Archaeology and Physical Anthropology: Means to the Same End*

Abstract

Both archaeology and physical anthropology have often suffered from the same malaise. Techniques have been confused with goals and emphasis has be·en placed upon theaccumulation of data rather than upon an understanding of human behavior.     

东南亚地区五加科植物进化关系的初步研究

东南亚五加科包含14个属约500种,本文应用ITS片段对该区五加科植物的进化关系作了初步研究.研究显示该地区五加科植物具有复杂的起源,很多属属于亚洲掌状复叶类群或Hedereae族的一支中.该区特有类群Harmsiopanax形态上非常特殊,但其系统位置尚未不明朗.在Brassaiopsis属中,有几种形态差异较大的种,但它们属同一单系,加之各种问ITS序列差异较小,故应是新近起源于马来亚半岛和苏门达腊岛的种类.Wardenia simplex聚类在Brassaiopsis一支中,故不支持将Wardenia作为独立的属.东南亚地区对于Schefflera属的发育非常重要,已有的证据显示该区的Schefflera属植物属于该属的Heptapleumm类群.马来亚与泰国南部的Dendropanax lancifolius并没有与Dendropanax属的核心类群聚在一起,其系统地位需进一步研究.Macropanax maingayi是非常特殊的一个种,曾被独立分出,成立了单种属Hederopsis.本文的分析清楚表明它属于Macropanax属.Aralia merrillii因为其不同寻常的攀缘特性而被独立出来,建立了单种属Acanthophora,但ITS序列分析支持将它置于Aralia属中.新增的取样继续支持Arthrophyllum的单系性.Osmoxylon的原初分布范围在东南亚,它是五加科系统进化树上孤立的类群.     

Adsorption of Methylene Blue as a Means of Determining Cell Concentration of Dead Bacteria in Suspensions

The uptake of methylene blue by dead bacterial cells follows physicochemical adsoprtion laws, whether the microorganism is Gram-positive or Gram-negative. This fact was observed with Sarcina lutea, Bacillus subtilis, Micrococcus flavus, Serratia marcescens, Eschericiha coli, Proteus vulgaris and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The initial dye concentration was about 100 mg/lit, and the maximum dry cell concentration varied from 0.3 to 2.2 gm/lit. A new method is described for determining colorimetrically the total bacterial cell concentration, analogous to our published method for yeasts (J. Bact., 76, 251-5 1958).     

Evolutionary Analysis of Phycobiliproteins: Implications for Their Structural and Functional Relationships

Phycobiliproteins, together with linker polypeptides and various chromophores, are basic building blocks of phycobilisomes, a supramolecular complex with a light-harvesting function in cyanobacteria and red algae. Previous studies suggest that the different types of phycobiliproteins and the linker polypeptides originated from the same ancestor. Here we retrieve the phycobilisome-related genes from the well-annotated and even unfinished cyanobacteria genomes and find that many sites with elevated d _N /d _S ratios in different phycobiliprotein lineages are located in the chromophore-binding domain and the helical hairpin domains (X and Y). Covariation analyses also reveal that these sites are significantly correlated, showing strong evidence of the functional-structural importance of interactions among these residues. The potential selective pressure driving the diversification of phycobiliproteins may be related to the phycobiliprotein-chromophore microenvironment formation and the subunits interaction. Sites and genes identified here would provide targets for further research on the structural-functional role of these residues and energy transfer through the chromophores. [Reviewing Editor: Dr. Rasmus Nielsen]     

Evolutionary and Functional Relationships of the dha Regulon by Genomic Context Analysis

3-hydroxypropionaldehyde (3-HPA) and 1,3-propanediol (1,3-PD) are subproducts of glycerol degradation and of economical interest as they are used for polymers synthesis, such as polyesters and polyurethanes. Some few characterized bacterial species (mostly from Firmicutes and Gamma-proteobacteria groups) are able to catabolize these monomers from glycerol using the gene products from the dha regulon. To expand our knowledge and direct further experimental studies on the regulon and related genes for the anaerobic glycerol metabolism, an extensive genomic screening was performed to identify the presence of the dha genes in fully sequenced prokaryotic genomes. Interestingly, this work shows that although only few bacteria species are known to produce 3-HPA or 1,3-PD, the incomplete regulon is found in more than 100 prokaryotic genomes. However, the complete pathway is found only in a few dozen species belonging to five different taxonomic groups, including one Archaea species, Halalkalicoccus jeotgali. Phylogenetic analysis and conservation of both gene synteny and primary sequence similarity reinforce the idea that these genes have a common origin and were possibly acquired by lateral gene transfer (LGT). Besides the evolutionary aspect, the identification of homologs from several different organisms may predict potential alternative targets for faster or more efficient biological synthesis of 3-HPA or 1,3-PD.     

Changes in biological anthropology: results of the 1998 American Association of Physical Anthropology Membership Survey

In response to the results of the 1996 survey of the membership of the American Association of Physical Anthropology (AAPA), the Executive Committee of the Association sponsored a follow-up survey designed to assess gender and specialty differences in training, employment, academic status, mentoring, and research support. A total of 993 questionnaires was analyzed, representing approximately 62% of the 1998 membership of the Association. There has been a marked shift in the number of males and females in the discipline from the 1960s to the 1990s. While 51.2% of all respondents are female and 48.8% are male, 70% of the students are female. Chi-square tests indicate significant differences between males and females by highest degree, age, status, obtaining a tenure-track position, receiving tenure, and taking nontenure-track employment before receiving a tenure-track position. In recent years, there has been an increasing number of females in the ranks of assistant and associate professors; however, this is not true for the rank of professor. There are also significant differences between males and females by specialty within the discipline: researchers in primatology, human biological variation, skeletal biology, and paleopathology are primarily female, while researchers in human and primate evolution are increasingly female.     

Resolving the Anti-Antievolutionism Dilemma: A Brief for Relational Evolutionary Thinking in Anthropology

ABSTRACT   Anthropologists often disagree about whether, or in what ways, anthropology is "evolutionary." Anthropologists defending accounts of primate or human biological development and evolution that conflict with mainstream "neo-Darwinian" thinking have sometimes been called "creationists" or have been accused of being "antiscience." As a result, many cultural anthropologists struggle with an "anti-antievolutionism" dilemma: they are more comfortable opposing the critics of evolutionary biology, broadly conceived, than they are defending mainstream evolutionary views with which they disagree. Evolutionary theory, however, comes in many forms. Relational evolutionary approaches such as Developmental Systems Theory, niche construction, and autopoiesis–natural drift augment mainstream evolutionary thinking in ways that should prove attractive to many anthropologists who wish to affirm evolution but are dissatisfied with current "neo-Darwinian" hegemony. Relational evolutionary thinking moves evolutionary discussion away from reductionism and sterile nature–nurture debates and promises to enable fresh approaches to a range of problems across the subfields of anthropology. [Keywords: evolutionary anthropology, Developmental Systems Theory, niche construction, autopoeisis, natural drift]     

Dynamics of Intergroup Relationships in Primates: Introduction to the Special Issue

International Journal of Primatology -     

Boas's Changes in Bodily Form: The Immigrant Study, Cranial Plasticity, and Boas's Physical Anthropology

In two recent articles, we and another set of researchers independently reanalyzed data from Franz Boas's classic study of immigrants and their descendants. Whereas we confirm Boas's overarching conclusion regarding the plasticity of cranial form, Corey Sparks and Richard Jantz argue that Boas was incorrect. Here we attempt to reconcile these apparently incompatible conclusions. We first address methodological differences between our reanalyses and suggest that (1) Sparks and Jantz posed a different set of questions than we did, and (2) their results are largely consistent with our own. We then discuss our differing understandings of Boas's original argument and of the concept of cranial plasticity. In particular, we argue that Sparks and Jantz attribute to Boas a position he explicitly rejected. When we clarify Boas's position and place the immigrant study in historical context, Sparks and Jantz's renalysis supports our conclusion that, on the whole, Boas got it right. [Keywords: Franz Boas, plasticity, anthropometry, heritability, immigrant study]     

贵州侗族体质人类学研究

本文对生活在贵州的侗族526人(男280人, 女246人)进行了活体观察和调查(观察项目28个,测量项目64个)。调查对象年龄20—55岁, 三代均为侗族。分析结果表明: 贵州侗族男性属中头型、阔面型, 女性属圆头型、超阔面型; 男女均属中鼻型、宽手型、窄肩型、中间体型、中腿型、矮型身材。与我国南方其他31个少数民族群体聚类分析, 结果显示贵州侗族的体质特征与广西瑶族、贵州布依族最为接近, 与湖南瑶族、土家族、贵州台江苗族次之。贵州侗族属蒙古人种南亚类型。