The aim of this study was to examine characteristics of the deep squatting posture in Japanese children and to investigate the relationship of this posture between their lifestyles and exercise habits. The subjects were 68 elementary school Japanese children, 36 boys and 32 girls who were 6–12 years old. The deep squatting posture was observed using two tasks: a free task was examined by observing the posture selected for drawing a picture on the floor, and an instructed task was examined by asking each child to attempt to assume this posture with both feet flat on the floor. Information on lifestyle (e.g., the Japanese-style or the Western-style of toilet sitting type, style of bed) and exercise habits was obtained by questionnaire from the parents. Additionally, mobility was assessed by measuring dorsiflexion of the ankles and trunk flexion in the long sitting posture. Almost 60% of the subjects selected the deep squatting posture in the free task, and a little over than 70% were able to properly perform deep squatting in the instructed task. Multiple logistic regression analysis indicated that style of bed (adjusted odds ratio: 3.7 with 95% CI of 1.2–11.5, p < 0.05) and grade in elementary school (adjusted odds ratio: 5.2 with 95% CI of 1.4–18.9, p < 0.01) were both related to choosing the deep squatting postures. Specific exercise habits (adjusted odds ratio: 9.2 with 95% CI of 1.8–47.7, p < 0.01) were associated with properly performing the deep squatting. Sex and mobility were not significantly related to deep squatting postures in these Japanese children. Lifestyle and exercise habits thus appear to influence their adoption the deep squatting postures as one of the various postures that they assume.

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Our 2012–2013 excavation at the Trench I of the Sakitari-do cave site, Nanjo city, Okinawa, yielded two human remains (an isolated molar and a navicular) and 39 seashell fragments from the Layer II dated to 16400–19300 yrBP. Because, the cave was about 150 m above sea level and 5–6 km away from the coast during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), these seashells must have been brought in by people. Among these shells, 7 of 22 Veneridae (Callista chinensis and Meretrix sp. cf. lusoria) valve fragments show sector forms with their longer arcs on the ventral sides of the shells and the shorter arcs on the dorsal sides. Retouches on the edges are observed in most of them. Moreover, dorso-ventrally oriented linear scars and abrasion are present on the shorter arcs in some of them. The uniformity in shape and other characteristics indicate that at least a part of these Veneridae valve fragments were manufactured by humans as implements. Linear scars and wearing are also observed on Septifer bilocularis specimens. Two specimens of “Dentalium” spp., an uneatable marine shellfish, may have been used as beads although obvious traces of artificial modification are lacking on them. These findings indicate that human activities at the cave go back at least to the LGM.

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Odake 1, a female skull of the Early Jomon period excavated at the Odake shell-mound, Toyama, Japan, in 2008, was compared with samples of the Middle, Late, and/or Final Jomon periods fromthe Tohoku, Kanto, Tokai, and Sanyo districts of Japan; a Chinese sample of the Bronze Age fromDa-si-kong, An-yang; a pooled sample of the Neolithic-to-Iron Age skeletons from Man Bac, northern Vietnam, and Ban Chiang, northeastern Thailand; and a Late Pleistocene sample from Coobool Creek, southeastern Australia, using typicality probabilities based on 12, 10, 9, and 6 craniofacial measurements. As a result, Odake 1 was found to be closest to the female sample ofthe Middle-to-Final Jomon period from the Tohoku district. Additional similar analyses showedthat the Initial or Early Jomon individual specimen closest to this Tohoku sample was Kitakogane K13, a female skull of the Early Jomon period from Hokkaido, and, further, that Kitakogane K13 was closer to the An-yang Chinese sample of the Bronze Age and Southeast Asian sample of the Neolithic-to-Iron Age than to the Middle-to-Final Jomon sample from the Tohoku district. On the basis of these findings, the process of migration and dispersal of Asians in the times equivalent to the Initial and Early Jomon periods was preliminarily discussed.

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[in Japanese]

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The Course of Study was revised in 2010 and the field of physical anthropology has been covered in the elective courses in the newly compiled high school text books of “Biology” since 2013. Though, many high school teachers are interested in the study of human evolution, they are rather unfamiliar to this field because they were not given an opportunity to sufficiently study this field in their school days. In order to have such teachers give lessons of this field enthusiastically, we discussed what The Committee of Diffusion of Education of the Anthropological Society of Japan could be able to do.

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The new course of study has started under the ministry’s new curriculum guideline. Human evolution became a major topic in the biology course of high school. However, contents concerning physical anthropology have not increased in other subject of high school, junior high school, and elementary school. In this situation, efforts of anthropologists to cooperate with school teachers are needed for prevailed education of physical anthropology. In Japan Monkey Centre, we have developed some education programs with the elements of physical anthropology in cooperation with schools. The points of good cooperation for anthropologists are: 1) consideration of the curriculum and textbooks, 2) good communication with teachers, 3) preparation of attractive education materials, and 4) choice of appropriate words to the level of students.

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The contents of studies of biology in high schools largely changed from the 2012 fiscal year according to the change of the course of study. The results of field studies of non-human primates had become to contribute basic or more advanced studies of biology in high schools by these changes. This paper describes how the results of field studies of non-human primates can contribute to studies of biology in high schools. Topics such as primates as keystone species and interspecific relationships among primates could be helpful for studying contents in sections as “Biodiversity of Creatures and Ecosystems” in “Basic Biology” and “Ecology and Environments” in “Advanced Biology.” Supplementary books in accordance with text books are very useful for such attempt and cooperation between teaching stuffs of high schools and universities is necessary to make such supplementary books.

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Biological anthropology and primatology provide us an important insight for origin of human sociality. The lack of this knowledge may lead to misunderstanding of human nature. For example, the hunting hypothesis has led us to wrong perspectives on the origin of warfare in the past. The high abilities of empathy and sympathy in humans have possibly evolved with communal breeding under high predation pressure, and resulted in the formation of human family. A comparison of life history traits in modern humans, such as age at weaning, age at first parturition, inter-birth interval, andpost-reproductive life span, with great apes (orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees) indicates life history strategy (high fecundity and slow maturation) unique to humans. These recent anthropological knowledge should be used in high schools for education of teenagers who are expected to join adult societies after graduation.

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The teaching of biology in Japanese high schools has been taking new directions since the New Course of Study came into effect in April 2012. Accordingly, the teaching of Basic Biology, which is expected to be taken by 90% students across Japan, is setting up major pillars there; i.e. nature and functions of genes, homeostasis in living organisms, and diversities of organisms and ecosystem. This presentation reports on one actual Basic Biology teaching emphasizing on human biology. At the same time, the possibilities are investigated for making the biology studies instrumental to scientific ethical understanding such as viewing human being as one component of global ecology, recognition of existing Homo as the genus with only one representative living species of Homo sapiens or invalidity of ‘race’ as a biological concept.

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The New Course of Study of elementary and of secondary education were revised from 2008 to 2009. Thereby, in secondary education, it can be said that the opportunities for all the students to study an organic evolution increased. For example, in high school, the contents of human-beings evolution were increasing in the textbook of 3 out of 4 total publishing companies. The questionnaire survey about the evolution and anthropology which I performed in 2007 was conducted again, but any big change was not found in the first-year high school students, between before and after New Course of Study enforcement. On the other hand, it was suggested that an understanding of the evolution by students has been promoted with teachers being usually conscious of evolution in lessons and that the effect is increasing further by treating human evolution. As mentioned above, the education to both students and teachers are needed to be continuously given in order to increase the opportunities for the students to study anthropology, and the lecture which makes such an opportunity at a high school was practiced.

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This paper discusses about archaeological education programs for the primary and secondary schools using “ongoing” excavation site which have been conducted at the Rebun island in 2013. The international archaeological research project at the Hamanaka 2 site of the Rebun island aims not only to study a dynamism of history and culture there through material analysis but also to involve local people and the Ainu people into our project in scheme of Public archaeology and Community archaeology. This archaeological education program was organized together with the board of education of the Rebun town and 4 primary and secondary schools. Its goals are to (1) promote understanding archaeology and natural anthropology through experience of ongoing excavation site, (2) assist understanding local history that primary and secondary schools of the island are teaching at comprehensive school hours, (3) call an attention for protecting local heritage.

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In the study of human evolution, remarkable advances were made in the latter half of 20th century, e.g. clarification of the phylogenetic status of hominine lineage based on molecular biological evidences, and morphological assessments of Miocene hominoids and Pliocene hominines through palaeontological materials. With respect to the evolution of bipedality, a variety of studies were carried out making use of telling materials including Australopithecus afarensis partial skeleton and Laetoli footprints. The reason for and the circumstances under which hominine bipedality emerged were variously formulated in major theories, in line with the Y. Coppens’ scenario of adaptive shift in early hominines from woodlands to open environments. However, the discovery and recently disclosed morphology of Ardipithecus ramidus, assumed to have been a woodlands dweller but characterized with extremities and ilia suggesting arboreality and bipedality, respectively, have changed these situations dramatically. Unfortunately, the reason why bipedality emerged in the woodlands solely in the hominine line has not been identified yet.

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Learning of human evolution in high schools is important for students to understand the origin and nature of ourselves, and to realize the development of humanity in biological perspectives. It can provide useful insights for what we are and what we will be. Here, I review several points on the teaching of human evolution and the development of humanity, including recent important findings in this field.

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