| Abstract: | The recent application of physiological techniques to anthropological studies of cold stress in different human groups has produced evidence of considerable variation in response to cold. The usual anthropological procedure has been to compare the adult males of two different ethnic groups under standardized laboratory conditions, and then to generalize the conclusions in an evolutionary or ecological context. Several assumptions behind this procedure are examined. Four studies of response to cold in the same Quechua Indian group of Southern Peru are discussed. Two of the studies deal with variation in response to cold in a standardized laboratory situation. The other two describe responses as detected under actual cold conditions experienced by the subjects as they go about their daily routines. The results of the laboratory and field studies are compared. It is suggested that adult males studied in the laboratory may represent only a minor part of the variation which exists in the group and that their responses may not be indicative of those of the entire population. It is also proposed that the validity of laboratory studies for an evolutionary interpretation may be limited by the laboratory approximation of the actual cold stress experienced by the group. |
