In this working group we are interested in the biological characteristics defining Homo sapiens as a unique species - in the evolutionary origin, the processes, and the products of these features. As none of these can be explained exhaustively in the context of physical anthropology alone, we operate at intersection of bio-anthropology, human behavior, social anthropology, reproductive and behavioral ecology and Darwinian Medicine. From here we study selected causes (e.g., socio-cultural, economic, ecological, hormonal) of the modern human physical variation as well as their (behavioral and psychological) effects. In particular proximate determinants of these linkages and their long-term significance for reproduction, nutrition, health, disease and mortality are focused on.

Our samples are mainly drawn from recent but also from historical populations. For quantification, we mainly apply various methods of somatometrics, and the Geometric Morphometric toolkit.

This composition of research topics leads to eight subject areas, which essentially and necessarily overlap:

• growth and development

  Kirchengast S (2010) Gender differences in body composition from childhood to old age: an evolutionary point of view. Journal of Life Sciences 2: 1-10

  Mitteroecker P, Gunz P, Bernhard M, Schaefer K, Bookstein F (2004) Comparison of cranial ontogenetic trajectories among hominoids. Journal of Human Evolution 46: 679-697

  Schaefer K, Lauc T, Mitteroecker P, Gunz P, Bookstein FL (2006) Dental arch asymmetry in an isolated community. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 129: 132-142

• obesity and body composition

  Kirchengast S & Schober E (2008) Obesity among male adolescent migrants in Vienna, Austria. Human Biology and Economics 6: 204-211

  Kirchengast S & Schober E (2006) Migrant status represents a special risk factor for developing overweight and obesity among female children and adolescents. British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology 113: 1188-1194

• sexual dimorphism

  Kirchengast S & Hauser G (2003) Sex differences in Body composition and weight status in old age.  XXvsXY The International Journal of Sex Differences in the Study of Health and Disease in Aging 1: 9-15

  Schaefer K, Mitteroecker P, Gunz P, Bernhard M, Bookstein FL (2004) Craniofacial sexual dimorphism patterns and allometry among extant hominids. Annals of Anatomy 186: 471-478

• life history

  Kilaf E, Kirchengast S (2008): Menopause between nature and culture - menopausal age and climacteric symptoms among Turkish immigrant women in Vienna, Austria.  Acta Medica Lithuanica 15: 2-8

  Kirchengast S (2009) Teenage-pregnancies - a biomedical and a sociocultural approach to a current problem. Current Womens Health Issues 5: 1-7

• ageing

  Kirchengast S, Haslinger B (2008) Gender differences in health related quality of life among aged and old aged people from Austria. Gender Medicine 5: 270-278

  Windhager S & Schaefer K (2010) Psychomorphospace-Mapping perception onto morphology with geometric morphometrics (applied to aging). 22nd Annual Conference of the Human Behavior and Evolution Society (HBES), June 16-20, Eugene (Oregon), USA

• secular changes

  Jonke E, Prossinger H, Bookstein FL, Schaefer K, Bernhard M, Freudenthaler JW (2008) Secular trends of the European male facial skull from the migration period to the present. European Journal of Orthodontics 30: 614-620

  Jonke E, Prossinger H, Bookstein FL, Schaefer K, Bernhard M, Freudenthaler JW (2007) Secular trends in the facial skull from the 19th century to the present analyzed with geometric morphometrics. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics 132: 63-70

• somatometrics

  Schaefer K & Bookstein, FL (2009, cover feature) Does geometric morphometrics serve the needs of plasticity research? Journal of Biosciences 34(4): 589-599

  Schaefer K, Mitteroecker P, Fink B, Bookstein FL (2009) Psychomorphospace-from biology to perception and back: Towards an integrated quantification of facial form variation. Biological Theory 4 (1): 68-106

• reproductive and behavioral ecology

  Kirchengast S & Huber J (2004)  Body composition characteristics and fat distribution patterns in young infertile women. Fertility Sterility 81: 539-544

  Kirchengast S & Hartmann B (2003) The impact of maternal age and maternal somatic characteristics on newborn size. American Journal of Human Biology 15: 220-228

  Kirchengast S & Huber J (2001) Fat distribution in young amenorrheic females. Human Nature 12: 123-140

  Kirchengast S & Huber J (2001) Body composition characteristics and body fat distribution in lean and overweight women with polycystic ovaries syndrome. Human Reproduction 16: 1255-1260

  Schaefer K, Fink B, Mitteroecker P, Neave N, Bookstein FL (2005) Visualizing facial shape regression upon 2nd to 4th digit ratio and testosterone. Collegium Antropologicum 29 (2): 415-419

  Schaefer K, Grammer K, Fink B, Mitteroecker P, Gunz P, Bookstein FL (2006) Female appearance: facial and bodily attractiveness as shape. Psychology Science 48 (2): 178-205

  Windhager S, Grammer K, Oberzaucher E, Slice DE, Said H, Thorstensen T, Schaefer K (2011, accepted) "Cars have their own faces": Cross-cultural ratings of car shapes in biological (stereotypical) terms. Evolution and Human Behavior.

  Windhager S, Schaefer K, Fink B (2011, accepted) Geometric morphometrics of male facial shape in relation to physical strength and perceived attractiveness, dominance and masculinity. American Journal of Human Biology.