Human variability and plasticity
Plasticity refers to the ability of many organisms to change their biology or behavior to respond to changes in the environment. Humans are probably the most plastic of all species, and hence the most variable. This is the first book to examine the history of research in this area and it provides information on state-of-the-art research methods and discoveries. It also maps out some areas of future research in human plasticity and variability. Topics discussed include child growth, starvation, diseases of both young and old, and the effects of migration, modernization and other life-style changes. The book will be especially useful to biological anthropologists, human biologists and medical scientists interested in knowing more about how and why humans vary.Foreword / G.A. Harrison -- 1. The pervasiveness of plasticity / D.F. Roberts -- 2. Plasticity in early development / D.J. Pritchard -- 3. Plasticity in the growth of Mayan refugee children living in the United States / B. Bogin -- 4. The place of plasticity in the study of the secular trend for male stature: an analysis of Danish biological population history / J.L. Boldsen -- 5. Plasticity, growth and energy balance / S.J. Ulijaszek -- 6. The study of migrants as a strategy for understanding human biological plasticity / G.W. Lasker -- 7. Human migration: effects on people, effects on populations / D. Coleman -- 8. The use of surnames in the study of human variation and plasticity / J.H. Relethford -- 9. A biological anthropological approach to measuring societal stress of parasitic disease: a case study of schistosomiasis / C.G.N. Mascie-Taylor and G.E.H. Mohamed -- 10. Biological adaptability, plasticity and disease: patterns in modernizing societies / R.M. Garruto11. Human biological adaptability with special emphasis on plasticity: history, development and problems for future research / L.M. Schell
edited by C.G.N. Mascie-Taylor and Barry Boginill., maps ; 24 cm
