American journal of physical anthropology
-
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · May 2018
EditorialThe continuing misuse of null hypothesis significance testing in biological anthropology.
There is over 60 years of discussion in the statistical literature concerning the misuse and limitations of null hypothesis significance tests (NHST). Based on the prevalence of NHST in biological anthropology research, it appears that the discipline generally is unaware of these concerns. The p values used in NHST usually are interpreted incorrectly. ⋯ The use of a cut-off, generally p ≤ 0.05, to separate significant from nonsignificant results, is an arbitrary dichotomization of continuous variation. In 2016, the American Statistical Association issued a statement of principles regarding the misinterpretation of NHST, the first time it has done so regarding a specific statistical procedure in its 180-year history. Effect sizes and confidence intervals, which can be calculated for any data used to calculate p values, provide more and better information about tested hypotheses than p values and NHST.
-
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Nov 2017
Historical ArticlePatterns and prevalence of violence-related skull trauma in medieval London.
This study aims to identify the patterns and prevalence of violence-related skull trauma (including the cranium and mandible) among a large sample of skeletons from medieval London (1050-1550 AD). ⋯ Using both archaeological and historical evidence, the results suggest that violence in medieval London may have been more prevalent than in other parts of medieval England, particularly rural environments, but similar to other parts of medieval Europe. However, more studies focusing on medieval trauma, and violence specifically, need to be carried out to further strengthen these results. In particular, males from the lay cemeteries were disproportionately affected by violence-related trauma, especially blunt force trauma. It perhaps indicates a means of informal conflict resolution as those of lower status did not always have the newly established medieval legal system available to them.
-
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Mar 2017
Principal component analysis in the evaluation of osteoarthritis.
The purpose of this study is to demonstrate advantages of principal component analysis (PCA) as a standardized procedure in the evaluation of osteoarthritis (OA) in a skeletal series to: (1) compute aggregate scores for joint complexes that accurately capture pathological expression, (2) reveal which variables describe the most sample variation in OA, (3) enable inter- and intra-sample comparison of results, and (4) formulate predictive models from component-based arthritic scores. ⋯ PCA is a simple, non-parametric method of extracting relevant information from complex OA datasets and summarizes variation based on correlated multi-attributes to reveal a simplified structure of OA expression. Multivariate techniques like PCA should be used to describe discrete OA samples, and are useful to compute population-specific representative measurements for idiopathic joint OA in a skeletal sample.
-
Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. · Feb 2017
Historical ArticleThe vanishing Black Indian: Revisiting craniometry and historic collections.
This article uses craniometric allocation as a platform for discussing the legacy of Samuel G. Morton's collection of crania, the process of racialization, and the value of contextualized biohistoric research perspectives in biological anthropology. ⋯ Recent articles discussing the merits and weaknesses of comparative craniometry focus on methodological issues. In our biohistoric approach, we use the patterning of craniometric allocations across databases as a platform for discussing social race and its development during the 19th century, a process known as racialization. Here we propose that differences in repeatability for the Seminoles and Euro-American soldiers reflect this process and transformation of racialized identities during 19th century U.S. nation-building. In particular, notions of whiteness were and remain tightly controlled, while other racial categorizations were affected by legal, social, and political contexts that resulted in hybridity in lieu of boundedness.
-
Controversies over race conceptualizations have been ongoing for centuries and have been shaped, in part, by anthropologists.