About the Book Anthropometric study on the Indian subcontinent started in the year 1868. But systematic studies in India began in last decade of the nineteenth century. The present volume is a maiden attempt on the morphological variation among the Bhil and the Garasia of South Rajasthan. The first chapter of the book deals with the land, people and objectives of the study. The second chapter is devoted to describing the early history of anthropometric study, physical anthropological studies in Rajas- than and review of physical anthropological studies among the Bhil and the Garasia. The subsequent chapters deal with the materials and methods, morphological traits, regional variation, comparative study and findings. The book will be a useful addition to the physical anthropologist and research scholars.
About the Author Dr. M. Haque: M. Sc... Ph. D. attached to the Anthropological Survey of India, Kolkata. He joined the organisation in 1977 and worked in various National and regional projects. In connection with such research projects he has carried out field investigation in rural, urban and tribal belt of West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Tripura, Sikkim, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Raja- sthan, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He has published about 40 anthropological research papers and author of two books. He is the member of the learned societies like Indian Anthropological Association, Indian Anthropological Society, Indian Institute of Bio-Social Research and Development, Indian Sc- ience Congress Association, Indian Society of Human Genetics, Ethno- graphic and Folk Culture Society, Sarat Chandra Roy Institute of Anthropological Studies and Society for Anthropological and Archaeological Studies. He has contributed a lot to the physical anthropology.
Foreword Dr. M. Haque in the volume The Bhil and the Garasia of south Rajasthan: an anthropometric study has studied two well- known and important tribes of Rajasthan. The Bhils are the largest tribe in India and have been well studied from many aspects. However, there has been no detailed anthropometric study on them. Dr. Haque has tried to fill the lacunae with this study.
Preface There is not enough data available on detailed anthropometry of the tribes of Rajasthan. The present study on the Bhil and the of South Rajasthan is an attempt for a comparative study of their physical features.
The author is highly indebted to the Director, Anthropo- logical Survey of India, Calcutta who approved the proposal of and allowed to utilise the data for the Ph.D. disser- tation. The author expresses his sincere gratitude to Prof. P. Dash Sharma, Department of Anthropology, Ranchi Univer- sity, for his supervision, help, guidance and suggestion in each and every step of work.
Introduction Homosapiens, living in different geographical region of the world differs both apparently and relatively in various physical features to a greater and lesser extent. Physical anthropologists have devised a number of measurements for describing the morphology of man in order to study the different human population group in micro and macro level. This assessment is considered as a typological approach, even then it is still a powerful way to describe the variation within and between the groups. A project of the Anthropological Survey of India reveals that there are 4635 communities in India. They have differences and commonness both in physical characteristics and cultural traits. To have the morphological information of different communities having different background, living in different ecozones, the anthropological measurements have been used by the scholars throughout the world.
Book's Contents and Sample Pages
