The Population Problem: Biological Anthropology and the Many Definitions of a Population

Area of Science:

• Biological anthropology
• Evolutionary biology
• Population genetics

Background:

• The concept of 'population' is central to biological anthropology, serving as a key unit for analyzing variability and evolutionary change.
• Contemporary research faces challenges in defining and applying the population concept, leading to issues in typology, conflation of place and organism, and analytical tractability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the constructions and applications of the 'population' concept in contemporary biological anthropology research.
• To identify inconsistencies and challenges in the use of the term 'population' within the discipline.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted on publications in the American Journal of Biological Anthropology (AJBA) from 2013 to 2022.
• 739 publications utilizing the term 'population' in their abstracts were identified and analyzed for subfield, time period, sample size, and usage context.

Main Results:

• The term 'population' is used inconsistently across biological anthropology, with significant variation in sample sizes, time ranges, and defining characteristics.
• While widely used across subfields, there is a lack of consensus on how 'population' is defined, the variability it encompasses, or its role as an evolutionary category.

Conclusions:

• The inconsistent theoretical and practical application of the 'population' concept poses a significant challenge for biological anthropology.
• From an evolutionary standpoint, clear presentation and explicit hypotheses regarding evolutionary action are crucial when defining and using 'population' in research.