Formicola V, Giannecchini M
Dip. di Etologia, Ecologia ed Evoluzione, University of Pisa, via A. Volta 6, Pisa, I-56126, Italy.
J Hum Evol. 1999 Mar;36(3):319-33. doi: 10.1006/jhev.1998.0270.
Long bone lengths of all available European Upper Paleolithic (41 males, 25 females) and Mesolithic (171 males, 118 females) remains have been transformed into stature estimates by means of new regression equations derived from Early Holocene skeletal samples using "Fully's anatomical stature" and the major axis regression technique (Formicola & Franceschi, 1996). Statistical analysis of the data, with reference both to time and space parameters, indicates that: (1) Early Upper Paleolithic samples (pre-Glacial Maximum) are very tall; (2) Late Upper Paleolithic groups (post-Glacial Maximum) from Western Europe, compared to their ancestors, show a marked decrease in height; (3) a further, although not significant, reduction of stature affects Western Mesolithics; (4) no regional differences have been observed during both phases of the Upper Paleolithic; (5) a high level of homogeneity has also been found in the Mesolithic, both in Western and Eastern Europe; (6) the internal homogeneity found during the Mesolithic in Western and Eastern Europe is associated with marked inter-regional variability, with populations of the latter region showing systematically significantly greater stature than their Western contemporaries. Evaluation of possible causes for the great stature of the Early Upper Paleolithic samples points to high nutritional standards as the most important factor. Results obtained on later groups clearly indicate that the Last Glacial Maximum, rather than the Mesolithic transition, is the critical phase in the negative trend affecting Western European populations. While changes in the quality of the diet, and in particular decreased protein intake, provide a likely explanation for that trend, variations in levels of gene flow probably also played a role. Reasons for the West-East Mesolithic dichotomy remain unclear and lack of information for the Late Upper Paleolithic of Eastern Europe prevents insight into the remote origins of this phenomenon. Analysis of regional differentiation of stature, particularly well supported by data from Mesolithic sites, points to the absence of today's latitudinal gradients and suggests a relative homogeneity in dietary, cultural and biodemographic patterns for the last hunter-gatherer populations of Western Europe.
利用从全新世早期骨骼样本中推导出来的新回归方程，借助“富利氏解剖身高”和主轴回归技术（福尔米科拉和弗兰切斯基，1996年），已将所有可得的欧洲旧石器时代晚期（41名男性、25名女性）和中石器时代（171名男性、118名女性）遗骸的长骨长度换算成身高估计值。对数据进行的统计分析，同时参考时间和空间参数，结果表明：（1）旧石器时代晚期早期样本（末次冰期极盛期之前）身高很高；（2）与他们的祖先相比，西欧旧石器时代晚期群体（末次冰期极盛期之后）身高显著下降；（3）中石器时代西欧人身高进一步降低，尽管不显著；（4）旧石器时代晚期两个阶段均未观察到区域差异；（5）中石器时代西欧和东欧也发现了高度的同质性；（6）中石器时代西欧和东欧内部的同质性与显著的区域间变异性相关，后一地区的人群身高系统性地显著高于其西欧同时代人。对旧石器时代晚期早期样本身高很高的可能原因进行评估，结果表明高营养标准是最重要的因素。对后期群体所得结果清楚地表明，末次冰期极盛期而非中石器时代过渡，是影响西欧人口的负面趋势中的关键阶段。虽然饮食质量的变化，尤其是蛋白质摄入量的减少，为这一趋势提供了一个可能的解释，但基因流动水平的变化可能也起了作用。中石器时代西欧与东欧二分法的原因仍不清楚，且缺乏东欧旧石器时代晚期的信息，妨碍了对这一现象遥远起源的洞察。对身高区域差异的分析，特别是中石器时代遗址的数据有力支持了这一点，表明不存在当今的纬度梯度，并暗示西欧最后一批狩猎采集人群在饮食、文化和生物人口模式方面具有相对同质性。
