Trends and developments in physical anthropology, 1990–91

✍ Scribed by Curtis W. Wienker; Kenneth A. Bennett

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1992
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 902 KB
• Volume: 87
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-9483
• DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.1330870402

✦ Synopsis

The 1408 members of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists were surveyed by mail regarding professional background, training deficiencies, opinions regarding areas of future importance to the discipline, and teachinghesearch specializations. A total of 544 responses (39%) resulted; 71% were from professionals in the United States and 16% were from U.S. students. Survey results are compared to surveys done in 1971 and in 1978, and are broken into three cohorts: pre-1971 Ph.D.s, 1972-1978 Ph.D.s, and post-1979 Ph.D.s. Statistics and anatomy continue to be common training deficiencies across cohorts. Molecularlcell biology and writing are new training deficiencies that reflect contemporary concerns and trends in the discipline. Anatomy, genetics, ecology, and paleontology are still considered important to the future of physical anthropology; statistics, computer science, and the biomedical sciences are also thought to be of importance to its future. The most frequent teachinghesearch specializations are growth and development, evolutionary biology, and population studies. Genetics and primatology appear to be losing popularity; biomedical anthropology, statistics, and ecology appear to be gaining it. The survey results have implications for the future training of graduate students and for employment opportunities in physical anthropology.