An Anthropometric Study of the Head and Face in Uygurs of Xinjiang, China

Abstract

Stature and four cephalometric measurements (head lengh, head breadth, bizygomatic diameter, bigonial diameter) were examined from samples of 461 Uygur in Xinjiang, China. Comparisons of head and facial morphology with geographically adjacent tribes were carried out to characterize Uygur population and to understand racial hybridity. Most of Uygur were hyperbrachycephalic as expressed by cephalic index and had larger lateral facial and smaller antero-posterior dimensions than Western Caucasians. The values of metric traits showed differences between East and West among Uygur populations. The results support the genetic diversity that seems to be caused by genetic hybridity and unequal growth between East and West in Uygur.