Biological Anthropology on the Uniqueness of Polynesian Physique

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The aim of this research project was to collect several kinds or basic data through field surveys in Polynesia islands, with which the bodily adaptive evolutionary processes of Polynesian people can be studied. Major research results we carried out in the three years financially supported by Grant-in-Aid for International Scientific Research (Field research) are as follows : 1) We collected a quantity of biological anthropology data through both the analysis of ancient human skeletal remains and somatological survey ; 2) We sampled in situ animal bones and plant remains for radio-isotope analyses which are necessary to reconstruct both the climate and people's food in the past ; 3) We gathered a variety of ecological anthropology data necessary for picturing the subsistence activities of prehistoric Polynesians ; and 4) We collected Polynesian vocabularies, chants, and oral traditions to reconstruct the way of life of ancient people by means of linguistic and folklore methods. The purpose we put on at our research proposal, has been completely materialysed. Next step is that we analyze in more detail those data in use of many kinds of special techniques at our laboratories later on. It is on way, and some noticeable findings have already been coming out. Some of those findings are that prehistoric Polynesian people were usually so dependent on fishing activities through diving, that the unique body type of Polynesian people seems to be a sort or New World Syndrome (NWS), that sea-water temperature possibly went down in recent thousand years in South Pacific, and so on. It should be noted that a Mangaian-English dictionary we compiled, is very important in recording one of Polynesian dialects which have nearly disappeared already. It must be the valuable historic heritage of Polynesian people to hand down in the future.