Underwood J H
Department of Anthropology, University of Arizona, Tucson.
Soc Biol. 1991 Spring-Summer;38(1-2):113-26. doi: 10.1080/19485565.1991.9988775.
Analyses of vital data derived from a family record register for the native population of Guam reveal significant variations in births, deaths, and marriages over the period 1901-41. Although lacking marked photoperiod or temperature changes of temperate zones, the tropical island is subject to marked seasonal differences in rainfall characteristic of western Pacific islands. Marital patterns exhibit troughs associated respectively with the Lenten period and with Christmas celebrations. Infant and childhood deaths show close correspondence with rainfall patterns, consistently exceeding expected values during the rainy season (July-November) when conditions are optimal for the spread of communicable and gastrointestinal diseases. Births attain a peak in November, or at the beginning of the more advantageous season for infant health and survival. Seasonality in vital events, reported for many Euroamerican and some African and Asian populations of modern and historical periods, has rarely been documented for native populations of the tropical Pacific. Comparisons of differences in these patterns among different populations in varied environments provide unique opportunities to evaluate causal models of interactions among biological, sociocultural, and physioenvironmental factors.
对来自关岛当地人口家庭记录登记簿的重要数据进行分析后发现，1901年至1941年期间，出生、死亡和婚姻情况存在显著差异。尽管该热带岛屿缺乏温带地区明显的光周期或温度变化，但它具有西太平洋岛屿典型的明显季节性降雨差异。婚姻模式呈现出分别与大斋期和圣诞节庆祝活动相关的低谷。婴儿和儿童死亡情况与降雨模式密切相关，在雨季（7月至11月）期间，当传染病和胃肠道疾病传播的条件最为适宜时，死亡人数持续超过预期值。出生人数在11月达到峰值，或在对婴儿健康和生存更为有利的季节开始时达到峰值。现代和历史时期的许多欧美以及一些非洲和亚洲人口都报告了生命事件的季节性，但热带太平洋地区的原住民很少有相关记录。对不同环境中不同人群这些模式差异的比较，为评估生物、社会文化和生理环境因素之间相互作用的因果模型提供了独特的机会。
