Sexual dimorphism of cephalofacial dimensions of the population in Taiwan, China

doi:10.16359/j.1000-3193/AAS.2025.0026

Abstract

Abstract:

The distribution of sexual dimorphism in cephalofacial traits among the population in Taiwan, China, has not been comprehensively understood yet. In this study, we selected 13 cephalometric dimensions to calculate the sexual dimorphism index (I_sd) for 43 populations in Taiwan, China, and subsequently compared them with 131 Chinese mainland populations. Among these 43 populations, the Gaoshan ethnic group included 7 Ami populations, 11 Atayal populations, 3 Bunun populations, 7 Paiwan populations, 1 Panapanayan population, 2 Rukai populations, 1 Tsou population, and 9 Pingpu populations, while the Han ethnic group comprised 1 Minnan population and 1 Waisheng population. This study further investigated the correlations between the I_sd and sexual stature dimorphism index, as well as geographical and climatic factors. The results revealed a substantial range of variability in the I_sd for cephalofacial traits among residents in Taiwan, China. Among the Gaoshan populations, nasal width, nasal height, morphological facial height, bigonial breadth, and physiognomic ear breadth exhibited higher sexual dimorphism (6%≤I_sd<9%), physiognomic ear length, physiognomic facial height, mouth breadth, face breadth, head length, and auricular height exhibited moderate sexual dimorphism (3%≤I_sd<6%), and minimum frontal breadth and interocular breadth displayed lower sexual dimorphism (0<I_sd< 3%). In addition, the I_sd of all cephalofacial traits among residents in Taiwan, China, ranged from 4% to 6%. Notably, the Ami, Atayal, Bunun, and Tsou populations demonstrated higher sexual dimorphism in all cephalofacial traits compared to the Panapanayan and Waisheng populations. Cluster analysis showed that the Ami, Atayal, Bunun, Paiwan, and Pingpu populations from the Kaohsiung area clustered together preferentially. Compared with other ethnic groups, the I_sd of all cephalofacial traits of the Gaoshan populations was closely similar to those of the Northern Han and ethnic groups but differed significantly from those of the Southern Han and ethnic groups. Additionally, the I_sdfor certain cephalofacial traits showed significant linear correlations with the sexual stature dimorphism index and geographical-climatic factors. The I_sd for head length, auricular height, face breadth, bigonial breadth, and mouth breadth showed weak positive linear correlations with the sexual stature dimorphism index. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that physiognomic ear breadth had stronger associations with the annual mean relative humidity and annual sunshine time, while bigonial breadth and mouth breadth had more robust relationships with broader environmental conditions. The distribution of sexual dimorphism in cephalofacial traits among residents in Taiwan, China, is related to the combined effects of sexual selection and geo-climatic environments. This study is of great significance for understanding the sexual dimorphism of physical traits among Chinese populations and their related influencing factors.

Key words: Taiwan, China, cephalofacial features, sexual dimorphism, sexual selection, environmental factors

CLC Number:

Q984

DU Baopu, DU Jing. Sexual dimorphism of cephalofacial dimensions of the population in Taiwan, China[J]. Acta Anthropologica Sinica, 2026, 45(02): 333-344.

Figures/Tables 5

References 45

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测量指标Measurements	总体Total		城市汉族Urban Han		乡村汉族Rural Han		r	P	城市汉族 vs. 乡村汉族Urban Han vs. Rural Han
测量指标Measurements		σ		σ		σ	r	P	城市汉族 vs. 乡村汉族Urban Han vs. Rural Han
头长L_h	4.79%	0.0082	4.97%	0.0084	4.61%	0.0076	0.141	0.275	0.077
头宽b_h	4.50%	0.0134	4.92%	0.0163	4.09%	0.0081	0.187	0.146	0.003
耳上头高h_a	4.12%	0.0173	3.81%	0.0172	4.42%	0.0172	-0.036	0.784	0.281
额最小宽b_mf	2.88%	0.0224	3.10%	0.0222	2.66%	0.0228	0.151	0.242	0.166
面宽b_f	5.17%	0.0127	5.41%	0.0121	4.93%	0.0130	0.135	0.295	0.101
容貌面高h_p	5.34%	0.0121	5.51%	0.0130	5.18%	0.0111	0.120	0.352	0.402
形态面高h_m	6.74%	0.0118	6.85%	0.0128	6.63%	0.0110	-0.014	0.915	0.465
下颌角间宽b_b	5.54%	0.0164	5.83%	0.0190	5.25%	0.0129	0.242	0.058	0.165
鼻高h_n	7.11%	0.0250	7.13%	0.0210	7.09%	0.0287	0.021	0.871	0.955
鼻宽b_n	8.09%	0.0183	8.42%	0.0217	7.76%	0.0137	0.198	0.123	0.314
眼内角间宽b_i	2.72%	0.0156	2.85%	0.0130	2.58%	0.0179	0.051	0.693	0.554
口裂宽b_m	5.48%	0.0167	5.23%	0.0190	5.73%	0.0138	-0.077	0.553	0.113
容貌耳长L_p	6.26%	0.0140	6.20%	0.0163	6.32%	0.0115	0.012	0.928	0.949
容貌耳宽b_p	4.18%	0.0307	4.33%	0.0327	4.04%	0.0290	0.124	0.335	0.673
头围C_h	3.13%	0.0058	3.32%	0.0049	2.93%	0.0061	0.256	0.045	0.007

测量指标Measurements	总体Total		城市汉族Urban Han		乡村汉族Rural Han		r	P	城市汉族 vs. 乡村汉族Urban Han vs. Rural Han
测量指标Measurements		σ		σ		σ	r	P	城市汉族 vs. 乡村汉族Urban Han vs. Rural Han
头长L_h	4.79%	0.0082	4.97%	0.0084	4.61%	0.0076	0.141	0.275	0.077
头宽b_h	4.50%	0.0134	4.92%	0.0163	4.09%	0.0081	0.187	0.146	0.003
耳上头高h_a	4.12%	0.0173	3.81%	0.0172	4.42%	0.0172	-0.036	0.784	0.281
额最小宽b_mf	2.88%	0.0224	3.10%	0.0222	2.66%	0.0228	0.151	0.242	0.166
面宽b_f	5.17%	0.0127	5.41%	0.0121	4.93%	0.0130	0.135	0.295	0.101
容貌面高h_p	5.34%	0.0121	5.51%	0.0130	5.18%	0.0111	0.120	0.352	0.402
形态面高h_m	6.74%	0.0118	6.85%	0.0128	6.63%	0.0110	-0.014	0.915	0.465
下颌角间宽b_b	5.54%	0.0164	5.83%	0.0190	5.25%	0.0129	0.242	0.058	0.165
鼻高h_n	7.11%	0.0250	7.13%	0.0210	7.09%	0.0287	0.021	0.871	0.955
鼻宽b_n	8.09%	0.0183	8.42%	0.0217	7.76%	0.0137	0.198	0.123	0.314
眼内角间宽b_i	2.72%	0.0156	2.85%	0.0130	2.58%	0.0179	0.051	0.693	0.554
口裂宽b_m	5.48%	0.0167	5.23%	0.0190	5.73%	0.0138	-0.077	0.553	0.113
容貌耳长L_p	6.26%	0.0140	6.20%	0.0163	6.32%	0.0115	0.012	0.928	0.949
容貌耳宽b_p	4.18%	0.0307	4.33%	0.0327	4.04%	0.0290	0.124	0.335	0.673
头围C_h	3.13%	0.0058	3.32%	0.0049	2.93%	0.0061	0.256	0.045	0.007

测量指标Measurements	高山族Gaoshan									汉族Han
测量指标Measurements	总计 Total (n=41)	阿美人 Ami (n=7)	泰雅人 Atayal (n=11)	布农人 Bunun (n=3)	排湾人 Paiwan (n=7)	卑南人 Puyuma (n=1)	鲁凯人 Rukai (n=2)	邹人 Tsou (n=1)	平埔人 Pingpu (n=9)	总计 Total (n=2)	闽南人 Minnan (n=1)	外省人 Waisheng (n=1)
头长L_h	4.31%	5.16%	4.04%	4.37%	4.13%	3.29%	3.21%	2.96%	4.58%	4.53%	4.24%	4.81%
耳上头高h_a	3.69%	3.66%	3.76%	4.06%	3.14%	2.84%	2.58%	3.41%	4.29%	4.72%	5.19%	4.25%
额最小宽b_mf	2.64%	2.98%	2.85%	2.15%	1.85%	2.11%	5.00%	2.85%	2.39%	2.15%	2.15%	2.15%
面宽b_f	5.34%	5.23%	5.50%	5.94%	4.92%	4.87%	5.39%	5.51%	5.37%	5.07%	6.04%	4.10%
容貌面高h_p	5.61%	5.36%	7.72%	5.04%	5.00%	3.23%	3.85%	5.89%	4.51%	2.94%	4.44%	1.44%
形态面高h_m	7.58%	7.69%	7.47%	6.80%	6.70%	6.60%	6.41%	7.37%	8.97%	6.72%	7.02%	6.43%
下颌角间宽b_b	6.33%	8.36%	6.27%	7.15%	5.08%	4.82%	4.50%	6.20%	6.12%	4.25%	5.36%	3.14%
鼻高h_n	8.42%	8.59%	8.40%	7.78%	7.63%	6.78%	6.31%	10.67%	9.57%	7.24%	6.96%	7.51%
鼻宽b_n	8.96%	8.43%	9.65%	9.84%	8.72%	7.85%	8.83%	13.42%	8.09%	7.80%	8.33%	7.27%
眼内角间宽b_i	2.35%	2.49%	2.89%	2.57%	0.69%	1.22%	2.98%	1.86%	2.82%	1.50%	3.14%	-0.14%
口裂宽b_m	5.49%	6.77%	5.78%	5.99%	4.46%	2.53%	6.77%	6.01%	4.77%	7.17%	6.82%	7.53%
容貌耳长L_p	5.69%	7.04%	5.96%	6.47%	5.72%	4.62%	5.81%	3.24%	4.39%	2.65%	4.06%	1.23%
容貌耳宽b_p	6.17%	4.61%	5.29%	6.78%	8.24%	8.00%	6.29%	5.29%	6.50%	6.37%	7.81%	4.92%
整体头面部性状WCT	5.59%	5.87%	5.81%	5.76%	5.13%	4.52%	5.23%	5.74%	5.58%	4.86%	5.50%	4.22%

测量指标Measurements	高山族Gaoshan									汉族Han
测量指标Measurements	总计 Total (n=41)	阿美人 Ami (n=7)	泰雅人 Atayal (n=11)	布农人 Bunun (n=3)	排湾人 Paiwan (n=7)	卑南人 Puyuma (n=1)	鲁凯人 Rukai (n=2)	邹人 Tsou (n=1)	平埔人 Pingpu (n=9)	总计 Total (n=2)	闽南人 Minnan (n=1)	外省人 Waisheng (n=1)
头长L_h	4.31%	5.16%	4.04%	4.37%	4.13%	3.29%	3.21%	2.96%	4.58%	4.53%	4.24%	4.81%
耳上头高h_a	3.69%	3.66%	3.76%	4.06%	3.14%	2.84%	2.58%	3.41%	4.29%	4.72%	5.19%	4.25%
额最小宽b_mf	2.64%	2.98%	2.85%	2.15%	1.85%	2.11%	5.00%	2.85%	2.39%	2.15%	2.15%	2.15%
面宽b_f	5.34%	5.23%	5.50%	5.94%	4.92%	4.87%	5.39%	5.51%	5.37%	5.07%	6.04%	4.10%
容貌面高h_p	5.61%	5.36%	7.72%	5.04%	5.00%	3.23%	3.85%	5.89%	4.51%	2.94%	4.44%	1.44%
形态面高h_m	7.58%	7.69%	7.47%	6.80%	6.70%	6.60%	6.41%	7.37%	8.97%	6.72%	7.02%	6.43%
下颌角间宽b_b	6.33%	8.36%	6.27%	7.15%	5.08%	4.82%	4.50%	6.20%	6.12%	4.25%	5.36%	3.14%
鼻高h_n	8.42%	8.59%	8.40%	7.78%	7.63%	6.78%	6.31%	10.67%	9.57%	7.24%	6.96%	7.51%
鼻宽b_n	8.96%	8.43%	9.65%	9.84%	8.72%	7.85%	8.83%	13.42%	8.09%	7.80%	8.33%	7.27%
眼内角间宽b_i	2.35%	2.49%	2.89%	2.57%	0.69%	1.22%	2.98%	1.86%	2.82%	1.50%	3.14%	-0.14%
口裂宽b_m	5.49%	6.77%	5.78%	5.99%	4.46%	2.53%	6.77%	6.01%	4.77%	7.17%	6.82%	7.53%
容貌耳长L_p	5.69%	7.04%	5.96%	6.47%	5.72%	4.62%	5.81%	3.24%	4.39%	2.65%	4.06%	1.23%
容貌耳宽b_p	6.17%	4.61%	5.29%	6.78%	8.24%	8.00%	6.29%	5.29%	6.50%	6.37%	7.81%	4.92%
整体头面部性状WCT	5.59%	5.87%	5.81%	5.76%	5.13%	4.52%	5.23%	5.74%	5.58%	4.86%	5.50%	4.22%

测量指标Measurements	与北方汉族对比N-Han			与南方汉族对比S-Han			与北方少数民族对比N-Min			与南方少数民族对比S-Min
测量指标Measurements		σ	P		σ	P		σ	P		σ	P
头长L_h	4.60%	0.0097	0.192	4.89%	0.0070	0.002	5.03%	0.0139	0.030	4.69%	0.0091	0.097
耳上头高h_a	4.47%	0.0232	0.148	3.94%	0.0127	0.328	3.63%	0.0167	0.883	3.57%	0.0176	0.715
额最小宽b_mf	3.81%	0.0338	0.052	2.36%	0.0094	0.250	3.76%	0.0211	0.007	2.83%	0.0146	0.241
面宽b_f	5.01%	0.0189	0.516	5.28%	0.0077	0.704	5.38%	0.0128	0.891	5.01%	0.0108	0.101
容貌面高h_p	5.30%	0.0135	0.428	5.23%	0.0127	0.778	5.81%	0.0170	0.364	5.02%	0.0149	0.372
形态面高h_m	6.63%	0.0139	0.010	6.80%	0.0104	0.005	7.18%	0.0232	0.273	6.49%	0.0151	<0.001
下颌角间宽b_b	5.66%	0.0165	0.111	5.43%	0.0163	0.008	5.53%	0.0182	0.069	5.00%	0.0172	0.001
鼻高h_n	6.42%	0.0307	0.002	7.45%	0.0200	0.014	8.07%	0.0276	0.583	6.64%	0.0209	<0.001
鼻宽b_n	8.90%	0.0250	0.818	7.64%	0.0110	<0.001	9.21%	0.0285	0.885	8.41%	0.0161	0.070
眼内角间宽b_i	3.26%	0.0110	0.012	2.39%	0.0169	0.403	2.07%	0.0176	0.502	3.21%	0.0122	0.003
口裂宽b_m	6.34%	0.0187	0.110	5.10%	0.0138	0.195	6.64%	0.0237	0.046	5.17%	0.0169	0.176
容貌耳长L_p	6.45%	0.0186	0.080	5.94%	0.0136	0.199	4.80%	0.0210	0.055	5.38%	0.0208	0.427
容貌耳宽b_p	5.35%	0.0412	0.386	3.66%	0.0214	<0.001	5.85%	0.0246	0.573	4.05%	0.0259	<0.001
整体头面部性状 WCT	5.61%	0.0646	0.911	5.11%	0.0479	<0.001	5.62%	0.1089	0.419	5.05%	0.0616	<0.001