Maya and Altaic

Evolution and Human Behavior. Alexander Alland. Social Science Paperbacks. No. 49. Tavistock Publications. London 1969. 243 pp. 37 figs. Price 18/‐.

The Two Worlds of the Washo. An indian Tribe of California &; Nevada. (Case Studies in Cultural Anthropology.) James F. Downs, Holt, Rine‐hart and Winston, Inc., New York 1966. 113 pages, 1 map, 1 pl.

West African Kingdoms in the Nineteenth Century. Ed. with an Introduction by Daryll Forde and P. M. Kaberry. Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press. Oxford 1967. 289 pp. Price 50 s.net.

Francisco de Avila. Hermann Trimborn und Antje Kelm. Quellenwerke zur Alten Geschichte Amerikas aufgezeichnet in den Sprachen der Eingeborenen. Herausgegeben vom Ibero‐Amerikanischen Institut Berlin der Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz. Band VIII. Gebr. Mann Verlag, Berlin, 1967. 308 pp. Price DM 105: ‐ (I, "Francisco de Avila” by Hermann Trimborn, pp. 1–198; II, "Götter und Kulte in Huarochirí” by Antje Kelm, pp. 199–307).

The Individual and Culture. Mary Ellen Goodman. The Dorsey Press. Homewood, Illinois 1967. 265 pp. Price $ 4.95.

Mythologie du Masque en Nouvelle‐Calédonie. Jean Guiart. Publications de la Société des Océanistes, No. 18. Paris 1966. 150 pp., 22 pls., 1 map.

Goldgewichte aus Ghana. Brigitte Menzel. Veröffentlichungen des Museums für Völkerkunde, Berlin. Neue Folge 12, Abteilung Afrika III, Berlin 1968. 242 S. Reich illustriert.

La division du temps et le calendrier rituel des peuples lagunaires de Côte d'Ivoire. Georges Niangoran‐Bouah. Université de Paris. Travaux et Mémoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie. LXVIII. Paris 1964. 164 S., 12 Abbildungen.

Boum‐le‐Grand, village d'Iro: Claude Pairault. Université de Paris. Travaux et Mémoires de l'Institut d'Ethnologie. LXXIII. Paris 1966. 470 S., 225 Abb.

The Social Organization of the Western Apache. Grenville Goodwin. With a Preface by Keith H. Basso. The University of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona, 1969 (2nd edition), xxii+701 pp. Price $ 10.

The Gurage. A People of the Ensete Culture. William A. Shack. Published for the International African Institute by Oxford University Press, London 1966. 222 pp. Ill. Price 50 s.net.

Die Erde in Vorstellungswelt und Kulturpraktiken der sudanischen Völker. Jürgen Zwernemann. (Habilitationsschrift.) Dietrich Reimer Verlag, Berlin 1968. 545 S., 1 Karte. DM 80: ‐, broschiert.

The Medicine Man, Swifa Ya Nguvumali. Hasani Bin Ismail. Edited and translated by Peter Lienhardt. Oxford Library of African Literature. Clarendon Press. Oxford University Press. Oxford 1968. 208 pp. Price 42 s.

Das Rind in den Felsbilddarstellungen Nordafrikas. Walther F. E. Resch. Studien zur Kulturkunde, Band 20. Franz Steiner Verlag, Wiesbaden 1967. 105 S., 24 Tafeln und 4 Abbildungen. Broschiert DM 20:‐.

Social Anthropology. Godfrey Lienhardt. 2nd edition. Oxford Paperbacks University Series Opus 15. London 1966. 177 pp. Price 7/6 net.

Churches at the Grass‐Roots. A Study in Congo/Brazzaville. Efraim Andersson. World Studies of Churches in Mission. Lutherworth Press. London 1968. 296 pp. Price 30/‐.

Os Macomdes de Moçambique. Vol. I‐II. Junta de Investigates do Ultramar. Centro de Estudos de Antropología Cultural. Lisboa 1964.

I. Aspectos históricos e económicos. Jorge Dias. 180 S., 109 Abb., 17 Zeichnungen, 7 Karten.

II. Cultura material. 192 S., 261 Abb., 74 Zeichnungen. Jorge Dias e Margot Dias.     

Consuming the Maya

(T)he problem is a failure to be conscious of essentialism, whether it springs from the assumptions with which we approach our subjects or the goals that motivate our writing.     

Domestication of plants in Maya Lowlands

The Lowland Mayan culture has been one of the most successful in Mesoamerica. Being an agricultural society, part of their success was based on plant genetic resources which satisfied their needs of social reproduction. This article reviews recent evidence on early agriculture in the geographic area where Lowland Maya culture originated, and discusses its implications for the study of plant domestication and evolution under human selection within this cultural sub-area. Questions of interest for future research are posed. As working hypotheses, we list two categories of species possibly implicated in the origin of this civilization: (1) native species that could have been the subject of local human selection or to some degree of agricultural manipulation by 3400 b.c., and (2) species that could have been introduced from other cultural areas of America by 3400 b.c. and subsequently subjected to local human selection.     

The endocrinology of the menopauseProceedings of Xth International Congress on Hormonal Steroids, Quebec, Canada, 17–21 June 1998.

Menopause is defined as the permanent cessation of menstruation resulting from the loss of ovarian follicular activity. Ovarian primordial follicle numbers decrease with increasing age up to about age 38 following which there is a much steeper decline in the last 12 or so years of reproductive life. At the time of the menopause itself, few follicles remain within the ovary. The recent availability of assays specific for the dimeric inhibins A and B has permitted clarification of the endocrine events leading up to and occurring around the time of final menses. Those women who show clear elevations in serum FSH above age 40, while continuing to cycle regularly have significantly lower inhibin B levels than those whose FSH levels remain in the range seen earlier in reproductive life. Early in the menopause transition, when cycle irregularity is first observed, the initial event is a decline in circulating inhibin B levels in the early follicular phase. In the late perimenopause, levels of estradiol and inhibin A also fall, inhibin B levels remain low and FSH is markedly elevated. The variability of hormone levels in women in their 40s, even in those who are continuing to cycle regularly makes FSH and estradiol unreliable markers of menopausal status. Serum androgen levels appear to fall with age rather than having any clear cut relationship to the menopause transition or menopause. The endocrine changes which occur during the menopausal transition and early postmenopausal period have clinical consequences in terms of symptoms and changes in bone mass.     

Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q'eqchi' Experiences

Maya Resurgence in Guatemala: Q'eqchi' Experiences. Richard Wilson. Norman; University of Oklahoma Press, 1995.373 pp.     

Biological traits and living conditions of Maya Indian and non Maya girls from Merida,Mexico

A total of 522 girls and their families from low and middle social strate were examined in the northern part of Merida (Yucatan) during 1988 and 1989. Marital radius in the parental generation was relatively long (146 km), and it was six times longer for non-Maya and mixed couples than Maya. Living and housing conditions were similar for both Maya and non-Maya (mixed couples typically had an intermediate condition), except for sewage system (sanitation). The Maya income was 64% lower. Maya men and women were short. The girls from Merida were short, hyper-brachycephalic (short headed), and europrosopic (broad face). Among them, Maya girls were even shorter, more round-headed, and more broad-faced than non-Maya girls. Menarche occurred on the average at an age of 12.6 years in mothers and 12.1 years in daughters. As the generation time was about 25 years, there was a slow acceleration of maturation (0.2 years per decade). Presumably, also stature has increased in recent years.     

Delineating genetic relationships among the Maya

By 250 AD, the Classic Maya had become the most advanced civilization within the New World, possessing the only well-developed hieroglyphic writing system of the time and an advanced knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and architecture. Though only ruins of the empire remain, 7.5 million Mayan descendants still occupy areas of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and Honduras. Although they inhabit distant and distinct territories, speak more than 28 languages, and have been historically divided by warfare and a city-state-like political system, and they share characteristics such as rituals, artistic, architectural motifs that distinguish them as unequivocally Maya. This study was undertaken to determine whether these similarities among Mayan communities mirror genetic affinities or are merely a reflection of their common culture. Four Mayan populations were investigated (i.e., the K'iche and Kakchikel from Guatemala and the Campeche and Yucatan from Mexico) and compared with previously published populations across 15 autosomal STR loci. As a whole, the Maya emerge as a distinct group within Mesoamerica, indicating that they are more similar to each other than to other Mesoamerican groups. The data suggest that although geographic and political boundaries existed among Mayan communities, genetic exchanges between the different Mayan groups have occurred, supporting theories of extensive trading throughout the empire.     

The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing

The Decipherment of Ancient Maya Writing. Stephen Houston. Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos. and David Stuart. eds. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2001. 576 pp.