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Secular trend for stature in adult male Yucatec Maya to 1968
Author(s) -
McCullough John M.
Publication year - 1982
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.1330580215
Subject(s) - osteology , maya , mesoamerica , geography , demography , secular variation , archaeology , sociology
Statures for 64 adult male Yucatec Maya (18+ years old, sons of campesinos) were measured in 1968 and compared with mean statures presented in results for previous studies. There were no significant changes in mean stature since 1895. If the sample is divided into 5‐year age groups, no secular trend is evident. Using osteological information from as early as the Late Preclassic, stature of adult Maya males has decreased 119 mm in a little more than 20 centuries (−0.06 cm/decade). Comparing the results with measurements from other Mesoamerican groups, only one – the Otomí – show evidence of significant secular change. It is possible that modern economic development schemes in Mesoamerica are too recent or ineffective to have had an effect on stature.