Anthropometrical study of the Asmat (Irian Jaya)

An anthropometric study in the Asmat population, a coastal group of Papua living in the south-western part of Irian Jaya (Indonesian New Guinea) covered 318 subjects of both sexes, belonging to four different villages (Basim, Senggo, Ewer and Piramanak) of the Asmat region. The dimensions and derived indices, describing body, head and face morphology as well as body composition show the Asmat to be slender and muscular, with shoulders, chest and pelvis of medium dimensions and with long legs in relation to the trunk. They are dolichocephalic with narrow faces and rather large noses. Comparisons of the four Asmat groups indicate the importance of geographic position on size of the subjects and the similarities detected between the groups by discriminant and principal component analysis.