Does obstetric protection apply to small‐bodied females?: A comparison between small‐bodied Jomon foragers and large‐bodied Yayoi agriculturalists in the prehistoric Japanese archipelago

Objectives This study examined the relationship between maternal pelvic and body size in the transition from the Middle‐Final Jomon period (c. 5000–3000 BC) to the Middle Yayoi period (c. 400~200 BC to around AD 1) in Japan. Methods Eight measurements, including the left hip bone, articulated pelvis, and femur, were taken from Jomon (females: 37, males: 26) and Yayoi skeletal remains (females: 32, males: 29). Results A statistically significant decrease in the anterior diameter of the true pelvic inlet was demonstrated in females from the Jomon to the Yayoi period, but not in males. While significant increases in stature from the Jomon to the Yayoi period were found in both males and females, no significant changes in body mass were seen. The correlation coefficients between true and false pelvic measurements (maximum pelvic height and maximum pelvic breadth) and body size (stature and body mass) suggested few significant relationships between true and false pelvic measurements or body size among the samples, but no significant correlations in small‐bodied Jomon females. Results of principal component analysis using the log‐size and log‐shape variables suggested that the true pelvic size in Jomon and Yayoi females was not correlated with their general pelvic or body size, and there were correlations between sexually dimorphic aspects of true pelvis shape and either the false pelvis or body size in males but not females. Conclusions These results suggest that the obstetrical dimensions in small‐bodied Jomon females were maintained for obstetric needs.