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Growth and development of the Kaiapit children of the Markham Valley, New Guinea
Author(s) -
Malcolm L. A.
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330310106
Subject(s) - new guinea , demography , menarche , maturity (psychological) , geography , history , psychology , developmental psychology , ethnology , sociology
The growth and development of Markham Valley children was studied by examining over 800 children of known age, ranging from birth to maturity. Although growth in height and weight is slower than that of European children, it is faster than that so far recorded for some New Guinea populations. This is associated with the tallest adult stature reported to date for New Guinea and supports the previous finding that adult height in a New Guinea society is proportional to the growth rate of children in that society. Skin fold thickness values for age are lower than both New Guinea Highland and European children, despite reasonable availability of food. Menarche occurs at a mean age of 15.6 years, which is much earlier than some other New Guinea figures. Dental eruption times, in keeping with other New Guinea and African figures, are earlier than those of Europeans. Parent/child correlations for height and weight do not differ significantly from those obtained for European children, suggesting that environmental factors have a minimal effect in frustrating the fulfilment of genetic growth potential.