[Art history anthropology: a new interdisciplinary overlap using the examples of Caravaggio and Mozart]

The established identification of human faces on images may also be applied to paintings. This demands an extension of the known methodology: A check is performed if the depicted trait expressions may occur in nature at all or if they are an "artefact" of artistic freedom. Two cases are presented here, which illustrate an identification and an identity exclusion.

A new radiocarbon revolution and the dispersal of modern humans in Eurasia

Radiocarbon dating has been fundamental to the study of human cultural and biological development over the past 50,000 yr. Two recent developments in the methodology of radiocarbon dating show that the speed of colonization of Europe by modern human populations was more rapid than previously believed, and that their period of coexistence with the preceding Neanderthal was shorter.

Revised direct radiocarbon dating of the Vindija G1 Upper Paleolithic Neandertals

The 1998/1999 direct dating of two Neandertal specimens from level G(1) of Vindija Cave in Croatia to approximately 28,000 and approximately 29,000 radiocarbon ((14)C) years ago has led to interpretations concerning the late survival of Neandertals in south-central Europe, patterns of interaction between Neandertals and in-dispersing early modern humans in Europe, and complex biocultural scenarios for the earlier phases of the Upper Paleolithic. Given improvements, particularly in sample pretreatment techniques for bone radiocarbon samples, especially ultrafiltration of collagen samples, these Vindija G(1) Neandertal fossils are redated to approximately 32,000-33,000 (14)C years ago and possibly earlier. These results and the recent redating of a number of purportedly old modern human skeletal remains in Europe to younger time periods highlight the importance of fine chronological control when studying this biocultural time period and the tenuous nature of monolithic scenarios for the establishment of modern humans and earlier phases of the Upper Paleolithic in Europe.

[The School of Palaeopathology of Turin: from the histology of mummified tissues to the monitoring and programmed conservation of the mummies of the Egyptian Museum and the Anthropology Museum]

Scientific analyses, frequent revisions of historical collections and unsuitable preservation conditions in storage and display environments can cause damage to the anthropological patrimony. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish criteria for the correct conservation of anthropological material according to a "standard of quality". Within the context of a broad and complex view of the protection of anthropological materials, the methodology followed by the research group is aimed at identifying a series of primary (diagnostic) and supportive (therapeutic) interactive processes. The final purpose of these processes is the programmed management of each specimen which is able to identify and control the activities necessary for conservation of the material.

Causal Bayesian network for tagging syntactical structure of Croatian sentences

Paper describes tagging syntactical structure of Croatian language sentences using causal Bayesian network. In the first part of the paper we describe Bayesian model for tagging sentences. Base on this idea, we will test our model on Croatian language sentences on Database of grammatical sentences of Croatian language (http://infoz.ffzg.hr / tepes /). This paper is result of our new research connected with the paper hidden Markov model for tagging of Croatian language texts for project Linguistic Analysis of The European languages and the paper Probability distribution on the parse trees for the project Annotated database and syntactic structure of Croatian languages.

Probability distribution on the parse trees

Paper describes probability distribution on the parse trees of natural language by using Bayesian networks. First parts of the paper describes probabilistic context-free grammar and parse trees. In the second part of the paper, Bayesian network was modelled and joint probability distribution on their vertex. On these theoretical ideas, in the third part, we describe our model tested on Database of grammatical sentences of Croatian language (http:/ /infoz.ffzg.hr / tepes /). At the end was presented a backward procedure and evaluation of our results.

[Sports-anthropological analysis of Tunisian elite karateka]

This study is based on a careful sport anthropological investigation (ca. 15 min) of 25 Tunisian athletes of the Karate team (aged 18 - 31 years) with special permission of the Tunisian Ministry of Youth and Sports. Considering the height of the Tunisian elite athletes (175.6 +/- 4.9 cm), heavier kareteka are bigger (178.9 +/- 2.2 cm vs. 171.4 +/- 3.9 cm). The mean weight was 73.1 +/- 8.2 kg (heavier athletes 78.7 +/- 5.9 kg vs. lighter athletes 66.0 +/- 4.1 kg). On Conrad's chessboard diagram all the Tunisian karateka were placed in the leptomorph half, only two in the metromorph corridor, but most of them in the middle between hypoplastic and hyperplastic poles. The AKS index diagram demonstrates a faint diagonal positioning of the single weight categories, with progression of body mass from the lower to the upper right area. None of the athletes surpasses a body height of 184 cm. The variation of the AKS index is higher than the variation of body height. The constitutional analysis according to Knussmann (1961) reveals an orientation of heavier weight classes towards macrosomia and pyknomorphism. The proportional figures of the athletes show a small variation of joint heights in lower extremities. In Parnell's somatochart (1954, 1958) the concentration of Tunisian karateka is found in the mesoectomorph third as well as in the somatochart of Heath & Carter (1967). Further sport anthropological karate studies should focus on adolescents and females as well as on physiological and biomechanic parameters.

Medical anthropology and Ebola in Congo: cultural models and humanistic care

Seldom have medical anthropologists been involved in efforts to control high mortality diseases such as Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) This paper describes the results of two distinct but complementary interventions during the first phases of an outbreak in the Republic of Congo in 2003. The first approach emphasized understanding local peoples cultural models and political-economic explanations for the disease while the second approach focused on providing more humanitarian care of patients by identifying and incorporating local beliefs and practices into patient care and response efforts.

The incidence and expression of the subcondylar tubercle of the mandible in early Polynesians, modern Indians and modern Europeans

A sample of pre-European Polynesian and Melanesian mandibles, modern Asian Indians and cadaveric European mandibles were investigated to establish the prevalence of a subcondylar tubercle and to attempt to relate its presence to mandibular function. Among the three population samples, the subcondylar tubercle appeared 1.5 times more frequently among the Polynesians/Melanesians, than either the Indian or European groups. It was fairly equally present on both sides in all three groups. Where it was present unilaterally, it was far more likely to be present on the left side. This left-side presence coincided with a significantly greater right-side condylar height and ramal width.

Exploration of anthropological specimens by GC-MS and chemometrics

Anthropological specimens combine a variety of unfavorable characteristics, rendering their evaluation an analytical challenge. Their remarkable status is primarily based on two characteristics: (i) these very rare samples of human origin are testimonies of human history and are, therefore, available only in minute amounts for analytical purposes, and (ii) the analysis of these samples is extremely limited by the decomposition of molecules, which are easily detected in living organisms, such as nucleic acids and proteins, but are subject to rapid post-mortem decay. In this article, we review the methods and results of archaeometry, emphasizing the role of MS combined with chemometrics. Focusing on experimental results for fatty acid profiles, specimens from mummies from different civilizations were compared. Considering in particular the Tyrolean Iceman, the application of chemometric methods to GC-MS data recovers essential information about the preservation and the storage conditions of mummies.

The biological aspects of physiological anthropology with reference to its five keywords

The methodology of physiological anthropology has been defined in the capacity of an independent academic field by five keywords: environmental adaptability, technological adaptability, physiological polymorphism, whole-body coordination and functional potentiality, clearly suggesting the direction of approach to human beings in the field of physiological anthropology. Recently, these keywords have attracted a great deal of attention from physiological anthropologists in Japan. Physiological anthropology is based on a biological framework. From the viewpoint of biology, it is essential to discuss the biological function of human behavior. In this brief conceptual manuscript, the biological aspects of physiological anthropology are discussed in relation to the five keywords.

Detection of a single nucleotide polymorphism in the IL-6 promoter region of ancient nuclear DNA

In the current study a method was developed to examine the G/C single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at position -174 in the IL-6 promoter from nuclear DNA samples isolated from human skeletal remains from Manitoba, Canada, dating to as early as 3500 years ago. The IL-6 (-174) SNP was detected in three ancient samples and determined, as expected, in three out of three to be homozygous G/G. The analysis of cytokine SNPs of ancient nuclear DNA may provide novel insights into the genetic basis of autoimmune diseases and the susceptibility/resistance to infectious agents.

[Tobacco smoking--anthropological context of human dependence]

In the papers concerning the subject of prevention and treatment of addiction to tobacco smoking, the philosophical data on nature of man, his reason and freedom are unfairly disregarded. The anthropological description of the features constituting the human nature refers, above all, to reason, will, freedom, and to a lesser extent, instinct and imagination. In the analyses of addiction to tobacco smoking, the rational cognition and free will are of greatest significance. Values as well as freedom and good also play a role in counteracting the enslavement of man. The investigations of the essence of man indicate that even the deepest addiction does not change and does not destroy the reason and free will which are characteristic of a human being. It means that a person addicted to a habit always requires respect, compassion and hope in overcoming the enslavement. It touches the whole human being and should be treated integrally. Addiction is inherent to a man and not the human nature, tobacco smoking will always be contrary to reason and freedom of a human being and the whole mankind.

Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real: Anthropological and historical perspectives on the social construction of race

Racialized science seeks to explain human population differences in health, intelligence, education, and wealth as the consequence of immutable, biologically based differences between "racial" groups. Recent advances in the sequencing of the human genome and in an understanding of biological correlates of behavior have fueled racialized science, despite evidence that racial groups are not genetically discrete, reliably measured, or scientifically meaningful. Yet even these counterarguments often fail to take into account the origin and history of the idea of race. This article reviews the origins of the concept of race, placing the contemporary discussion of racial differences in an anthropological and historical context.

Design of a multiplex PCR for genotyping 16 short tandem repeats in degraded DNA samples

The molecular genotyping of individuals and reconstruction of kinship through short and high polymorphic DNA markers, so-called short tandem repeats (STR), has become an important and efficient method in anthropology and forensic science. The here introduced experimental design describes a multiplex PCR capable of simultaneously amplifying 16 STRs and the sex determinant locus amelogenin in a short fragment lengths range from 84 bp to 275 bp. Thus, the design depends predominantly on the routines for DNA typing of historical samples with highly degraded ancient DNA. It is shown, that the newly designed multiplex PCR is suitable for successful typing of both forensic and historical material.

Tracking the anthropogenic drivers of ecological impacts

Despite the pivotal role human factors (anthropogenic drivers) are presumed to play in global environmental change, substantial uncertainties and contradictory conclusions about them continue. We attempt to further discipline the human factors issue by estimating the effects of two anthropogenic drivers, population and affluence, on a wide variety of global environmental impacts, including greenhouse gas emissions, emissions of ozone depleting substances, and the ecological footprint. Population proportionately increases all types of impacts examined. Affluence typically increases impacts, but the specific effect depends on the type of impact. These findings refocus attention on population and material affluence as principal threats to sustainability and challenge predictions of an ameliorating effect of rising affluence on impacts.

Rural-to-urban migration in Latin America: an update and thoughts on the model

Urbanization is an important demographic phenomenon, and in Latin America it transformed the settlement pattern from rural to predominantly urban in less than 50 years. Understanding the biological consequences of this change in settlement pattern is an important challenge for human biologists. One approach to understanding the effects of urban environments on human biology has been to study rural-to-urban migrants. In Latin America this research has shown that 1) the fertility of migrants tends to be intermediate between that of rural and urban populations, and 2) migrants tend to suffer higher rates of mortality and morbidity, at least initially, than long-term urban residents. There is some indication that the actual physical conditions under which migrants live in urban areas-and these tend to be among the most impoverished-are more important variables than migrant status per se. Studying rural-to-urban migrants requires careful attention to a number of conceptual issues. One issue is the definition of rural and urban. These two types of settlements are no longer as distinct as they once were, and "urban" can mean very different things in different places. Another issue is the complexity of current migration patterns. The classic case of people moving from a distinctly rural setting to a distinctly urban one and staying there for the remainder of their lives is not the norm. Third, the urban environments of large cities are extraordinarily heterogeneous environments with enormous socioeconomic differentials in health. Hence, it matters where in the urban environment the migrants live.

[The archeology of human aggressiveness: violence from a paleo-epidemiological perspective]

Acute traumatic injuries provide direct evidence that is used in studies of violence in the past. When analyzed from a paleo-epidemiological perspective and in conjunction with data from the material culture, these injuries are an important tool in the interpretation of human aggressive behavior. The latter, which seems to underlie human nature itself, has been recorded as far back as the remote time of man's ancestral hominids and in any type of social organization. By studying the pattern and distribution of blow marks and other signs of physical aggression, we contribute to our understanding not only of the emergence, use, motives, and impact of violence down through time but also of its continuance today.

Holistic anthropological research of Hvar Islanders, Croatia--from parish registries to DNA studies in 33 years

The complexity of interactions between hereditary, environmental and cultural factors in determining human phenotypes is often underestimated in biomedical research. In this paper, we present 33 years of holistic anthropological research that was being conducted since 1971 in the island of Hvar, Croatia. During this period, detailed characterization of migrations, demography, isonymy, linguistic differences, anthropometric traits (head and body dimensions), physiological (cardio-respiratory) properties, quantitative and qualitative dermatoglyphic traits, radiogrammetric metacarpal bone dimensions and genetic traits (classical antigens, HLA diversity, DNA short tandem repeat -STR, mitochondrial DNA and Y-chromosome polymorphisms) was performed. The analysis of this large collection of data using both model-bound and model-free approaches showed that the complexity underlying human biological traits may be considerably greater than generally assumed, which has important implications for design of future studies into genetic determinants of complex traits.

[Sports anthropology investigation on female participants of the German Sports-Aerobic-Masters compared to non-sports participating young females]

This investigation is based on the sports anthropology of 50 female participants of the German championships of Sport Aerobics (age range 16-35 years), whose constitutional body build parameters were compared to 50 female physical education students (age range 18-30 years) and 40 women (age range 18-35), who did not engage in sportive activities at all. Somatotyping and other sports anthropological techniques were performed according to Parnell (1958). Heath & Carter (1967), Conrad (1963) and Knussmann (1961a, 1961b) as well as proportion figures and phantom stratagem. In the North-American somatocharts the aerobic athletes were classified as ectomesomorph, whereas the physical education female students were found in the ectoendomorph area according to Parnell and the non-sportive subjects remained on the mesoendomorph part. In the Heath-Carter somatochart, the physical education students and the non-sportive women were registered in the mesoendomorph and ectoendomorph areas. In the German systems the young women were placed in the leptomorph direction and mesoplastic in the Conrad typology. According to Knussmann, all the investigated groups were classified as ultramacrosom and superleptomorph. Some morphological differences can be detected by means of proportion figures and phantom stratagem. The aerobic athletes display a more athletic somatotype with an accentuated radio-ulnar breath. The aerobic group is also characterised by the smallest body fat percentage, whereas the non-exercising group shows the opposite. This is also proven by the body mass index.