Physical characteristics of Chinese Hakka.

Using standard and internationally validated methods, 86 anthropologic characteristics were determined in 650 male (305 from urban areas and 345 from rural areas) and 704 female (331 from urban areas, 373 from rural areas) Chinese Hakka adults living in Guangdong and Jiangxi. The data were used to calculate 24 anthropologic indices, which were analyzed statistically. The physical characteristics of Hakka subjects were analyzed and compared with reference ethnic data. There were four main findings of this study. First, a small proportion of Hakka adults had an eye fold on the upper eyelid, but a large proportion had a mongoloid fold. The eye slits were narrow in most adults, had a medium nasal root height and straight bridges, and most of the external angles were prominent. The nasal base was upturned in most men. The distributions of the three types of nasal base in women were similar. The proportions of subjects with middle and high alae nasi heights were high and similar. Males with a maximum nostril diameter were mostly classified as transverse and oblique, while many women were classified as transverse and had relatively wide alae nasi. The round lobe type was the most common. Upper lip skin height was mostly classified as medium. Lips were classified as thin. The hair was black, eyes were brown, and the skin was yellowish. Second, the head length was long in male Hakka. The minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, lip height, and interocular breadth were similar to those of North-Asian populations. Meanwhile, head breadth, morphological facial height, nose breadth, mouth breadth, and nose height were similar to those of South-Asian populations. Head length was long in female Hakka. The minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, lip height, and interocular breadth were similar to those of North-Asian populations. Head breadth, nose breadth, and mouth breadth were similar to those of South-Asian populations. Third, the stature of male and female Hakka in urban and rural areas was classified as medium. The proportions of male and female Hakka classified as mesocephaly (length-breadth index of the head), hypsicephalic type, metriocephalic type (breadth-height index of the head) mesorrhiny, long trunk, subbrachyskelic type, broad shoulder breadth, and narrow distance between iliac crests were higher than those of other types. Finally, principal component analyses showed that the physical characteristics of Hakka were between those of South-Asian and North-Asian ethnic populations, but were generally closer to those of North-Asian populations in China.

[Age variations of head-face morphological traits of Hakka in Guangdong province].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the age variations of head-face morphological traits of Hakka in Guangdong Province. METHODS: Thirty-eight physical indices of head and face of 671 Hakka adults (151 urban males, 181 urban females, 162 rural males and 177 rural females) from Meizhou city of Guangdong were investigated. Twelve physical indices of head and face were calculated and counted its indices distributions. The age changes of morphological traits of head and face were analyzed. RESULTS: With the age growing, the rate of eyefold of the upper eyelid was increased, and the Mongoloid fold decreased, the direction of eyeslits tended to level, nasal root height dropped, the zygomatic projection was more projected, the eye color turned to lighter, the upper red lips became thinner; medium-sized facial height, nasal height, upper lip skin height, physiognomic ear length, physiognomic ear breadth and breadth of alae nasi were decreased. The index of mouth breadth, morphological facial skin fold were positively correlated with the age. The index of minimum frontal breadth, face breadth, bigonial diameter, interocular breadth, external biocular breadth, lip height, thickness of lips and horizontal head circumference were negatively correlated with the age. With the age growing, morphological facial index and vertical cephalo-facial index was ascending. Moreover, length-height index of head, transverse frontoparietal index, zygomatico-frontal index and lip index were declining. CONCLUSION: With the age growing, the head and face measurements, physical indices and the proportion of observed indices have changed in Hakka in Guangdong province.