Face-to-face: Skull study shows variation of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Face-to-face: Skull study shows variation of pre-Columbian cultures in Mexico
9 hours ago by Matt Shipman



(Phys.org) —A new analysis of the skulls of prehistoric peoples in Mexico reveals significant regional variation in the facial characteristics of indigenous populations – indicating that there were notable physical differences between geographically separate groups before the arrival of Europeans.



"There has long been a school of thought that there was little physical variation prior to European contact," says Ann Ross, a forensic anthropologist at NC State who co-authored a paper on the work. "But we've found that there were clear differences between indigenous peoples before Europeans or Africans arrived in what is now Mexico."

The research team looked at skulls dating from A.D. 1 through the late 15th century. The researchers assessed facial landmarks, such as the cheekbones, the bones surrounding the eyes and the bridge of the nose. For purposes of comparison, the researchers also examined skulls of Spanish, African American and Mayan origin, dating to after Europeans arrived in Mexico.

After evaluating the skulls, the researchers ran statistical analyses of the facial landmarks. The results of those analyses allowed them to compute something called the Mahalanobis distance, which allowed them to measure the overall difference between the population groups. This assessment showed a clear separation between populations in different parts of pre-Columbian Mexico.

More:
http://phys.org/news/2013-09-face-to-face-skull-variation-pre-columbian-cultures.html#jCp

[mysuzuki2]

1. A skull study cannot show differences in culture in North America or anywhere else.

Culture differences are not functions of anatomy or other biological characteristics. This appears to be a valid study of anatomical diversity but cannot say anything about cultural diversity.