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Assessment of Inter and Intra-Population Variation in Stature and Body Proportions: A Comparative Study Between Living and Bioarchaeological Populations

Vercellotti, Giuseppe
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1336957912

Abstract Details

2012, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Anthropology.
Variation in stature and body proportions across the globe is generally explained in terms of climatic adaptations and as resulting from overall life conditions experienced during growth. Based on growth heterochrony, different life histories should result in different adult stature and body proportions. It is nonetheless unclear to which extent such changes in growth outcomes take place at the intrapopulation level. This study explores variation in stature and body proportions at the inter and intrapopulation level by addressing four research questions in both living and archaeological populations. Specifically, this research investigates the existence of differences in growth outcomes within populations in relation to sex, severe growth retardation, and differential access to resources. Additionally, this study examines whether stature and body proportions allow us to differentiate between populations exposed to different environmental conditions. Variation in stature and segmental body proportions is examined in three living populations from South America and in two European medieval populations for a total of 2389 individuals. Anthropometric (height, sitting height, and leg length) and osteometric (skull height, long bones lenghts, skeletal trunk height, and skeletal height) data are analyzed and interpreted in the context of biocultural information available for each population included in the study. The statistical methods employed to address the research questions include the “Quick-Test” (Tsutakawa and Hewett, 1977), Monte Carlo analyses, principal component analyses, non-parametric analyses of variance and correlation analyses. Statistical significance is defined as p > 0.05. The results of this study reveal that: 1) Significant sex-related differences in body proportions are found in the majority of the populations examined, but the direction of such differences is extremely variable and appears to be due different sensitivity to environmental stress, cultural practices favoring one sex over the other, and the different selective pressures associated with female reproduction; 2) Severe growth retardation is associated with a reduction in relative leg length only in urban settings, while growth retardation appears to be accompanied by isometric changes in body size among rural Amazonians; 3) There is evidence in support of a positive relationship between differential access to resources and growth outcomes in both living and archaeological populations. However, no differences are found in one population, likely because of the inadequacy of the variable used as a proxy for resource access; 4) Significant interpopulation differences in stature and proportions are found among both living and archaeological populations, suggesting that growth outcomes reflect the unique set of life conditions experienced by each population, even within the same broad ecogeographic zone. Thanks to an innovative approch that combines the examination of biological variation in living and bioarchaeological populations in tandem, this study demonstrates that the pattern of variation variation in stature and body proportions across time and space is more complex than previously posited. Future research should further explore how growth outcomes are affected by specific biocultural factors such as differential offspring treatment, individual female reproductive histories, and different stressors associated with specific settlement types.
Sam Stout, PhD (Advisor)
Paul Sciulli, PhD (Advisor)
Barbara Piperata, PhD (Committee Member)
Clark Larsen, PhD (Committee Member)
395 p.
bioarchaeology; stature; body proportions; anthropometry; osteometry

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Vercellotti, G. (2012). Assessment of Inter and Intra-Population Variation in Stature and Body Proportions: A Comparative Study Between Living and Bioarchaeological Populations [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1336957912

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Vercellotti, Giuseppe. Assessment of Inter and Intra-Population Variation in Stature and Body Proportions: A Comparative Study Between Living and Bioarchaeological Populations. 2012. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1336957912.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Vercellotti, Giuseppe. "Assessment of Inter and Intra-Population Variation in Stature and Body Proportions: A Comparative Study Between Living and Bioarchaeological Populations." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1336957912

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2012, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.