As I am a kinesiology major, the subfield of organismal morphometry aligns closely with many of the principles I have learned in kinesiology courses I have taken thus far in my high school and collegiate careers. Morphometry focuses specifically on physical differences of the human body in response to external causes, such as environmental factors, genetics, and nutritional habits. The International Society of Bone Morphometry (ISBM) is made up of intellectuals in this discipline who meet as a congress every three years–the locations for each congress varying; coincidentally, the society’s next congress will occur this coming September. Speakers come from across the world to reveal the results of their research to fellow biological anthropologists focusing in bone morphometrics. Many of the topics to be presented about this year–for example–pertain to the tendencies of bone formation or resorption under various conditions.
The main reason the study of anthropology exists is to compare generations of both local and international humans to each other and to those of the past, allowing scientists to, possibly, accurately predict the future of human form and culture as well. Morphometry, in the context of physical anthropology, uses this comparative approach immensely in research by comparing the physical qualities of different organisms and then finding the causes of such differences. Comparing the features of numerous individuals around the world allows researchers to designate how particular climates, terrains, lifestyles, et cetera physically affect the construction of the human body. Additionally, because organismal morphometry focuses so much on biology, the bio-cultural interaction plays a large role in discoveries in this field. This being said, physical variances between individuals can be attributed to multiple outside factors of culture. Relating back to the sickle cell anemia and malaria example, the prominence of the mosquito-transmitted disease in Central and Southern Africa affects the types of genes that survive and get passed down; however, the genes that do survive and get passed down in turn influence the continued presence of the disease.
Diving further back into the past, the formation of the study of morphometrics can attribute part of its origins to Charles Darwin and his initiation of a continuous study of physical anthropology. Darwin’s observation of physical differences of finches living in the Galapagos Islands–due to the varying environments on each island–in a way sparked the basis of morphometrics. Looking at how individuals living in different parts of the world vary in categories such as bone structure, prevalence of specific alleles, et cetera all shadows the ideas of Darwin and general evolutionary principles.
In addition to traditional methods of studying morphometrics, it is possible to use a holistic approach to answer questions. For example, to study the physical make-ups of individuals who lived a number of years ago, morphometric researchers could pair up with archaeologists to properly dig up remains to be analyzed. Forensic anthropologists could also work with professionals in morphometrics to together discover the geographical origins of body parts of unidentified individuals. In both situations, both groups of anthropologists would gain insight toward new findings, adding to the “big picture” of anthropological data.
Reference:
About ISBM Congress. (2018). Retrieved July 1, 2019, from https://conference.ifas.ufl.edu/isbm2019/index.html
Hello Annika, I found your blog post very interesting; before reading your analysis of organismal morphometry, I had never heard the term. Your example of the relationship between sickle cell anemia and malaria, as well as Darwin’s research in the Galapagos Islands, did a good job of relating the term back to something I’m now familiar with. I would be curious to learn more about your interests, and why you chose to look into bone morphometry in particular. I wonder where the overlap between kinesiology and morphometry takes place, and how learning more about morphometry might serve you as you continue in the field of kinesiology. Lastly, I think it was neat that you touched on how morphometry might relate to forensic anthropology and archaeology, and I would be very interested to learn more about this field.
Hi Annika!
I was very impressed with your blog post because it spoke of things which I only remember learning about in my genetics classes. The link between sickle cell anemia and malaria is still a “fun fact” I throw out when I’m having pseudo intellectual conversation 🙂 However, I never knew what to call the specific link they have until now, which was incredibly interesting to learn! I thought it was fascinating that you mentioned how this all connected to your chosen major, and how one can help understand the other. I think it would be really interesting to further research these fields together to see just how much they can overlap! The coming together of multiple fields in order to better advance both is something that is very interesting and could massive progress them both.