Lactase persistence genotypes and malaria susceptibility in Fulani of Mali: Review!

There seems to be a trend amongst 'western' geneticists, to cite third party (not of their own) sources to bolster theories that cannot be sufficiently explained by their own findings. This often leads to the referencing of sources that concern samples of geographic specifics, and possibly, sample sizes that are distinct from those of the research group doing the citing [of the foreign source], without full understanding of the archeological record and linguistic background of the sample subjects under study. A good example of this can be found in the 2009 study by Tishkoff et al. that was the topic of this blog in the same year, wherein the authors cite at least three different external sources on Fulani gene pool, concerning Y-DNA, mtDNA, and lactase persistence-affiliated T-13910 allele of the MCM6 gene, as means of securing support for a theory they envisioned from their limited data. For instance, they speculated that a section of their Fulani samples must have low to moderate levels of "European/Middle Eastern" ancestry, because there was some connection with the "European/Middle Eastern" cluster. Apparently their results were not sufficient enough to make that speculation conclusive, and so, compelled them to call on external sources as means to buttress their estimation of their results.

Modernization of Sahelian/Sudanic Archtectural Traditions

There is an attitude of dismissal amongst personalities who are foreign to and scornful of African cultures, with regards to elements of Sahelian/Sudanic architectural traditions, as merely simple structures of mud. Never mind the multiple layers of design both in physiology and building-material that constitute the Sahelian or Sudanic architectural traditions. In an earlier posting, the long tradition of building in stone in western Africa, along with several mud-built designs, was elaborately covered [see: Before the Ruins]. Perhaps nothing gets the point across better than photography, just how elaborate and sophisticated the otherwise "bland" looking architectural designs are; paint-jobs can do wonders in bringing out the true sophistry of these designs, that perhaps unpainted architecture do not make as apparent.

Getting to Know Ancient Egyptian Art - Continued

Here, we carry-over an ongoing topic on "Getting to Know Ancient Egyptian Art". This section will deal with certain codes which artists appear to have adhered to. These are recurring themes that appear to have then been timeless, in that they spanned several Dynasties despite new artistic styles sanctioned by succeeding rulers.

Understanding Keita's "Coastal Northern African"

Keita's term of "coastal northern African" in his earlier publications has been a repeat subject of inquiry over the years. Indeed Keita's terms can be confusing, thanks in no small measure to his blanket terms of "coastal northern African pattern" vs. "southern"/"Africoid" pattern, in lieu of old racial constructs, which he rejects as being restrictive such that they overlook the true variability of populations under assessment, since they rely on highly idealized archetypes. However Keita's terms, perhaps while not as restrictive, can also be misleading if details of his analysis are not examined carefully.

Trivia on the Natufians

In 1928, Charles Lambert had uncovered, during a preliminary investigation at el- Wad, the first prehistoric art object discovered in the Near East, a finely carved bone animal head. He had also discovered human, later identified as Natufian, burials. - Courtesy of the University of Cambridge, the department of archeology.

The "Natufians", the reputed "first farmers" of the Neolithic "Near East", had gone from being regarded as mere "cannibals" by observers of the day shortly after being uncovered in the late 1920s to becoming widely recognized as "pioneers" of the farming economy that took hold in the Neolithic era and was subsequently swept into Europe.

Akhenaten's Face!

When we hear the name "Akhenaten", more than likely for many of us, the first image of the pharaoh that comes to mind is one similar to those displayed on the statues below:

The consistency with which each of the sculptures above portray the Pharaoh's face, like for example, the way the statues display a personality with a rather long slender face, obviously plays a role in image stamped into folks' minds about the pharaoh. The images are consistent in the way the Pharaoh's cheek bones manifest, the aforementioned long and slender face, the eye-shapes, the nose and lips. Such artistic consistency has even enticed anthropologists to link the Pharaoh to skeletal remains that they feel conforms to the long facial profile seen the New Kingdom statues. Such consistency may even suggest that the images are capturing the pharaoh when he was alive, and in light of such matters, it may be seen as a dismissive one but the question is: Is this what the living Pharaoh would have really looked like?

The Role of Chin

Image caption: Homo Erectus, Homo Floresiensis and Homo Sapiens skulls on display. Note the chin structures of the two most visible and complete skulls of the three.

The well-known ideas circling out there about the human chin are pretty much in general agreement about its potential adaptive nature, they are just not in unison about what that adaptive nature is. To get a glimpse of what these ideas entail, we'll take a preliminary look at a recently published journal by Zaneta M. Thayer and Seth D. Dobson, titled Sexual dimorphism in chin shape: Implications for adaptive hypotheses.