Anthropometric Study of the Cephalic Index of the Igbos of the South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

The human race is most times regarded as an intellectual unit made up of different races, and from the anthropologists’ viewpoint the most realistic set of bones most often measured for purposes of racial classification are those of the head. The aim of the present work was to determine some relevant cephallic parameters, particularly in relation to sex and to study the distribution of basic head types among the Igbo indigenes of Nigeria. The Igbo population was recruited from Abia, Anambra, Imo, Enugu, and Ebonyi states, which are the five states of Nigeria where the Igbo ethnic group is dominant. In this cross-sectional extensive study, a total number of three thousand subjects within age range of 7-40 years old were measured (male = 1500 and female = 1500). Six hundred was selected from each of the five states to make up the 3000 subjects. The sample size from each state comprised of 100 males and 100 females for each group comprising of: Adults (26-45 years), Young adults (16-25 years), Children (7-15 years). Head length and head breadth were measured to calculate the cephalic index. Statistically significant differences between two treated groups, according to sex, were found almost in the measured variables. Such proportional difference did influence cephalic index. According to the cephalic index, male values revealed that mesocephalic type were dominant in children and adults while brachycephalic type was dominant in young adults. In females the dominant head type is byachycephally in all age groups. Comparing previous records of the female cephalic index with recent work proves tendency towards "brachycephalisation". The data collected will be of utmost importance in forensic medicine, anthropology and in genetics.