We studied temporal changes in the stature and limb characteristics of west
ern Japanese during the Jomon to Edo periods for comparison with those of K
anto Japanese (Hiramoto, 1972; Yamaguchi, 1986), and to establish norms for
Japanese from both regions. Stature was estimated by the formulae of Fujii
, Pearson and Trotter/Gleser based on 686 femora, 582 tibiae, 558 humeri an
d 569 radii from a total of 511 samples. The leg index was based on 334 low
er limbs, while the forearm index was on 284 upper limbs.
Stature based on the femur/humerus increased markedly between the Jomon and
Yayoi periods, and then decreased between the Yayoi and medieval periods.
In contrast, stature based on the tibia/radius, after increasing slightly b
etween the Jomon and Yayoi periods, decreased gradually during the Yayoi to
Edo periods. On the other hand, the leg and forearm indices decreased betw
een the Jomon and Yayoi periods, were maintained between the Yayoi and medi
eval periods, and then again decreased between the medieval and Edo periods
. These results imply that increases in the stature between the Jomon and Y
ayoi periods result from elongations of both the femur and tibia, while dec
reases in the index result from elongation of the femur/humerus beyond the
tibia/radius. We also found that the stature of Japanese from both western
and Kanto regions had changed similarly from the Jomon to Edo periods.