| VARIABILITY AND EVOLUTION |
VOL. 7 (1999) - CONTENTS
Analysis
VÁCLAV VANČATA, VLADIMÍR PŘÍVRATSKÝ, HELENA ZLÁMALOVÁ, MARINA VANČATOVÁ AND IVAN MAZURA: A longitudinal study of ontogeny of Maccaca Mulata
MARINA VANČATOVÁ, VÁCLAV VANČATA, ZDENKA JEŘÁBKOVÁ, HELENA ZLÁMALOVÁ, JINDRA SKŘIVÁNKOVÁ, JOSEF JANEČEK: A longitudinal study of the growth and development of captive chimpanzees and orangutans
ARTUR REWEKANT: Does the disturbance of the ontogeny during the initial phases of life influence the further individual growth? - An analysis of two stress indicators
ELŻBIETA MIŁOSZ: Variability of non-metric traits in the medieval population of Łekno, Poland
MARIJA DJURIĆ-SREJIĆ: The case of scaphocephaly in chinese skeletal material
PETRA LEBEN-SELJAK, MARIJA ŠTEFANČIĆ: Adult mortality and biodynamic characteristics in the early Middle Ages population at Bled, Slovenia
ELŻBIETA MIŁOSZ: Demographic structure of the local medieval and nineteenth century populations of Łekno, Poland
ZBIGNIEW CZAPLA, ZBIGNIEW FOJUD: The appraisal of the scope for the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurement methods for the estimation of the biological age in various stages of human ontogeny
Summary of the thesis
MAGDALENA KOSIŃSKA: Synchronic and diachronic analysis of the level of development of quantitative traits development in ontogenesis
AGNIESZKA KOZŁOWSKA: Adaptive interpretation of touch sensation in man
Václav Vančata1, Vladimír Přívratský1, Helena Zlámalová3, Marina Vančatová4 and Ivan Mazura2
1Division of Anthropology, Department of Biology and Environmental Education, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, M. D. Rettigové 4, 116 39 Praha 1, 2Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 120 00 Praha 1, 3Sport Research Center, Faculty of Sports, Charles University in Prague, José Martího 31, 160 00 Praha 6, 4Primate Research Group, Research Institute for Pharmacy and Biochemistry, 28125 Konárovice, Czech Republic
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF ONTOGENY OF MACACA MULATTA
Vančata V., Přívratský V., Zlámalová H., Vančatová M., Mazura I. 1999. A longitudinal study of ontogeny of Macaca mulatta. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Tabs. 7, Figs. 16. Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Anthropology, Poznań
Abstract. The research project "Postnatal ontogeny of higher primates" is a complex longitudinal study of growth and its regulation in Macaca mulatta as well as the study of the development of biochemical and hormonal factors, behaviour and social structure including various genetic factors. The longitudinal study includes 101 regularly examined individuals from 4 to 72 months of age from Primate Center Konárovice. Full set of 48 somatic measurements is taken for each individual. The analysis of growth trends and growth velocity of overall body size and individual body segments has shown many important facts. We have made a detailed analysis of changes of body mass and body height together with the analysis of the development of individual body segments. The head segment develops relatively independently, with steady and marked differences between sexes. The trunk and limb parameters develop in a similar way, but their developmental patterns differ from those of the head. The head segment, trunk segment, lower limb and upper limb segments have specific mode and rate of growth. The important result is the indication of growth acceleration in females in pre-puberty and early puberty that starts between the 18th and 24th month of life and ends after 48 months. This phenomenon resembles the prepubertal spurts in girls. The pubertal spurt in males starts after three years of age, it continues till 5 years of age when adolescent spurt starts up to full maturity at about 6-7 years. There is a marked bimaturation in the males and females of Macaca mulatta. If we compar the ontogenetic development of recent man and rhesus macaques, there are marked differences in body mass growth curves, while the body height changes are relatively very similar. Like in man the body height is a more precise indicator of ontogenetic changes than body mass. A recent cross-sectional study includes almost the whole group of Konárovice macaques and 60 macaques from Sochi Primate Center. Another cross-sectional comparative sample includes data for almost 2,000 individuals of Macaca mulatta from the Sochi Primate Center. The cross-sectional study in Konárovice is directed to the biochemical blood components (enzymes, proteins, basic ions, etc.), hormones (STH, IGF, T3, T4, cortisol), body size parameters, variability of behavior, and reproduction. For these purposes, 19 blood components and five hormones for 180 individuals have been studied in a cross-sectional research. All these parameters have been correlated to age, body mass and body height. In a preliminary analysis, we have found the peak of growth hormones at 2.5 years of age in females and 3.5 years in males. The peak of the thyreoidea gland hormones occurs about half a year earlier. This situation corresponds very well to major events in the somatic growth. The alkaline phosphatases and blood proteins are well correlated with age and body mass. These blood components can be used as indicators of biological age, at least in monkeys. As the first results of the study of growth regulation are based on the cross-sectional study only, and the longitudinal study is limited up to 6 years of age, a detailed analysis of growth regulation depends on the finishing of longitudinal growth study.
Key words: ontogeny, growth trends, sexual dimorphism, Macaca mulatta, longitudinal study, somatometry, biochemical factors, hormones
Marina Vančatová, Václav Vančata, Zdenka Jeřábková, Helena Zlámalová, Jindra Skřivánková, Josef Janeček
Department of Anthropology, Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Viničná 7, 120 00 Praha 1, Department of Biology, Faculty of Education, Charles University in Prague, M. D. Rettigové 4, 116 39 Praha 1, Sport Research Center, Faculty of Sports, Charles University in Prague, José Martího 31, 160 00 Praha 6, Zoo Ústí nad Labem, Ústí nad Labem, Zoo Liberec, Liberec, the Czech Republic
A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAPTIVE CHIMPANZEES AND ORANGUTANS
Vančatová M., Vančata V., Jeřábková Z., Zlámalová H., Skřivánková J., Janeček J. 1999. A longitudinal study of the growth and development of captive chimpanzees and orangutans. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Fig. 12, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Anthropology, Poznań
Abstract. The longitudinal study of the growth of apes started in 1994 in the framework of the research project "Postnatal ontogeny of higher primates " (the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic, grant project No. 206/96/0166). Two orangutans and four chimpanzees (including one pair of twins) have been regularly measured according to their age in two-week, one-month and three-month intervals (48 somatometric traits). Our study of growth of apes has shown several important facts. Growth patterns are markedly different in chimpanzees, with a low bimaturation,
and in orangutans, with a very high bimaturation of males and females. In orangutans the rate of development is slower during the first three years, with accelerated growth after three years, remarkable adolescent spurt in males and low adolescent spurt in females. In chimpanzees after three years the development is slower, with low adolescent spurt in males and no adolescent spurt in females. There is a clean-cut trend to upper limb and trunk elongation in orangutans, while there is a slight tendency to a relative lower limb elongation in chimpanzees. The trunk
remains relatively slender in chimpanzees, while there is a marked trend to the increase of trunk circumferences in orangutans. A decrease of body mass in newborn chimpanzees during the first six days of life is a very important fact. This process is very probably analogical to that observed in Homo sapiens populations during the same period. The preliminary study of growth patterns of chimpanzee twins shows interesting features in relation to the heredity and adaptive potential of chimpanzee developmental pathways. Some changes in the growth are very similar, but
others seem to be individual, which demonstrates that adaptive norms of reaction of both chimpanzee females can be different under certain circumstances.
Key words: ontogeny, growth trends, sexual dimorphism, Pan troglodytes, Pongo pygmaeus, longitudinal study, somatometry, chimpanzee twins
Artur Rewekant
Institute of Anthropology, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Poznań Poland
DOES THE DISTURBANCE OF THE ONTOGENY DURING THE INITIAL PHASES OF LIFE INFLUENCE THE FURTHER INDIVIDUAL GROWTH? - AN ANALYSIS OF TWO STRESS INDICATORS
Rewekant A. 1999. Does the disturbance of the ontogeny during the initial phases of life influence the further individual growth? - An analysis of two stress indicators. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7: x-x, Figs. 4, Tab. 2, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract. The influence of growth disturbances on the early phases of ontogeny was studied on the basis of two skeletal stress indicators, namely a lowered height of the basicranium and a decreased size of the lumbar vertebral canal. It was found that both low skull base and small vertebral canal are observed more frequently in younger individuals whose age at death was estimated as adultus.
It was also observed that these individuals exhibit more intensive bone loss in the bodies of lumbar vertebrae than individuals who died after the third decade of life.
Key words: basicranium, vertebral canal, osteoporosis, life expectancy, ageing
Elżbieta Miłosz
Institute of Anthropology, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Poznań, Poland
VARIABILITY OF NON-METRIC TRAITS IN THE MEDIEVAL POPULATION OF ŁEKNO, POLAND
Miłosz E., 1999. Variability of non-metric traits in the medieval population of Łekno, Poland. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Tabs 3, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract: In this study preliminary results of the frequency of occurrence of non-metric traits in the crania found in the medieval burial ground in Łekno are presented. Thirty epigenetic traits, according to the scheme given by A. Czarnetzky, were analysed using Chi-square test in order to check the significance of the differences in the frequency of these traits (by gender, age, body side) between the groups under study.The number of all non-metric traits is shown in Table 1. Table 2 shows differences in the frequency of epigenetic traits by gender, and Table 3 shows the asymmetry of binate craniological traits. It has been demonstrated that 10% of traits under study were related to the gender of an individual. Neither asymmetry nor a relation between the mortality structure and the structure of variability in non-metric traits have been found.
Key words: non-metric traits, frequency, sex, age, asymmetry, the Middle Ages, local population
Marija Djurić-Srejić
Laboratory of Anthropology, Department of Anatomy, Medical Faculty, University of Belgrade 4/2 Dr Subotića, 11000 Beograd, Yugoslavia
THE CASE OF SCAPHOCEPHALY IN CHINESE SKELETAL MATERIAL
Djurić-Srejić M. 1999. The case of scaphocephaly in Chinese skeletal material. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Figs. 2, Tab1, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract. The scaphocephaly is a synostotic deformity of the skull form characterized by abnormally long and narrow skull vault. One case of this disorder was found in a male adult skeleton from a skeletal collection of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing. A comparison with the sample population (80 skulls) showed that in the scaphocephalic skull length dimensions of the cranial vault are greatly increased in comparison to the sample means.
Key words: paleopathology, Chinese, cranial synostoses, skull form, developmental abnormality
Petra Leben-Seljak, Marija Štefančič
University of Ljubljana Department of Biology, Biotechnical Faculty, Večna pot 111, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
ADULT MORTALITY AND BIODYNAMIC CHARACTERISTICS IN THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES POPULATION AT BLED, SLOVENIA
Leben-Seljak P., Štefančič M. 1999. Adult mortality and biodynamic characteristics in the early Middle Ages population at Bled, Slovenia. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Tabs 4. Figs. 5, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract. We compare the paleodemographic characteristics of the late Middle Ages populations from Bled, Slovenia. The skeletal series Pristava I belongs to the romanized natives in the sixth to the seventh centuries, the remaining five series to the Alpine Slavs from the seventh to eleventh centuries. The comparison is based on the mortality structure of the adult population. Differences in the expected life span (e20) and the potential gross reproductive rate (Rpot), between the natives and the Slavs reflect different living conditions or a different adaptive ability within a similar environment.
Key words: paleodemography, early Middle Age, Slavic population, indigenous population
Elżbieta Miłosz
Institute of Anthropology, Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Poznań, Poland
DEMOGRAPHIC STRUCTURE OF THE LOCAL MEDIEVAL AND NINETEENTH CENTURY POPULATIONS OF ŁEKNO, POLAND
Miłosz E. 1999. Demographic structure of the local medieval and nineteenth century populations of Łekno, Poland. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Figs. 3, Tab. 1, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract. The study contains the preliminary data on the demographic transformations in the indigenous population of Łekno. Material used as a basis in this study comes from excavations of a medieval burial ground at Łekno (14th–16th century) and from parish registers from the years 1821–1860. Mortality, potential gross reproduction rates (Rpot) and the indices of biological state (Ibs) have been calculated for both groups. Moreover, the nineteenth century population was divided into four chronological groups. For all of them life expectancies (e0x), the proportions of subadults dying (d0-14), Rpot, and Ibs have been calculated. Upon comparing the medieval population and the nineteenth century sample of Łekno with their contemporaries from the Wielkopolska (Great Poland) region the following conclusions were drawn: (1) mortality was higher and life expectancy was lower in the medieval population, (2) Rpot and Ibs values were similar in both groups, (3) chronologisation of the material made it possible to show the deterioration of living conditions in Łekno in the years 1821–1860.
Key words: demography, the Middle Ages, modern times, local population
Zbigniew Czapla, Zbigniew Fojud*
Institute of AnthropologyDepartment of Human Developmental Biology, Poznań, Poland
*Institute of PhysicsDepartment of Macromolecular Physics, Poznań, Poland
APPRAISAL OF THE SCOPE FOR THE APPLICATION OF NUCLEAR MAGNETIC RESONANCE (NMR) MEASUREMENT METHODS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF THE BIOLOGICAL AGE IN VARIOUS STAGES OF HUMAN ONTOGENY
Czapla Z., Fojud Z., 1998. The appraisal of the scope for the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurement methods for the estimation of the biological age in various stages of human ontogeny. Variability and Evolution, Vol. Figs. 10, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Abstract. The main objective of the study is to find a new physical parameter meeting the criterion of the biological age estimation in various stages of human ontogeny, and thus to find a new research methodology for this field of research. For this purpose an NMR Bruker 200 MHz spectrometer was used. Two physical parameters: relaxation time (T1) and spectrum shape were determined. The research material was oral mucosa epithelium sampled in a group of young people of both sexes (31 subjects) and in a group of men (18 subjects). Relaxation time (T1) and spectrum shape were recorded for hydrogen nuclei (H1). The physical phenomena were analysed statistically (regression analysis) and their biological interpretation was attempted.
Key words: EMN - Electrophoretical Mobility of Nuclei, stage of ontogeny, biological age, ageing, free radical theory of ageing, NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, chemical shift, spin-lattice relaxation time
Magdalena Kosińska
Institute of Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
SYNCHRONIC AND DIACHRONIC ANALYSIS OF THE LEVEL OF QUANTITATIVE TRAITS’ DEVELOPMENT IN ONTOGENESIS
Kosińska M. 1999. Synchronic and diachronic analysis of the level of quantitative traits’ development in ontogenesis. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
Agnieszka Kozłowska
Institute of Anthropology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poznań, Poland
ADAPTIVE INTERPRETATION OF TOUCH SENSATION IN MAN
Kozłowska A. 1999. Adaptive interpretation of touch sensation in man. Variability and Evolution, Vol. 7, Adam Mickiewicz University, Faculty of Biology, Poznań
