The Correlations Between Anthropobiological and Climatic Variables in Sub-Saharan Africa: Revised Estimates

Document Type

Article

Authors

Jean Hiernaux, Université de Paris, France
Alain Froment, Université de Paris, France

Abstract

The coefficients of correlation between 30 anthropobiological and five climatic variables are recomputed in data from sub-Saharan African populations. Changes in the value and/or statistical significance of a number of coefficients are observed. The coefficients suggest that the M, O, Ro andr alleles are probably independent of climate in sub-Saharan Africa. An explanation of the apparent association of B, RA and fl2 frequencies with climate is proposed in terms of a sensitivity of lethal agents or of their intermediary hosts to climate, by analogy with the Hb* case. Fingerprint patterns and some metric variables, like head length, are found to be independent of climate. The relevance of Bergmann’s rule in the interpretation of body measurement from sub-Saharan Africa is discussed.

Recommended Citation

Hiernaux, Jean and Froment, Alain (1976) "The Correlations Between Anthropobiological and Climatic Variables in Sub-Saharan Africa: Revised Estimates," Human Biology: Vol. 48: Iss. 4, Article 8.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/humbiol/vol48/iss4/8