Craniofacial evolution in Polynesia: a geometric morphometric study of population diversity.

Objectives: This study tests differences in craniofacial size and shape attributed to demographic history and plastic responses to differing environments in the islands of Polynesia. The dispersal of modern humans into Polynesia provides a useful scenario to investigate the impact of migration on human craniofacial diversity.

Methods: Three dimensional geometric morphometric techniques are used to examine morphological diversity within Oceanic population samples.

A proposed method for the identification of race in sub-adult skeletons: a geometric morphometric analysis of mandibular morphology.

The identification of biological race (ancestry) in skeletal material is an important aspect of forensic investigations. While techniques for race determination are well established for adult skeletons, identification of race in sub-adult specimens has not been widely addressed. The present study investigates racial differences in the mandibular morphology of sub-adult specimens using geometric morphometric analyses.