Abstract:

The Mang people live in Jinping County, Yunnan Province. In 2006, a research team conducted an investigation on adult Mang people in Jinping. In 2023, the research team revisited Jinping and investigated 51 physical parameters of 91 adults (39 males and 52 females) of the Mang ethnic group, and calculated 31 physical indexes. The results are as follows:
In 2023, compared with 2006, the body mass, shoulder breadth, crista iliaca breadth, chest circumference, biceps circumference, maximum biceps circumference, maximum forearm circumference, hip circumference, thigh circumference, and head circumference of both male and female Mang people increased. For both genders, the stature - sitting height index, stature - weight index, stature - chest circumference index, stature - shoulder breadth index, stature - crista iliaca index, BMI, Erismann’s index, Vervaeck’s index, Rohrer’s index, Broca’s index, Livi’s weight - height index, and Pelidisi’s index increased. The differences in the above - mentioned parameters and indexes were statistically significant.
Due to the continuous support of the government for the Mang people, their social and economic living standards have improved rapidly. As a result, their body mass, width, and circumference characteristics have increased significantly over the past 17 years. The body size of the Mang people has changed from the middle - chest and medium - crista iliaca type to the wide - chest and wide - crista iliaca type. Their body enrichment and nutritional status have improved, body tissue density has increased, and cardiopulmonary and respiratory functions have been enhanced. The development level of shoulder and pelvic organs has also been enhanced.
Compared with 2006, the stature, head breadth, mouth breadth, physiognomic facial height, bigonial breadth, interocular breadth, auricular height, and physiognomic ear breadth of the Mang people had little change. However, in 2023, the minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, external binocular breadth, morphological facial height, and nasal height decreased, while the nose breadth, lip height, physiognomic ear length, and upper lip height increased.
Socio-economic factors were the key factors for the increase in body mass, body width, and circumference during the 17-year period, while genetic and environmental factors were the main factors affecting stature, head, and facial parameters.
The Mang and Blang ethnic groups belong to the ancient Mon-Khmer-speaking ethnic groups in Yunnan. They share nearly identical historical records and legends with the Blang. No statistically significant differences in nasal height, upper lip height, body mass, chest circumference, hip circumference, thigh circumference, morphological facial index, stature-weight index, stature-chest circumference index, and BMI were observed between the Blang and Mang, whether in males or females. Both male and female Mang and Blang people have euryprosopy. The cultural and biological characteristics of the Mang are relatively close to those of the Blang. Therefore, it is reasonable to classify them as a subgroup of the Blang.

Key words: Mang, anthropometry, head and face, physical index, physical characteristic