Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Front Speed Of Language Replacement, Joaquim Fort, Joaquim Pérez-Losada

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

We use two coupled equations to analyze the space-time dynamics of two interacting languages. Firstly, we introduce a cohabitation model, which is more appropriate for human populations than classical (non-cohabitation) models. Secondly, using numerical simulations we …nd the front speed of a new language spreading into a region where another language was previously used. Thirdly, for a special case we derive an analytical formula that makes it possible to check the validity of our numerical simulations. Finally, as an example, we …nd that the observed front speed for the spread of the English language into Wales in the period 1961-1981 …

Genetic Characteristics Of An Ancient Nomadic Group In Northern China, Haijing Wang, Lu Chen, Binwen Ge, Ye Zhang, Hong Zhu, Hui Zhou

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Nomadic populations have played a significant role in the history of not only China but also in many nations worldwide. Because they had no written language, an important aspect in the study of these people is the discovery of their tombs. It has been generally accepted that Xiongnu was the first empire created by nomadic tribe in the 3rd century B.C. However, little population genetic information is available concerning the Donghu, another flourishing nomadic tribe at the same period because of the restriction of materials until Jinggouzi site was excavated. In order to test the genetic characteristics of ancient people …

Paternal Lineage Analysis Supports An Armenian Rather Than A Central Asian Genetic Origin Of The Hamshenis, Ashot Margaryan, Ashot Harutyunyan, Zaruhi Khachatryan, Armine Khudoyan, Levon Yepiskoposyan

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

The Hamshenis are an isolated geographic group of Armenians with a strong ethnic identity who, until the early decades of the twentieth century, inhabited the Pontus area on the southern coast of the Black Sea. Scholars hold alternative views on their origin, proposing eastern Armenia, western Armenia and Central Asia, respectively, as their most likely homeland. To ascertain whether genetic data from the non-recombining portion of the Y chromosome is supportive any of these suggestions, we screened 82 Armenian males of the Hamsheni descent for 12 biallelic and 6 microsatellite Y-chromosomal markers. These data were compared with the corresponding datasets …

Resource Availability, Mortality And Fertility: A Path Analytic Approach To Global Life History Variation, Mark A. Caudell, Robert J. Quinlan

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Humans exhibit considerable diversity in timing and rate of reproduction. Life history theory suggests that ecological cues of resource richness and survival probabilities shape human phenotypes across populations. Populations experiencing high extrinsic mortality due to uncertainty in resources should exhibit faster life histories. Here we use a path analytic approach informed by life history theory to model the multiple pathways between resources, mortality rates, and reproductive behavior in 191 countries. Resources that account for the most variance in population mortality rates are predicted to explain the most variance in total fertility rates. Results indicate that resources (e.g., calories, sanitation, education, …

Association Among Obesity-Related Anthropometric Phenotypes: Analyzing Genetic And Environmental Contribution, Aline Jelenkovic, Esther Rebato

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Obesity has become a public health and policy problem in many parts of the world. Epidemiological and population studies in this field are usually based on different anthropometric measures, however, common genetic and environmental factors between these phenotypes have been scarcely studied. The objective of this work is to assess the strength of these factors on the covariation among a large set of obesity-related traits. The subject group consisted of 533 nuclear families living in the Greater Bilbao (Spain), and included 1702 individuals aged 2-61 years. Detailed anthropometric measurements (stature, breadths, circumferences and skinfolds) were carried out in each subject. …

Microgeographic Differentiation In Historical Yemen Inferred By Morphometric Distances, Maria Enrica Danubio, Emanuele Sanna, Fabrizio Rufo, Domenico Martorella, Elvira Vecchi, Alfredo Coppa

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

This study analysed the variations in space of 8 body dimensions and 11 measures of the head of 1,244 adult Yemenite males, collected in 1933/34 by Coon in Yemen and in Hadhramawt. The aim was to evaluate the presence of geographic microdifferentiation of the populations settled in the different regions of Yemen at the time. Coon sub-divided the sample into 6 geographical areas according to birthplace and ethnicity of the individuals: Tihamah, the Western Mountains, the Central Plateau, the South Coast, the Eastern Mountains and Hadhramawt. The results of ANCOVA (age as covariate) show that the observed differences of all …

The Family Name As Socio-Cultural Feature And Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts To Methods, Pierre Darlu, Gerrit Bloothooft, Alessio Boattini, Leendert Brouwer, Matthijs Brouwer, Guy Brunet, Pascal Chareille, James Cheshire, Richard Coates, Paul Longley, Kathrin DräGer, Bertrand Desjardins, Patrick Hanks, Kees Mandemakers, Pablo Mateos, Davide Pettener, Antonella Useli, Franz Manni

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

A recent workshop on "Family name between socio-cultural feature and genetic metaphor - From concepts to methods" was held in Paris on the 9th and 10th December 2010, partly sponsored by the Social Science and Humanity Institute (CNRS), and by Human Biology. This workshop was intended to facilitate exchanges on recent questions related to the names of persons and to confront different multidisciplinary approaches in a field of investigation where geneticists and historians, geographers, sociologists and ethnologists have all an active part. Here are the abstracts of some contributions.

Human Pelvis And Long Bones Reveal Differential Preservation Of Ancient Population History And Migration Out Of Africa, Lia Betti, Noreen Von Cramon-Taubadel, Stephen J. Lycett

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

One of the main events in the history of our species has been our expansion out of Africa. A clear signature of this expansion has been found on global patterns of neutral genetic variation, whereby a serial founder effect accompanied the colonization of new regions, in turn creating a within-population decrease in neutral genetic diversity with increasing distance from Africa. This same distinctive pattern has also been described for cranial and dental morphological variation in human populations distributed across the globe. Here, we used a dataset of postcranial linear measurements for 30 globally distributed human populations, and a climatic dataset …

Cranial Variation And The Transition To Agriculture In Europe, Ron Pinhasi, Noreen Von Cramon-Taubadel

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Debates surrounding the nature of the Neolithic demographic transition in Europe have historically centred on two opposing models; a 'demic' diffusion model whereby incoming farmers from the Near East and Anatolia effectively replaced or completely assimilated indigenous Mesolithic foraging communities and an 'indigenist' model resting on the assumption that ideas relating to agriculture and animal domestication diffused from the Near East, but with little or no gene flow. The extreme versions of these dichotomous models have been heavily contested primarily on the basis of archaeological and modern genetic data. However, in recent years there has been a growing acceptance of …

Invited Editorial: African Pygmies, What's Behind A Name?, Paul Verdu, Giovanni Destro-Bisol

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

No abstract provided.

Book Review: Reproduction And Adaptation: Topics In Human Reproductive Ecology, Geoff Kushnick Phd

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Reproduction and Adaptation: Topics in Human Reproductive Ecology. Edited by C.G. Mascie-Taylor and Lyliane Rosetta. Cambridge Studies in Biological and Evolutionary Anthropology, Vol. 59. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2011. 282 pp. $99.00 (hardback). ISBN 978-0-521-50963-3.

The Y-Chromosome C3* Star-Cluster Attributed To Genghis Khan's Descendants Is Present At High Frequency In The Kerey Clan From Kazakhstan, Serikbai Abilev, Boris Malyarchuk, Miroslava Derenko, Marcin Wozniak, Tomasz Grzybowski, Ilya Zakharov

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

In order to verify the possibility that the Y-chromosome C3* star-cluster attributed to Genghis Khan and his patrilineal descendants is relatively frequent in the Kereys, who are the dominant clan in Kazakhstan and in Central Asia as a whole, polymorphism of the Y-chromosome was studied in Kazakhs, represented mostly by members of the Kerey clan. The Kereys showed the highest frequency (76.5%) of individuals carrying the Y-chromosome variant known as C3* star-cluster ascribed to the descendants of Genghis Khan. C3* star-cluster haplotypes were found in two sub-clans, Abakh-Kereys and Ashmaily-Kereys, diverged about 20-22 generations ago according to the historical data. …

Changing Language, Remaining Pygmy, Serge Bahuchet

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

In this article I am illustrating the linguistic diversity of African Pygmy populations in order to better address their anthropological diversity and history. I am also introducing a new method, based on the analysis of specialized vocabulary, to reconstruct the substratum of some languages they speak. I show that Pygmy identity is not based on their languages, which have often been borrowed from neighboring non-Pygmy farmer communities with whom each Pygmy group is linked. Understanding the nature of this partnership, quite variable in history, is essential to address Pygmy languages, identity and history. Finally, I show that only a multidisciplinary …

It's A Birth Not A Procedure: An Ethnographic Study Of Intrauterine Fetal Death In A Labor And Delivery Unit Of An American Hospital Setting, Catherine Mcleod Griffin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Life transitions such as birth and death constitute a significant area within anthropological studies of ritual. It is important to investigate how individuals, groups, and communities organize around these events. Birth and death can be considered as rites of passage that mark key life transitions (van Gennep 1909/1960). Thus birth and death related rituals need to be investigated within the social and cultural context of American hospital settings to better understand the social organization of life, death, and personhood. In the American hospital setting, a reproductive loss at any gestational age receives the medical diagnostic label of an intrauterine fetal …

"Treating The Whole Person:" An Ethnographic Study Of An Integrative Medicine Pain Clinic, Lindsey Ann Martin

Wayne State University Dissertations

Although chronic pain has been increasingly recognized as a critical health issue in the U.S., solely biomedical approaches to pain management are often less effective than comprehensive ones in addressing this condition (Crowley-Matoka, et al. 2009; Good 1994; Greenhalgh 2001; Institute of Medicine 2011; Kleinman 1988; National Center for Health Statistics-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2006). This ethnographic study describes in-depth how a Detroit metropolitan area multidisciplinary pain clinic specifically applies an integrative medicine (IM) approach to the treatment and management of chronic pain. The aims of this study included: 1) identifying the history of this IM clinic and …

A Ritual Investigation Of Sudden Death Events In An Urban United States Emergency Department, Mary Eleanor Mitsch

Wayne State University Dissertations

This study investigated sudden death as a social act and a ritual process (Hertz, 1960) in an urban hospital emergency department (ED) in the United States. An analytical auto ethnographic approach was utilized by the author who is a nurse-anthropologist and a bereaved parent. In sudden and a more "prepared for" death, the dying person goes through a rite of passage van Gennep (1960[1909]) and enters into an area of liminality Turner (1967). A key transition from life to death occurs and crossing a threshold where the dying person cannot cross back. The aims of the study were to: 1) …

Exploring Sacred Objects And Their Meanings In Catholic Mexicano Households: Domestic Religious Practices In San Antonio, Mary E. Durocher

Wayne State University Dissertations

Anthropological literature in the study of material culture argues that person/object interactions are important to the construction and maintenance of social relations and personal identity both in the present and through time. It is through relationships and interactions with things that people come to "know who they are" (Tilley (2007). This line of thinking has led some Latino studies scholars to propose that the retention of traditional aspects of culture, such as religious practices, often serves as a way of negotiating personal or cultural identity in an ever changing social milieu (Sandoval 2006, Aponte and De La Torre 2006). This …

Preterm Birth And The Perception Of Risk Among African Americans, Gwendolyn Simpson Norman

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: African American women deliver preterm at a rate that is two to three times that of their white counterparts, and after decades of research, this disparity in birth outcomes still remains unexplained. While factors including income, education, neighborhood conditions, infection and stress have all been associated with prematurity, no combination of these factors has explained why the disparity persists. Recently, however, racism-specific stress has emerged as a possible factor contributing to this disparity. This study was designed to learn how preterm birth was explained by African Americans directly impacted by prematurity. Methods: Interviews were conducted with African American women …

Crossing The Valley Of Death: A Multi-Sited, Multi-Level Ethnographic Study Of Growth Startups And Entrepreneurial Communities In Post-Industrial Detroit, Marlo Rencher

Wayne State University Dissertations

The intention of this research is to reveal the humanity of the startup experience for American growth companies. What is it about the growth entrepreneurship experience that has been hidden from view? Can we begin to articulate a holistic view of entrepreneurship--including those human universals and culture-bound particulars that must be successfully navigated?

This study is an ethnographic account of three Detroit-based entrepreneurial communities and the people within them. This research examines the sociocultural features of entrepreneurship on three levels. The first level of context for growth businesses to be studied is that of their entrepreneurial community. These communities have …

"Still Here, Trying To Find My Way": Understanding The Experiences Of Hiv Disruption And Reorganization Among Older African Americans In Detroit, Andrea Nevedal

Wayne State University Dissertations

Adults aged fifty and older are the fastest growing age group with HIV/AIDS. Research on older adults with HIV has focused primarily on health status and physiological changes that occur as people age with HIV. However, little is known about the socio-cultural consequences that occur when older adults are diagnosed with HIV and as they age with HIV. Drawing from an anthropological approach to the life course and Becker's (1997) framework of life disruption, this dissertation research explored to what extent people experienced disruption from living with HIV and reorganized their lives after experiencing disruption.

The specific aims included identifying …