Knowledge from the Margins: W. Montague Cobb's Pioneering Research in Biocultural Anthropology

W. Montague Cobb became the first African American to receive a doctorate in physical anthropology in the United States (1932). He was also among the first U.S. physical anthropologists to demonstrate a commitment to biocultural integration and racial equality in his research. Nonetheless, very few European American physical anthropologists responded to or utilized Cobb's work. This continued after bioanthropology took on a more biocultural focus in the 1980s, some 50 years after Cobb's first studies of this kind. In this essay, I highlight Cobb's research and writing from the first decades of his career to illustrate his contribution to developing biocultural perspectives in physical anthropology. As a result, I hope to move Cobb from the margins to the center of discussions about methodological and theoretical developments in bioanthropology over the past 30 years.     

The Biocultural Context of Very High Fertility among the Bekaa Bedouin

This research report explores some of the biocultural dimensions of maximum or near maximum fertility among Bedouin tribes in the Bekaa Valley, Lebanon. The Bedouin case substantiates that very high fertility (completed family size [CFS] greater than 8.0) is found among peripheral peoples in frontier situations generated by major political-economic shifts. While the Bedouin maintained high fertility (CFS > 6.5) for approximately sixty years (1899–1960), very high fertility—linked to greater historical reliance on agriculture—was of shorter duration (1934–60). Comparisons with other very high fertility populations indicate that, at the proximate level, maximum fertility is associated with early weaning, low rates of primary sterility, and high rates of marital stability. Results also point to low subadult mortality in Bedouin society. Low mortality is best attributed to the availability of modern medical care facilities and high-quality weaning foods.     

“Strictly for the Birds”: Science, the Military and the Smithsonian's Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program, 1963–1970

Between 1963 and 1970, the Smithsonian Institution held a grant from the US Army to observe migratory patterns of pelagic birds in the Central Pacific. For six years, the Pacific Ocean Biological Survey Program (POBSP) collected a vast amount of data from a quarter of the globe little known to science, and difficult for civilians to access. Its reports were (and remain) of great value to science. In 1969, however, the Program became embroiled in controversy. Some alleged that the Smithsonian, by accepting the military's coin, had violated its own rules governing the receipt of government funds and the publication of research. Recent investigations have pointed to a number of unexplained relationships between the POBSP and the Army, during a period of intense activity in chemical and biological weapons testing. The controversy marked a watershed in Smithsonian-military relations. As yet, its history is incomplete. What is known, however, suggests that the POBSP involved a highly problematic mésalliance between science and secrecy during the height of the Cold War. Its gradual unfolding prompts questions of contemporary relevance that await contemporary answers. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

西南地区生物文化多样性空间格局定量研究

自然条件的丰富性与独特性以及多民族聚居的特征使得西南地区成为我国生物多样性和文化多样性的热点地区,但当前仍然缺乏对区域生物文化多样性格局的定量研究。以西南地区603个县级行政区为基本单元,探讨了西南地区的文化多样性与生物多样性的分布格局,在此基础上定量计算了生物文化多样性,从而识别西南地区生物文化多样性空间格局,并分析不同因素对多样性空间分布的影响。文化多样性与生物多样性存在一定的空间分布差异,同时也存在高低值聚类的重叠区域。高生物文化多样性的区域与高生物多样性的区域分布较为相似,而低生物文化多样性的区域与低文化多样性的区域分布较为接近;生物文化多样性的高低值聚类区呈现明显的片状格局。由于生境条件与人为干扰等原因,西南地区文化多样性、生物多样性与生物文化多样性沿河流流向大多呈现\"低-高\"或\"低-高-低\"的变化状态。影响因素分析表明,文化多样性与生物多样性产生相互促进的作用;三种多样性的空间分布都受到平均坡度的重要影响;多样性高的单元聚集在地形坡度大、海拔与坡度的差异程度较大而水体覆盖率较低的区域。文化多样性与生物多样性的密切联系表现在地理空间上的交叉重合,因此,对文化多样性与生物多样性的保护应统筹兼顾,并更多从生物文化多样性的视角或者途径来开展相关研究与保护实践。     

Confronting introduced species: a form of xenophobia?

Critics from the fields of history, philosophy, sociology, gardening, and landscape architecture have recently attacked attempts to control introduced species as infected by nativism, racism, and xenophobia. Many appeals against introduced species, beginning in the 19^th century, focus on aesthetic issues. It is impossible to prove a particular aesthetic judgment is in no way underlain by xenophobia or racism. Certainly the Nazi drive to eliminate non-indigenous plants was related to the campaign to eliminate non-Aryan people, while the writings of some early 20^th century garden writers are laden with the language of contemporary nativism. Most judgments about the aesthetics of introduced species, however, cannot be clearly linked to such motives. Further, invasion biologists and conservationists today depict their motivation as preventing ecological or economic harm, as did their precursors a century ago. Because such harm is readily documented, this stated motivation is highly plausible, and attempts to impute baser motives are unconvincing if not tortuous. Critics of efforts to control invasions often ignore their ecological and economic impacts. These impacts, rather than aesthetic judgments or appeals to questionable concepts of naturalness, constitute a cogent, ethical basis for management of introduced species. Claims that modern introduced species activity targets all introduced species, not just invasive ones, and neglects benefits of certain introduced species have no basis in fact and becloud an urgent, important issue.     

Anthropometry and numerical taxonomy in clinical genetics: An example of applied biological anthropology

Biological anthropologists can contribute a unique perspective as well as technical expertise to the diagnosis and classification of genetic disorders. Anthropometry has been used with increasing frequency to characterize syndromes and to establish ranges of variation within syndromes. The specific anthropometric-radiologic technique of metacarpophalangeal pattern profile analysis has proven useful in discriminating individuals with the Prader-Labhart-Willi (PLW) syndrome from unaffected persons. Analysis of these data also indicate a negative correlation between age and Z-score transformations of individual hand bone lengths. These findings sound a cautionary note to clinical investigators who would use the Z-score transformation to standardize for age and sex. Problems encountered in the classification of genetic syndromes afford many parallels with those faced by anthropologists in the classification of living and fossil populations. The reliance on “key” traits and the necessity of focusing on pedigree analysis results in a deemphasis of the total range of variation and typological thinking. Application of numerical taxonomic techniques to the classification of the heterogeneous connective tissue disease osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) illustrates the heuristic value of this technique and points out the need to consider phenotypic overlap when defining typologies. Clinical genetics affords just one example of an area in medicine where the unique training and generalist perspective of the biological anthropologist is in demand. The decline in the availability of positions in the traditional academic habitat for biological anthropologists makes it imperative that graduate students be aware of alternatives and that they obtain training in the practical skills which such alternatives will demand.     

指纹与年龄相关性的量化分析

本文利用Leica M125体视显微镜对1510份样本中右手拇指的皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等特征进行测量,通过SPSS软件分析年龄信息特征的相关性,选取其中相关性大的变量进行多元线性回归,并得出推断公式以分析并量化随年龄的增长指纹与年龄相关信息的变化特点及规律。研究结果显示,手印中的皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等特征与年龄具有相关性,但利用这些变量构建的多元回归模型拟合优度并不高;皱纹、乳突纹线密度、乳突纹线和小犁沟的宽度、细点线、屈肌褶纹等可作为手印分析年龄的参考和辅助特征。乳突纹线的边缘形态、手印印痕的模糊程度、汗孔等以当前科技手段难以用测量描述特征的年龄信息,在手印分析年龄中或可发挥核心价值,具体还需进一步探究。