnancies is greater in Hokkaido Jomon people than in the other series. With the women over 40 years old, it has been shown that in Sanganji, only 10 women out of 19 (53%) had pregnancy imprints, whereas in Hokkaido, all 10 women had pregnancy imprints, and seven women out of 10(70%) had the marked imprints (Table 2 and Fig. 3). In Yoshiko, Ikawazu and Tsukumo, all or almost all the women had the pregnancy imprints, but the ratio of women with a marked imprint was not so high as in Hokkaido (Table 2 and Fig. 3). I also analyzed the survivorship pattern for each skeletal series. The analysis revealed that the premature death rate was much higher in Hokkaido than in the other populations (Fig. 4), and therefore the birth rate must have been higher there. I concluded that there were two types of demographic patterns in the Jomon period; one was represented by the Hokkaido population with both high premature death rate and high birth rate, and the others, the Sanganji, Yoshiko, Ikawazu and Tsukumo populations, with both low premature death rate and low birth rate.

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Fish Otoliths as Indicator of Cod Fishing Seasonality in a Jomon Shell Midden (Usu-lO Site)

Kazuhiro UZAWA

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 331-339
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.331

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In the northern coastal area, the cod (Gadus macrocephalus) is one of the most important marine resources for human diet and has been exploited since the prehistoric period. Although cod remains are commonly found in Jomon shell middens (6, 000-2, 000 BP) in Japan, particularly in those in the Hokkaido area, few detailed studies have been reported so far. The present study dealt with the issue of the fishing season of the species by prehistoric shell midden people. The analyzed samples were collected from the final-Jomon deposit of the Uso-10 site (3, 000-2, 000 BP; Fig. 3). The identification of the fishing season was conducted according to the available knowledge of the life history of the living cod. In this procedure it is necessary to know the age composition of the cod caught by the Jomon people. I estimated possible body length in each cod by measuring otolith remains. On the basis of the data on the relation between age and body length of living cod, its age was determined. Since measurements of living cod samples revealed significant positive correlation (r=0.9818) between lengths of otolith and the entire body, a regression equation y=53.65x-457 (y: body length; x: otolith length; Fig. 4) was obtained. Estimated body length of the cod varied from 483 mm to 762 mm (x=623 mm; Fig. 5), the smaller ones corresponding to 3-year-old adults. Adult cods are seen in the deep bottom of the sea (200-300m) from the spring through the autumn, and come up to the coastal surface only during the winter for spawning. Thus, the fishing season of the species is assumed to have been during the winter for the Usu Jomon people.

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The Growth of 400 Chinese Children Born in Paris

F. ROVILLE-SAUSSE

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 341-348
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.341

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A survey made in the centres of "Protection Maternelle et Infantile" in Paris has given successive anthropometric measurements, from the birth to 66 months, of 400 Chinese children who live in France. Body measurements of Chinese children born in Paris are slightly above those of Chinese children born in China. This is likely due to the improvements of living conditions, feeding and exogamy. There is a slight difference between the body measurements from girls and from boys. This sexual difference is statistically significant by t-test from one month-age.

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A Decapitated Human Skull from Medieval Kamakura

Iwataro MORIMOTO, Kazuaki HIRATA

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 349-358
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.349

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The present study reports on the examination of a decapitated human male skull with four upper cervical vertebrae and the hyoid bone, dating to the early Muromachi period (late 14th century), from Kamakura. The decapitation may have been the result of a sharp cut from the right rear. The cut runs horizontally into the second cervical vertebra and stops in the bone, after having severed both the spinal cord and the right vertebral artery. Superficial injuries to the skull were probably not the primary cause of death. The head was separated from the body post mortem, probably as a result of an additional cut noted in the fourth cervical vertebra. It is suggested that the traditional Japanese method of decapitation in former times may be characterized by a cut halfway through the neck, and this method of decapitation can be traced back to the early Muromachi period.

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Bibliography(1985-1989)of Human Skeletal Remains Excavated in Japan

Jiro IKEDA, Hirofumi MATSUMUR

1992 Volume 100 Issue 3 Pages 359-383
Published: 1992
Released on J-STAGE: February 26, 2008

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1537/ase1911.100.359

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