Matskási István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 81. (Budapest 1989)

Tóth, T.: Environmental causality in the flatness of splanchnocranium

RESULTS Of the components of the facial flatness the nasomalar angle differs significantly from Europoid mean in the male as well as in the female group (142.6° and 145.3°) respectively). The same is true for the group-values of the zygomaxillar angle (132.0° and 131.4°, respectively) (Table 1) (Figs 1-2). On the basis of groupvalues of the dacrial and simotic height it can be concluded that both the male and female subpopulations had a very low nasal root (8.1 and 7.4 mm as well as 1.1 and 0.7 mm, respectively). The nasalspine angle has the value of 6.9° in the male group, and 3.8°, (!) in the female one. Both values are lower than the minimal category values known up to present (ALEXEYEV & DEBETS 1964). It is the amplitude (Min-Max) of these main morphometric components which deserves a special attention. The nasomalar angle of the horizontal profile is characterized by the values 133.7-153.2° in the male group and 135.8-150.9° in the female one (Table 1). The zygomaxillar angle is of 126.2-138.7° and 119.3-138.3°, respectively. Dacrial subtense varies in the male group between 6.0 and 12.0, in the female one between 5.0 and 10.0. The simotic subtense of males is characterized by values from (-0.7) to 3.0, that of females by values from (-1.0) to 2.4. The variation of the nasalspine angle is in the male groups (-6) to 20, and (-5) to 20 in the female ones. On the basis of the values of the nasomalar and zygomaxillar angles the studied bushman population is characterized by a disharmonous configuration (heteroplatyprosopy) of the facial skeleton. This is well expressed by the values of platyprosopy-index: 92.5 in the male group and 90.4 in the female one (Tables 2 and 3). As it can be seen in the numerical tables the flatness of facial skeleton characterizes the recent human populations from circumpolar and continental North-Asia as well as from South-Africa. It cannot be regarded as characteristic only for the Mongoloid group, because the bushmen of South-Africa, being subequatorial peoples, oecumenically are very far from them (Figs 1-2). It is well known that the living bushman groups have been studied according to a wide-ranging anthropological and genetical programme (TOBIAS 1966, 1970a, 1972). In connection with the bushmen's origin, their similarity to the finds from Fish Hoek dated for final Pleisotcene/early Holocene periods was referred (TOBIAS 1971). This becomes evident from the flatness data, too (Table 2). As the data of the nasomalar and zygomaxillar angles show - heteroplatyprosopy in the European Upper Paleolit and Mesolithic human groups was also present (ALEXEYEV 1978,1979,1981; TÓTH 1984); the flatness expressing itself moderately in some prehistoric or living tribal populations can be regarded rather as a morpholigical trait than as a taxonomical one. In all certainity the development of flatness has been affected by multifactorial effects. Recently the role of climate has repeatedly been stressed. An analysis of the evolution of human cranial measurements was carried out by GUGLIELMINO-MATESSI et al. (1979) according to warm-dry, warm-humid, coldhumid and cold-dry climate. Facial flatness was observed in the case of recent populations living in warm-dry (bushman) and cold-dry zones (circumpolar northern Asiatic groups); it means that this morphological trait is well developed in spite of differences existing in climate. We have to paid attention to the fact that the pneumatization observable in the craniofacial massivum which was analysed on fossil human finds, does not show any group-characteristic variablility, but a significant individual one (TILLIER 1977a, 1977b). Concerning the structural variation of the facial skeleton there are quite different opinions. According to STEEGMAN (1972) and FORSIUS (1973) in the com-