Osteometric variation in the Inuit second metacarpal: a test of Allen's Rule

Bergmann's and Allen's Rules predict a relationship between climate and morphology as a thermoregulatory adaptation. These ecogeographic principles predict/explain change in the ratio of body surface area to body mass in hot and cold climates. With regard to Allen's Rule we would expect short and relatively broad limb proportions. Such adaptation should be observable in skeletal architecture. This paper provides a test of Allen's Rule using osteometric data for the second metacarpal from the Sadlermiut of Southampton Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Following adjustment for body size, ANOVA by sample and sex shows the Sadlermiut second metacarpal to be shorter, wider at the base and deeper at the distal metacarpophalangeal joint, in comparison to an historic sample of European settlers. This pattern of difference suggests an Inuit hand with a thermally adapted morphology, viz. a large mass relative to surface area. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.