Biological anthropology can be defined as the scientific study of nature-nature relationship, although each element of this interaction, i.e. nature and nurture, can be holistically studied in itself. Thus there is genetical study of a morphological, anatomical or serological trait, and there is also an anthropology of food and nutrition in the orbit of biological anthropology. Disciplines like ecology and demography lie at the interface of cultural and biological studies in which the techniques of anthropology are indispensable to determine the biological status of a population. For accomplishing the studies of nature, nurture and their ensuring relationships, the concept of population, consisting of the people sharing the same gene pool, is imperative. Biological anthropology as it stands today is an investigation of micro-evolutionary adaptational process, dialectically related to natural and cultural environments, which determine the survival value of a population. In addition to delineating the biological profile of a Mendelian group, the applied dimensions of biological anthropology determine the pathogenic characters of a population, suggesting viable and concrete programmes for their alleviation. The present manual consists of osteology, anthropometry (craniometry, osteometry, somatometry), somatoscopy, dental, physiology, nutrition, dermatoglyphics and demography. Each techniques, its execution and other related aspects have been described in detail. The manual contains a chapter on statistics which describes how data are to be statistically treated and inferences drawn.
There are no reviews yet.