Dederiyeh No. 2, a large cave site in northwestern Syria, was chosen for excavation after an extensive reconnaissance survey in the Afrin region in 1987 under the Syrian-Japan joint expedition. The cave is about 60km NW of Aleppo, the second largest city of Syria. The preliminary excavations of 1989 and 1990 uncovered a number of fragmentary human remains as well as rich lithic and faunal assemblages. The lithic industries of the cave are composed of two distinct assemblages. One was assigned to the Natufian class, and was found in the test excavation area. The other was assigned to the Levantine Middle Paleolithic, because of its large proportion of Levallois type cores and flakes. It was found in the main excavation area. The left humerus of a young infant was found in situ in the Levantine Middle Paleolithic context. Several adult bones and teeth, although found in secondary position in the main excavation area, appeared on anatomical grounds to be Neanderthals.

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This study examined metric cranial variation in samples of Australian Aborigines, Southeast Asian Negritos, and neighboring populations. The difference between Australians and Negritos is particularly marked in neurocranial dimensions and the magnitude of prognathism. The cranial features of the three Negrito tribes of Luzon Island, the Malay Peninsula, and the Andaman Islands suggest the biological distinctiveness of the so-called Negritos, a term rather loosely applied to many genetic isolates of Southeast Asia. Diachronic comparison shows that the modification of the cranial shape is of a highly limited degree in Australians compared with that in Southeast Asians. In Southeast Asia, selective forces may have worked in a different fashion from those in Australia. The case for local evolution of Southeast Asian physical features is strengthened by the present synchronic and diachronic comparisons including Mesolithic and subsequent Southeast Asian samples.

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An investigation was made on the relationship between tooth size and morphological characteristics of teeth from the standpoint of generational differences within a short period. Dental plaster casts were obtained from 682 students, born in the period from 1941 to 1967. These casts were divided into two groups: 254 subjects born from 1941 to 1949 (Group I), and those born from 1956 to 1967 (Group II). The mesiodistal and buccolingual diameters of tooth crowns were measured. To evaluate dental traits, the standard reference plaque by Turner II was used. Results showed that Group II had larger mesiodistal diameters of tooth crowns than those of Group I, and there was a remarkable increasing trend in the buccolingual diameters. In dental traits, apparent generational difference between the two groups was noted in double shovel-shape (I¹, I², I₁, I₂), cusp 6 (M₁), and labial convexity (I¹, I²). The above changes in size and morphological traits of the teeth seemed to be related to the uptake of nutrition, particularly, protein and lipids, in the developmental stage of the dental germ.

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This study attempts to clarify the factors of baby-care environment hat are related to determining the pattern of locomotor development. First, the chisquare test was applied to the questionnaire data answered by the parents of 207 children who showed either the “prone-predisposed” or the “erect-predisposed” locomotion during early infancy. Among ten factors, the one that was not independent of the pattern of the locomotor development was the use of a walker (P<0.01). Second, this study employed the “quantification method of the second type” to determine what factors discriminate between the “prone-predisposed” and the “erect-predisposed” patterns. The factors that had wider range of the category scores were (1) season of birth, (2) use of a walker, and (3) age of the first enrollment at a day-care center. The process of locomotor development seems to be affected by the infant's direct environment provided by both the family and the day-care center.

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Hand clasping and arm folding in a sample of 704 individuals from three groups of Kondh tribe of Orissa are reported. The three groups under study, i.e., Kutia, Dongoria and Kuvi, do not exhibit any remarkable differences. The distribution of “R” type is highest in the present population. Moreover, the present data has been compared with the available data in respect of some populations in India. Statistically, the Kondhs show a closer affinity with that of other populations of India.

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