engleski

Morphological Anthropology Forever? (Searching for Identity: Doubts and Dillemas)

The application of holistic analytic approach in the study of human population morphological structure can be very helpful in providing some important information about the continuity of interactions between intrinsic (genetic) population characteristics and a wide spectrum of extrinsic (environmentaly determined) selective impacts. Major advantages of such approach are the possibilities to assess the main determinants of interpopulation similarity or variability, and to estimate dependence of the rate of (micro)evolutionary processes upon the historical processes that favored or restricted gene flow. It is well known that with the subject of its concern current anthropology comprises many fields that within a ‘ classical division’ of disciplines were not represented enough. That is a case in the last decades with the ‘ classical morphological anthropology’ as well, but one should stress that the ‘ classical morphological anthropology’ offers much more today than at the moment its differentia specifica was created. In the span of the last decade its subject of concern have expanded due to the development of new areas of research created by the development of (1) innovating methods and techniques which simultaneously opened up the possibility of posing many new questions and in that way broadening the horizons of knowledge, (2) historical analysis of human adaptations (using holistic analytic approach), (3) studies of different cultural patterns (in local as well as in global circumstances) that clearly express variability in human’ s body reactions to different patterns of cultural behaviour, (4) judgements of so called peculiar situations (which on the one side extended applications of our knowledge about morphology by its potential adjustments on problems of genetic epidemiology and molecular anthropology in terms of the identification and comprehension of the genetic basis of the phenotypes responsible for the development of the most common complex non-contagious chronic diseases, and on the other side about research/application spectrum (5) the cultural construction of what we call ‘ applied morphological anthropology’ (closely related to the problems of health economy /sometimes sustainable/ development). Consequently, it should be stressed that the scientific interest in morphology within the spectrum of anthropological observations have extended inevitable through almost five centuries, but its development in the last decades has been orientated towards the fields of Human biology related areas which Baker describes as “ eternal triangle” interdependencies. On the global scene this results in an elaboration and appliance of different (new) research problems, applicational activities, methodologies and perceptions. However, in spite of all of these changes even today one could still find scholars who connect morphological anthropology to the standard classical methodological patterns of anthropology as opposed to those that accept (realistically) the almost immeasurable growth of specialised research interests and techniques. And the questions to ask about our scientific interests and to resolve the confronted problems arise.

holistic analytic approach; population structure

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