著者
Takehiro Sato Tetsuya Amano Hiroko Ono Hajime Ishida Haruto Kodera Hirofumi Matsumura Minoru Yoneda Ryuichi Masuda
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.117, no.3, pp.171-180, 2009 (Released:2009-12-17)
参考文献数
39
被引用文献数
38 45

In order to further understand the genetic status of the Okhotsk people, who were distributed in southern coastal regions of the Okhotsk Sea during the 5th–13th centuries, nucleotide variations in the hypervariable region (HVR) and the coding regions of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) were analyzed. Targeting the coding regions provides reliable genetic information even from ancient DNAs that may have suffered post-mortem damage. MtDNA haplogroups of 38 individuals were classified according to mtDNA lineages known in northeastern Asian people. Comparisons of mtDNA haplogroup frequencies between the Okhotsk people and other Asian populations revealed that the genetic structures of the Okhotsk people are very similar to those of populations currently living around lower regions of the Amur River and the Ainu of Hokkaido. The results support our previous study on molecular phylogeny of mtDNA HVR 1 sequences, and strongly suggest that the Okhotsk people originated around the lower regions of the Amur River and became an intermediate of gene flow from the continental Sakhalin people to the Ainu.
著者
MICHAEL PIETRUSEWSKY
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.0407120010, (Released:2004-07-13)
被引用文献数
15 16

Stepwise discriminant function and Mahalanobis' generalized distance analyses were applied to 29 cranial measurements in six female cranial series from the Ryukyu Islands and ten female cranial series representing modern and prehistoric Japanese and the Ainu. Two separate comparisons were made: the first compares Ryukyu Island cranial series and the second compares 16 cranial series from Japan. The results of this analysis have been used to investigate the biological relationships of the modern and near-modern indigenous inhabitants of the Ryukyu Islands and the modern and prehistoric inhabitants of Japan's main islands. These new multivariate craniometric results are similar to those reported in a previous study that utilized male craniometric data. Overall, the Ryukyu cranial series are generally closest to a cluster consisting of Yayoi, Kofun, and medieval Kamakura cranial series, suggesting these populations were influenced by immigrants from the north. Modern Japanese, Jomon, and Ainu cranial series are well differentiated from each other and from the Ryukyu series. The Jomon are closest to the Ainu, and together these two are the most differentiated groups compared. As in the male results, the female results do not support a connection between Ainu, Jomon, and Ryukyu Island series.
著者
KONDO Osamu FUKASE Hitoshi FUKUMOTO Takashi
出版者
日本人類学会
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.125, no.2, pp.85-100, 2017
被引用文献数
8

<p>Considering the geographical setting of the Japanese archipelago at the periphery of the Asian continent, regional variation in Jomon phenotypes can be interpreted as an outcome of population history. In this paper, we focused on regional variation in the Jomon craniofacial morphology and assumed that the observed regional differences were a reflection of the formation process of the Jomon population, which is a mixture of intrinsic expansion of an initial population with extrinsic influence of hypothetical gene flow. Compiled craniometric data from archeological site reports indicate that Jomon skulls, especially in the neurocranium, exhibit a discernible level of northeast-to-southwest geographical cline across the Japanese archipelago, placing the Hokkaido and Okinawa samples at both extreme ends. A quantitative genetic approach using an R-matrix method indicates that the cranial parts of the neurocranium and mandible exhibit a proportionately larger regional variation, the former of which confirms a trend of geographical cline and reveals the respective region presumably having different population histories with their respective local backgrounds. The following scenarios can be hypothesized with caution: (a) the formation of Jomon population seemed to proceed in eastern or central Japan, not western Japan (Okinawa or Kyushu regions); (b) the Kyushu Jomon could have a small-sized and isolated population history; and (c) the population history of Hokkaido Jomon could have been deeply rooted and/or affected by long-term extrinsic gene flows.</p>
著者
MUHAMMAD SHOAIB AKHTAR RYUICHI ASHINO HIROKI OOTA HAJIME ISHIDA YOSHIHITO NIIMURA KAZUSHIGE TOUHARA AMANDA D. MELIN SHOJI KAWAMURA
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.211024, (Released:2022-01-20)
被引用文献数
3

The olfactory receptor (OR) gene family is comprised of hundreds of intact and disrupted genes in humans. The compositions and copy number variation (CNV) of disrupted and intact OR genes among individuals is expected to cause variation in olfactory perception. However, little is known about OR genetic variation in many human populations. In this study, we used targeted capture enrichment and massive parallel short-read sequencing methods to examine genetic variation of OR genes, as well as of neutral genome regions as references, for 69 anonymized unrelated Japanese individuals. The capture probes were designed for 398 intact OR genes in the human reference genome hg38, and 85 neutral references. Probes were also designed for four unannotated and 99 ‘nearly-intact’ (hg38-pseudo) OR genes in hg38 and 53 chimpanzee OR genes in the Pantro3.0 genome database with no orthologs in hg38. All the hg38 OR genes and one Pantro 3.0 OR gene were retrieved. The mean sequencing depth was significantly higher than that of the 1000 Genomes Project. A total of 30 OR genes from hg38-intact and hg38-pseudo categories were newly found to be segregating pseudogenes. One hg38-pseudo OR gene was intact in all individuals. CNV was detected in 63 OR genes. Tajima’s D analysis for OR genes and neutral references was consistent with balancing selection to maintain allelic differences in intact OR genes. These results demonstrate that the targeted capture by probes with diversity-oriented design is far more effective than a whole-genome approach to retrieve OR genes and achieve high-depth sequencing and thus to reveal polymorphisms for the OR multigene family. The composition of OR genes in the human reference genome hg38 does not necessarily represent those in many humans, implying higher perceptual variation than previously thought. The current study inspires further investigation with a similar approach at a global scale.
著者
ANGELA R. LIEVERSE DAISUKE KUBO REBECCA L. BOURGEOIS HIROFUMI MATSUMURA MINORU YONEDA HAJIME ISHIDA
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.2108281, (Released:2021-11-16)
被引用文献数
2

This paper discusses a probable case of pediatric mandibular osteomyelitis (OM) from the east Hokkaido Okhotsk (5th–13th century AD) site of Moyoro, Japan. The remains of a young child present an unusual mandibular lesion exhibiting two main features: (1) cortical thickening reflecting periosteal new bone formation, and (2) lytic alveolar destruction with associated antemortem tooth loss. The lesion was examined macroscopically, microscopically, and via computed tomography imaging. A differential diagnosis—considering lesion appearance, location, and the age of the child—is most consistent with OM, while alveolar and dental involvement suggest an odontogenic source such as an infected tooth germ. The infection appears to have been active at the time of death and chronic (i.e. of 4+ weeks) in duration, an interpretation supported by enamel hypoplastic evidence of physiological stress in the preceding 12–18 months. The lesion’s unique appearance highlights the diverse manifestation of OM, especially in the jaws and in the absence of modern therapeutic treatment. Despite being considered a relatively common condition among non-adult individuals in the past, surprisingly few cases of pediatric OM have been reported from archaeological contexts. This case, only the second documented on a mandible, contributes to the general paucity of paleopathological literature on OM.
著者
ROBIN N.M. FEENEY JOHN P. ZERMENO DONALD J. REID SYOZI NAKASHIMA HIROSHI SANO ARMASASTRA BAHAR JEAN-JACQUES HUBLIN TANYA M. SMITH
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.118, no.3, pp.191-198, 2010 (Released:2010-12-21)
参考文献数
48
被引用文献数
25 35

Dental enamel thickness continues to feature prominently in anthropological studies of ape and human evolution, as well as studies of preventative oral care and treatment. Traditional studies of enamel thickness require physical sectioning of teeth for linear and scaled measurements. Recent applications of microtomographic imaging allow scientists to employ larger and more diverse samples, including global samples of recent humans as well as fossil hominin teeth. Unfortunately, little is known about the degree of enamel thickness variation among human populations, particularly across the dentition. This study employed microtomography to virtually image, section, and quantify the average enamel thickness of a sample of clinically extracted Indonesian canine and premolar teeth. This virtual sample was compared to physically sectioned African and European teeth. The results demonstrate that average enamel thickness is similar among human dentitions; no significant differences were detected within tooth positions, which is surprising given developmental differences between European and African canines and premolars. When populations were combined, differences were found in average enamel thickness between maxillary and mandibular premolars, and between canines and premolars within both dental arcades. This finding is potentially due to differences in premolar morphology and a trend of increasing enamel thickness distally throughout the dentition. The finding of limited population variation within tooth positions and significant variation between tooth positions is consistent with previous two-dimensional and three-dimensional studies of human molar enamel thickness. Average enamel thickness in canines and premolars does not differ between the sexes in our sample, although male teeth tend to have larger enamel and dentine cross-sectional areas, enamel–dentine junction lengths, and bi-cervical diameters. Males have significantly greater dentine area and enamel–dentine junction length than females for maxillary canines and premolars. The results of this study suggest that enamel thickness values in mixed-populations of humans are appropriate for comparisons with fossil hominins.
著者
JACQUELINE T. ENG QUANCHAO ZHANG HONG ZHU
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.0911260076, (Released:2009-12-01)
被引用文献数
5 10

The practice of castrating men is an ancient one. Eunuchs have served as guards to harems and as palace chamberlains for many early courts, but details about their lives are often hazy or shrouded in secrecy. Although the changes wrought to their physical appearance from castration are well-documented, little is known about the magnitude of the skeletal changes resulting from the loss of sex hormones associated with the procedure. Such a loss of hormones, especially before puberty, affects skeletal growth and development and may result in early osteoporosis as well as impacting quality of life. The burials of two eunuchs from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD) of imperial China provide an opportunity to examine the consequences of castration upon the human skeleton. These eunuchs may have been castrated at different periods in their lives. One eunuch appears to have been castrated before the development of secondary sexual characteristics; the delayed epiphyseal closure accompanying androgen deficiency may account for his long limbs. Skeletal evidence also sheds light on the lives of these eunuchs, including their oral health, history of childhood stress, and activity patterns.
著者
ASHIZAWA KUMI TANAMACHI NORIKO KATO SUMIYO KUMAKURA CHIYOKO ZHOU XIA JIN FENG LI YULING LU SHUNHUA
出版者
日本人類学会
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.116, no.1, pp.67-76, 2008
被引用文献数
3

A number of papers on the growth of Chinese children have been published in local journals in China in the Chinese language. However, we noticed that height and weight are the main focus of these studies. Because leg length relative to height is of interest in human biology, the current study focuses on the growth of this proportion. Two groups of Chinese children were investigated: 587 boys and 625 girls in Beijing in 1997 aged 6&ndash;18 years, and 579 boys and 615 girls in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, in 2005 aged 7&ndash;18 years. Height and leg length (iliospinal height) were measured, and the ratio of leg length to height was calculated for each child. Mean distance curves and spline-smoothed yearly increment curves were obtained. In order to clarify the difference between the two groups of Chinese children, data from Japanese children were adopted as a control. The Beijing children were taller than the Xilinhot children, but no difference was detected in leg length between them. The ages at &lsquo;take-off&rsquo; and &lsquo;peak&rsquo; obtained on the yearly increment spline-smoothed curve of height in the Xilinhot children boys were 1.2&ndash;1.8 years earlier, respectively, than those of the Beijing boys. In the girls, these two ages were almost the same in the two cities, although the &lsquo;peak&rsquo; was 1.8 cm greater in the Xilinhot girls. Leg length in the boys was almost the same in both Beijing and Xilinhot. In the girls of the Xilinhot group, leg length was greater after puberty. Consequently, the ratio of leg length to height was greater in the Xilinhot children than the Beijing children. It is suggested, in China, that socioeconomic factors influence growth of height to a greater extent than growth of leg length, and that leg length and leg length relative to height might be controlled by a genetic factor.<br>
著者
KUMI ASHIZAWA NORIKO TANAMACHI SUMIYO KATO CHIYOKO KUMAKURA XIA ZHOU FENG JIN YULING LI SHUNHUA LU
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.116, no.1, pp.67-76, 2008 (Released:2008-04-26)
参考文献数
26
被引用文献数
3 3

A number of papers on the growth of Chinese children have been published in local journals in China in the Chinese language. However, we noticed that height and weight are the main focus of these studies. Because leg length relative to height is of interest in human biology, the current study focuses on the growth of this proportion. Two groups of Chinese children were investigated: 587 boys and 625 girls in Beijing in 1997 aged 6–18 years, and 579 boys and 615 girls in Xilinhot, Inner Mongolia, in 2005 aged 7–18 years. Height and leg length (iliospinal height) were measured, and the ratio of leg length to height was calculated for each child. Mean distance curves and spline-smoothed yearly increment curves were obtained. In order to clarify the difference between the two groups of Chinese children, data from Japanese children were adopted as a control. The Beijing children were taller than the Xilinhot children, but no difference was detected in leg length between them. The ages at ‘take-off’ and ‘peak’ obtained on the yearly increment spline-smoothed curve of height in the Xilinhot children boys were 1.2–1.8 years earlier, respectively, than those of the Beijing boys. In the girls, these two ages were almost the same in the two cities, although the ‘peak’ was 1.8 cm greater in the Xilinhot girls. Leg length in the boys was almost the same in both Beijing and Xilinhot. In the girls of the Xilinhot group, leg length was greater after puberty. Consequently, the ratio of leg length to height was greater in the Xilinhot children than the Beijing children. It is suggested, in China, that socioeconomic factors influence growth of height to a greater extent than growth of leg length, and that leg length and leg length relative to height might be controlled by a genetic factor.
著者
MITSUAKI ENDO
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.129, no.1, pp.35-44, 2021 (Released:2021-04-27)
参考文献数
12
被引用文献数
1 2

Kim Busik’s Samguk Sagi 三国史記, History of the Three Kingdoms, dating from 1145 A.D., is renowned for including Japanese toponyms in the Korean peninsula and the north of Yalujiang district (modern Liaoning and Jilin Provinces). Kim’s work recorded the older, archaic toponyms before they were converted into sinicized (i.e. expressed with Chinese words) place names with two Chinese characters in 757 A.D. by the order of King Kyeongdeok. This paper maps specific words included in the place names of 783 locations for which the corresponding present places are evident. The following were words examined: (1) ‘river’ and its related words; (2) ‘valley’; (3) ‘mountain’ and ‘ridge’; and (4) ‘city’ and ‘burg’. Japonic-sourced toponyms are typically distributed in the central and northern areas of the Yalu River, primarily in the district of Koguryŏ; however, they go beyond these regions. The use of Chinese loanwords is noted in the southern area, where determining which language was spoken is difficult. In a town near Seoul, the stem of the toponym belongs to the Korean language, whereas the unit word belongs to the Japonic language. This usage may be attributed to bilingualism, whereby Korean-speaking inhabitants used their own language for the stem of the place name. Mongolic and/or Tungusic loanwords are also found. In some cases, determining the language origin of the current toponyms is difficult. Therefore, the minute geographical distribution of the origin languages is displayed word by word. These toponyms reflect the traces of indigenous languages and reveal that Japonic-speaking people still dwelled in the central area of the peninsula and in the northern area of the Yalu River at that period.
著者
OSADA NAOKI KAWAI YOSUKE
出版者
一班社団法人 日本人類学会
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.129, no.1, pp.45-58, 2021
被引用文献数
8

<p>The origins of people in the Japanese archipelago are of long-standing interest among anthropologists, archeologists, linguists, and historians studying the history of Japan. While the 'dual-structure' model proposed by Hanihara in 1991 has been considered the primary working hypothesis for three decades, recent advances in DNA typing and sequencing technologies provide an unprecedented amount of present-day and ancient human nuclear genome data, which enable us to refine or extend the dual-structure model. In this review, we summarize recent genome sequencing efforts of present-day and ancient people in Asia, mostly focusing on East Asia, and we discuss the possible migration routes and admixture patterns of Japanese ancestors. We also report on a meta-analysis we performed by compiling publicly available datasets to clarify the genetic relationships of present-day and ancient Japanese populations with surrounding populations. Because the ancient genetic data from the Japanese archipelago have not yet been fully analyzed, we have to corroborate models of prehistoric human movement using not only new genetic data but also linguistic and archeological data to reconstruct a more comprehensive history of the Japanese people.</p>
著者
SATO YOUICHI SHINKA TOSHIKATSU EWIS ASHRAF A. YAMAUCHI AIKO IWAMOTO TERUAKI NAKAHORI YUTAKA
出版者
日本人類学会
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.122, no.3, pp.131-136, 2014
被引用文献数
14

Japanese people are widely believed to be the descendants of the Jomon and Yayoi people. The dual-structure model, which attempts to explain the formation of the Japanese population, hypothesizes that the indigenous Jomon people migrated from the northern island of Hokkaido and the Ryukyu Islands to the other islands of Japan, where they resided before the Yayoi started to arrive in Kyushu (the westernmost main island of the Japanese archipelago) from the Korean peninsula. Regarding Y chromosome DNA polymorphisms, it is assumed that Jomon males frequently belong to haplogroups C or D, while Yayoi males frequently belong to haplogroup O. These findings suggest that the frequencies of haplogroup C, D, and O might differ between Hokkaido and northern Kyushu males and exhibit geographical gradients in Japan. However, the data of Y chromosome haplogroup frequencies in modern Japanese males is still limited. Here, we investigated whether the frequency of Y chromosome haplogroups differs between males from different regions of Japan. We recruited 2390 males from nine populations in seven cities in mainland Japan and typed their Y chromosome haplogroups. We did not detect any marked variability in the frequencies of these haplogroups among Japanese males, except for a difference between Nagasaki and Kawasaki students. In conclusion, modern Japanese males appear to be genetically homogenized in mainland Japan because of genetic drift and recent frequent gene flow.
著者
HITOSHI SUZUKI
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.201201, (Released:2021-03-31)
被引用文献数
6

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences have long been the most popular marker for assessing phylogenetic relationships and uncovering population dynamics. However, the mechanism of the nucleotide substitution rate of mtDNA remains unclear. While the evolutionary rate over tens of thousands of years is thought to be time dependent, the overall picture is not fully understood. This article presents recent achievements related to the time-dependent evolutionary rate of mtDNA in small rodents in the Japanese archipelago. The method focuses on rapid expansion events during the late Quaternary, during which there was a prolonged severe cold period and repeated abrupt warm periods, providing multiple calibration points. The global sea level fluctuation and migration to islands help to specify the calibration points. For calibration points at 11000, 15000, 53000, and 130000 years ago, the evolutionary rates were approximately 0.11, 0.11, 0.047, and 0.029 substitutions/site/million years, respectively, in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene (Cytb). Applying the higher rate to assess the evolutionary history of the commensal house mouse (Mus musculus) and complete mitochondrial genome sequences (~16000 bp) allowed us to trace prehistoric human culture development based on millet and rice agriculture. The pattern of time-dependent evolutionary rates presented here is likely applicable to other small rodents. The Japanese archipelago is ideal for assessing evolutionary rates with biogeographic calibration points in the late Quaternary in species with multiple genetically distinct local populations.
著者
MITSUAKI ENDO
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.201229, (Released:2021-03-31)
被引用文献数
2

Kim Busik’s Samguk Sagi 三国史記, History of the Three Kingdoms, dating from 1145 A.D., is renowned for including Japanese toponyms in the Korean peninsula and the north of Yalujiang district (modern Liaoning and Jilin Provinces). Kim’s work recorded the older, archaic toponyms before they were converted into sinicized (i.e. expressed with Chinese words) place names with two Chinese characters in 757 A.D. by the order of King Kyeongdeok. This paper maps specific words included in the place names of 783 locations for which the corresponding present places are evident. The following were words examined: (1) ‘river’ and its related words; (2) ‘valley’; (3) ‘mountain’ and ‘ridge’; and (4) ‘city’ and ‘burg’. Japonic-sourced toponyms are typically distributed in the central and northern areas of the Yalu River, primarily in the district of Koguryŏ; however, they go beyond these regions. The use of Chinese loanwords is noted in the southern area, where determining which language was spoken is difficult. In a town near Seoul, the stem of the toponym belongs to the Korean language, whereas the unit word belongs to the Japonic language. This usage may be attributed to bilingualism, whereby Korean-speaking inhabitants used their own language for the stem of the place name. Mongolic and/or Tungusic loanwords are also found. In some cases, determining the language origin of the current toponyms is difficult. Therefore, the minute geographical distribution of the origin languages is displayed word by word. These toponyms reflect the traces of indigenous languages and reveal that Japonic-speaking people still dwelled in the central area of the peninsula and in the northern area of the Yalu River at that period.
著者
OSAMU KONDO HITOSHI FUKASE TAKASHI FUKUMOTO
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.125, no.2, pp.85-100, 2017 (Released:2017-09-21)
参考文献数
43
被引用文献数
4 8

Considering the geographical setting of the Japanese archipelago at the periphery of the Asian continent, regional variation in Jomon phenotypes can be interpreted as an outcome of population history. In this paper, we focused on regional variation in the Jomon craniofacial morphology and assumed that the observed regional differences were a reflection of the formation process of the Jomon population, which is a mixture of intrinsic expansion of an initial population with extrinsic influence of hypothetical gene flow. Compiled craniometric data from archeological site reports indicate that Jomon skulls, especially in the neurocranium, exhibit a discernible level of northeast-to-southwest geographical cline across the Japanese archipelago, placing the Hokkaido and Okinawa samples at both extreme ends. A quantitative genetic approach using an R-matrix method indicates that the cranial parts of the neurocranium and mandible exhibit a proportionately larger regional variation, the former of which confirms a trend of geographical cline and reveals the respective region presumably having different population histories with their respective local backgrounds. The following scenarios can be hypothesized with caution: (a) the formation of Jomon population seemed to proceed in eastern or central Japan, not western Japan (Okinawa or Kyushu regions); (b) the Kyushu Jomon could have a small-sized and isolated population history; and (c) the population history of Hokkaido Jomon could have been deeply rooted and/or affected by long-term extrinsic gene flows.
著者
RYUICHI MASUDA TAKAO SATO
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
vol.123, no.2, pp.95-98, 2015 (Released:2015-08-26)
参考文献数
19
被引用文献数
3 4

To investigate the genetic variation of Jomon dogs (Canis familiaris) in Japan, partial sequences of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region were determined from dog bone remains, which were excavated from two Jomon-period archaeological sites, the Kamikuroiwa Rock Shelter site in Ehime Prefecture (Shikoku Island) and the Higashimyo site in Saga Prefecture (Kyushu Island), Japan. Of seven individuals from the Kamikuroiwa Rock Shelter site, the mtDNA sequences from two individuals were successfully determined. Comparison of the resultant 215 base pair sequences with previously reported sequences showed that one of these two individuals had a new haplotype, named KRA1, and that the other had the previously reported M1 haplotype. For the Higashimyo site, three of 11 individuals yielded successful sequences. Two of these three individuals shared M1 and the other one had M20, both of which are haplotypes previously reported in modern Japanese dogs, but had not been found in any Jomon dogs. The success rate in the present study was 27.8% (5/18 samples). It is noticed that the three mtDNA haplotypes (M1, M20 and KRA1) were found in Jomon dogs for the first time. In addition, sequence data were obtained from Jomon dogs in Shikoku for the first time. The results suggest that the genetic lineages in the Jomon dog populations were more polymorphic than previously reported, and that at least some maternal lineages shared in the Jomon period descended to modern dogs on the Japanese islands.
著者
DAVIDE PIFFER
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.130731, (Released:2013-09-14)
被引用文献数
9 12

Dual-inheritance theory posits that the genotype has an impact on the evolution of human behavior and that cultural traits can be constrained by genetic imperatives. A large body of studies provides evidence that the functional catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) Val158Met polymorphism is associated with executive function, working memory (WM), and intelligence. A survey of the population genetics database provides evidence that COMT gene frequencies vary across populations. The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the COMT gene has an impact on cultural evolution, specifically on the adoption of an agricultural vs. a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Statistically significant differences in COMT allele frequencies between hunter-gatherer and agricultural societies were found. Ethnic groups whose economy is based on farming have higher frequencies of the Met allele (symbol: A), whereas societies based on a hunter-gatherer economy have very low frequencies of the Met allele and a disproportionate predominance of the Val allele. Moreover, the frequency of the Met allele was positively correlated to the populations’ IQ (r = 0.57). The FNBP1L gene (rs236330) is associated with childhood and adult intelligence and it varies in frequency across populations. Frequency of rs236330 was also significantly correlated with the populations’ IQ (r = 0.81). COMT and FNBP1L had fairly similar geographical distributions (r = 0.44) although the result did not reach statistical significance. The results suggest that the genotype of a population influences its cultural development in fairly specific and predictable ways. Met allele frequency was positively correlated with latitude (r = 0.56), suggesting selective pressure due to climate.
著者
MASATO NAKATSUKASA NAOKI MORIMOTO TAKESHI NISHIMURA
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.190908, (Released:2019-10-12)
被引用文献数
1

Sesamoids of the metacarpophalangeal joint are tiny bones located in the volar plate and articulated with the metacarpal head. Almost all living humans have radial and ulnar sesamoids in their pollical metacarpophalangeal joints. These bones protect and guide the tendon of the long (= extrinsic) pollical flexor. Whereas this condition is considered to be primitive for primates, living great apes have a tendency to lose these pollical sesamoids. Susman (Science 1994; 265: 1570–1573) correlated the loss of the pollical sesamoids in living great apes with the remarkable reduction/loss of the tendon of the long pollical flexor. However, the prevalence of these pollical sesamoids in chimpanzees drastically differs among previous studies. Thus, we CT-scanned cadavers of 12 chimpanzees, four gorillas, and two orangutans, and investigated the frequency of pollical metacarpophalangeal joint sesamoids in these apes. Combining our findings with previously reported data gave updated frequencies of 21% in chimpanzees (n = 24) and 0% in gorillas (n = 7) and orangutans (n = 6). This result is in accordance with the purported independent reduction (or loss) of the tendon of extrinsic flexor of the pollex in great apes (Diogo et al., Journal of Human Evolution 2012; 63: 64–78) and underscores the view that living great apes independently lost this tendon–sesamoid complex. Given that a reduction (or loss) of the tendon of extrinsic pollical flexor in great apes is a trade-off between emphasis on hook grips and pollical reduction, human hands have not experienced specialization for hook grips and retain the primitive condition in this regard. Orangutans and chimpanzees independently specialized for hook grips. The case for gorillas, whose hand proportion is similar to that of humans, is equivocal. Gorilla hands may have attained their current state secondarily or they may have lost the powerful extrinsic flexor of the pollex for reasons other than specialized hook grips.
著者
TASUKU KIMURA
出版者
The Anthropological Society of Nippon
雑誌
Anthropological Science (ISSN:09187960)
巻号頁・発行日
pp.190219, (Released:2019-04-02)
被引用文献数
13

Recent fossil records have suggested that human erect bipedal locomotion started in Africa probably more than 6 million years ago. However, debate continues regarding how locomotion was acquired by our prehuman ancestors. Fossils and the genetic traits of recent humans and animals cannot answer this question directly. Therefore, the present paper reviews acquisition models of human bipedalism and explanations regarding how humans acquired bipedalism based on a comparative kinesiology of contemporary mammal species. Nonhuman primates are adequate models of human bipedal acquisition because of not only the phylogenetically close relationship with humans, but also the trend toward hindlimb dominance and orthograde positional behavior in daily life. Although dissimilar to the erect bipedalism seen in humans, nonhuman primates adopt bipedal positional behavior in the wild. All nonhuman primates use the arboreal environment, but some groups of species utilize the ground predominantly. Compared with relatively terrestrial nonhuman primates, relatively arboreal primates show more similarities with humans in their bipedal locomotion. Comparisons among primate species and between nonhuman primates and nonprimate mammals indicate that human-like bipedal characteristics are strongly related to arboreal life. Our prehuman ancestors likely started and adapted to bipedal locomotion while living in trees; this process is referred to as the generalized arboreal activity model. When humans began terrestrial locomotion, they likely performed proficient bipedalism from the first step. The generalized arboreal activity model presented here does not contradict the fossil records.