The biological aspects of physiological anthropology with reference to its five keywords

Abstract

The methodology of physiological anthropology has been defined in the capacity of an independent academic field by five keywords: environmental adaptability, technological adaptability, physiological polymorphism, whole-body coordination and functional potentiality, clearly suggesting the direction of approach to human beings in the field of physiological anthropology. Recently, these keywords have attracted a great deal of attention from physiological anthropologists in Japan. Physiological anthropology is based on a biological framework. From the viewpoint of biology, it is essential to discuss the biological function of human behavior. In this brief conceptual manuscript, the biological aspects of physiological anthropology are discussed in relation to the five keywords.