An Ecogeographic Study of Body Proportion Development in the Sadlermiut Inuit of Southampton Island, Nunavut

This thesis explores growth status and body proportion development in past North American Arctic populations. Living in one of the most extreme environments on the planet, Arctic foragers provide an opportunity to explore how human morphological variation is shaped by growth and climate. The study focuses on the Sadlermiut Inuit, who lived on Southampton Island in Hudson Bay, Nunavut. This main sample is comprised of 111 juveniles and 160 adults (62 F, 52 M, 46 und). Comparative samples are derived from Northwest Hudson Bay, Point Hope (Alaska), and Greenland, and are comprised of 106 juveniles and 151 adults (76 F, 75 M). Growth status in four long bones is assessed by comparing the samples' tempo of growth to normative values from a modern North American sample. Body proportion development is assessed by calculating brachial index, crural index, and limb length relative to skeletal trunk height. Plots of index values versus dental age are assessed visually, and compared to results from the literature. Sadlermiut individuals who died as juveniles show a predominant pattern of growth faltering as compared to the North American tempo of growth. Most Sadlermiut juveniles who died in infancy either began life lagging in proportional growth, or fell behind quickly after birth. Most Sadlermiut juveniles who died later in childhood/adolescence had continued to falter in growth, indicating either insufficient, or a lack of, catch-up growth. This contrasts with Point Hope, which showed a broad range of growth outcomes: individuals with growth in line with the North American tempo, as well as individuals with lagging and accelerated growth. The analysis of body proportion development demonstrates that Sadlermiut infants exhibit a wide range of index values, and adult-type body proportions appear by early- to mid-childhood. Adult proportionality is achieved by most older Sadlermiut juveniles, despite a lag in linear growth. This demonstrates that linear growth is more environmentally labile, while body shape is more conserved. Moreover, the timing of body proportion development is consistent across samples from this study and the literature, suggesting a consistent pattern of growth with regard to body proportionality, regardless of latitude/climate and ultimate adult proportionality.

Department dc:contributor.department

Anthropology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Symchych, Natalie

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Pfeiffer, Susan

• body proportions
• ecogeography
• growth
• Inuit

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1807/77434

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:utoronto.scholaris.ca:1807/77434