TY - JOUR
T1 - Body mass prediction from stature and bi-iliac breadth in two high latitude populations, with application to earlier higher latitude humans
AU - Ruff, Christopher
AU - Niskanen, Markku
AU - Junno, Juho Anti
AU - Jamison, Paul
N1 - Funding Information:
Many thanks to the Inupiat people of the North Slope of Alaska for their graciousness and willingness to put up with the poking and prodding of the anthropometric measurement team. Collection of the Finnish data was supported by a grant from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation, and we also thank all of these individuals who allowed their measurements to be taken for this study.
PY - 2005/4
Y1 - 2005/4
N2 - Previous studies have indicated that body mass can be estimated from stature and bi-iliac (maximum pelvic) breadth with reasonable accuracy in modern humans, supporting the use of this method to estimate body mass in earlier human skeletal samples. However, to date the method has not been tested specifically on high latitude individuals, whose body form in some ways more closely approximates that of earlier higher latitude humans (i.e., large and broad-bodied). In this study, anthropometric data for 67 Alaskan Inupiat and 54 Finnish adults were used to test the stature/bi-iliac body mass estimation method. Both samples are very broad-bodied, and the Finnish sample is very tall as well. The method generally works well in these individuals, with average directional biases in body mass estimates of 3% or less, except in male Finns, whose body masses are systematically underestimated by an average of almost 9%. A majority of individuals in the total pooled sample have estimates to within ±10% of their true body masses, and more than three-quarters have estimates to within ±15%. The major factor found to affect directional bias is shoulder to hip breadth (biacromial/ bi-iliac breadth). Male Finns have particularly wide shoulders, which may in part explain their systematic underestimation. New body mass estimation equations are developed that include the new data from this study. When applied to a sample of earlier (late middle Pleistocene to early Upper Paleolithic) higher latitude skeletal specimens, differences between previous and new body estimates are small (less than 2%). However, because the Finns significantly extend the range of morphological variation beyond that represented in the original world-wide reference sample used in developing the method, thereby increasing its generality, it is recommended that these new formulas be used in subsequent body mass estimations.
AB - Previous studies have indicated that body mass can be estimated from stature and bi-iliac (maximum pelvic) breadth with reasonable accuracy in modern humans, supporting the use of this method to estimate body mass in earlier human skeletal samples. However, to date the method has not been tested specifically on high latitude individuals, whose body form in some ways more closely approximates that of earlier higher latitude humans (i.e., large and broad-bodied). In this study, anthropometric data for 67 Alaskan Inupiat and 54 Finnish adults were used to test the stature/bi-iliac body mass estimation method. Both samples are very broad-bodied, and the Finnish sample is very tall as well. The method generally works well in these individuals, with average directional biases in body mass estimates of 3% or less, except in male Finns, whose body masses are systematically underestimated by an average of almost 9%. A majority of individuals in the total pooled sample have estimates to within ±10% of their true body masses, and more than three-quarters have estimates to within ±15%. The major factor found to affect directional bias is shoulder to hip breadth (biacromial/ bi-iliac breadth). Male Finns have particularly wide shoulders, which may in part explain their systematic underestimation. New body mass estimation equations are developed that include the new data from this study. When applied to a sample of earlier (late middle Pleistocene to early Upper Paleolithic) higher latitude skeletal specimens, differences between previous and new body estimates are small (less than 2%). However, because the Finns significantly extend the range of morphological variation beyond that represented in the original world-wide reference sample used in developing the method, thereby increasing its generality, it is recommended that these new formulas be used in subsequent body mass estimations.
KW - Body mass
KW - High latitude
KW - Skeletal
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.11.009
DO - 10.1016/j.jhevol.2004.11.009
M3 - Article
C2 - 15788184
AN - SCOPUS:15444365518
SN - 0047-2484
VL - 48
SP - 381
EP - 392
JO - Journal of Human Evolution
JF - Journal of Human Evolution
IS - 4
ER -