1990 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary
Anthropological Studies on the Origin of the Pacific Populations ( Summary Study )
| Project/Area Number |
02041096
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Overseas Scientific Survey.
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Research Institution | International Research Center for Japanese Studies |
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Principal Investigator |
HANIHARA Kazuro Professor, International Research Center for Japanese Studies, 研究部, 教授 (70011707)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
埴原 恒彦 自治医科大学, 解剖学第一講座, 助手 (00180919)
石田 肇 札幌医科大学, 解剖学第二講座, 助教授 (70145225)
百々 幸雄 札幌医科大学, 解剖学第二講座, 教授 (50000146)
鈴木 隆雄 東京都老人総合研究所, 疫学部, 部長 (30154545)
ISHIDA Hajime Associate Professor, Dept. of Anatomy, Sapporo Medical College
HANIHARA Tsunehiko Research Associate, Dept. of Anatomy, Jichi Medical School
SUZUKI Takao Director, Dept. of Epidemiology, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology
DODO Yukio Professor, Dept. of Anatomy, Sapporo Medical College
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| Project Period (FY) |
1990
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| Keywords | Pacific people / Polynesians / Micronesians / origin / evolution / human skeleton / teeth / plaeopathology |
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| Research Abstract |
In the 1990 season, some 150 human skeletal remains from the Pacific populations were investigated at Bishop Museum, Honolulu. The main sites of the samples are as follows : (1) Hane Dune Site, Marquesas Islands, ca. last century, (2) Mokapu Site, Island of Oahu, 17th-18th centuries, and (3) Ypao Site sland of Guam, 14th-17th centuries.
Research items are (1) cranial measurements, (2) dental measurements, (3) observation of nonmetric characters in crania and post-cranial skeletons, and (4) observation of palaeopathological evidence. All the data obtained were stored in databases by investigators involved, and about 800 photographs of crania and other skeleton were taken by the head investigator.
Since the last investigation was conducted in December, 1990, no report is published as yet. However, summarizing all the findings obtained since the 1984 season, the following points may be stressed.
(A) The cranial morphology of Polynesians is close to the populations such as Jomonese and Ainu in Japan, and Negritos in the Philippines, who are considered to retain early characteristics of East Asians.
(B) Micronesian crania are close to Polynesians in morphology in one hand, but they carry some unique characteristics on the other. This fact likely suggests that Micronesians took the different course of microevolution from that of Polynesians.
(C) Both Polynesians and Micronesians are grouped into 'sundadont' dental pattern. However, the latter is somewhat different in metric characters of crowns. This trend is parallel to crania, suggesting a unique microevolutionary course of Micronesians.
(D) Nonmetric cranial traits show almost the same pattern as described above.
(E) Palaeopathological findings are under analysis from the palaeoepidemiological point of view.
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Research Products
(2 results)
