Multivariate comparisons of female cranial series from the Ryukyu Islands and Japan

Abstract

Stepwise discriminant function and Mahalanobis' generalized distance analyses were applied to 29 cranial measurements in six female cranial series from the Ryukyu Islands and ten female cranial series representing modern and prehistoric Japanese and the Ainu. Two separate comparisons were made: the first compares Ryukyu Island cranial series and the second compares 16 cranial series from Japan. The results of this analysis have been used to investigate the biological relationships of the modern and near-modern indigenous inhabitants of the Ryukyu Islands and the modern and prehistoric inhabitants of Japan's main islands. These new multivariate craniometric results are similar to those reported in a previous study that utilized male craniometric data. Overall, the Ryukyu cranial series are generally closest to a cluster consisting of Yayoi, Kofun, and medieval Kamakura cranial series, suggesting these populations were influenced by immigrants from the north. Modern Japanese, Jomon, and Ainu cranial series are well differentiated from each other and from the Ryukyu series. The Jomon are closest to the Ainu, and together these two are the most differentiated groups compared. As in the male results, the female results do not support a connection between Ainu, Jomon, and Ryukyu Island series.