372 BOOK REVIEWS

ing is shown to be an important expression of and reinforcement of kin ties and ameli- orates fragmenting tendencies due to dom- inance in rhesus (Lindberg) and Japanese macaques (Oki and Maeda).

The roles of learning and maturation in vocalization (Kawabe) and the useful- ness of peer-rearing techniques (Asami) are examined. Asami provides comparative data with similar work done on rhesus by Harlow and his associates. The central theme of the volume is apparent in Rosen- blum’s paper which relates species varia- tion in grouping patterns and aggressive- ness to the level of maternal control of infant behavior, and the subsequent de- velopment of infant independence. Jensen et al. explore the role of maternal control in the intensity and duration of the mother- infant bond. The interrelation of field and laboratory studies of infant behavior is the topic of Itiogawa’s paper.

In the final chapter Oppenheimer de- scribes the communicative repertoire of free-ranging Cebus. Detailed descriptions like this are imperative for comparative work. Yagi and Furusaka present a com- parative study of macaque learning set formation and cross-model learning. Azuma documents in new detail the acquisition and spread of new food habits in a troop of Japanese macaques, concluding that social learning requires close social bonds and that young learn new behaviors more quickly than do adults.

Terminology is a major problem in sev- eral articles. Behavior types are named without being operationally defined (e.g. “peevishness,” “play-Like contact”). With- out careful operational definitions of such terms, the reader cannot make compari- sons with other data. The problem is not new to primate studies. In some papers (e.g. Oki and Maeda) observed behavior frequencies are not compared to the chance probability of their occurrence in discus- sions of quantitative differences in pat- terns. Also some figures are unclear or poorly labelled. Consequently, the overall quality is rather uneven. Finally, due to long publication lag much of the data has since been published more fully elsewhere.

Despite these problems, the volume is of interest to anyone concerned with com- parative research on primate behavior. The volume is a must for any institutional

library where primate studies are under- taken. It might also be useful as supple- mental reading in classes in primatology and provides material for seminar discus- sions of both topical and methodological problems.

LEANNE T. NASH Arizona State University

GENETIC VARIATION IN BRITAIN. Edited by D. F. Roberts and E. Sunderland. vii + 306 pp., figures, tables, bibliog- raphy, index. (Symposia of the Society for the Study of Human Biology, vol. 12.) Taylor & Francis, LondodBarnes & Noble, New York. $16.50 (cloth).

The book under review is a conglomer- ation of 22 research articles with an intro- duction by one of the editors. The articles are arranged into three sections: Genetic Demography, Monofactorial Genetic Traits, and Characters of Complex Inheritance. The introductory essay explores the sources of genes in the population of Britain, and the genetic implications of the major events in the peopling of the Islands.

Section One provides information on mar- riage movements, frequencies of marriages, isonymous marriages, historical back- ground of some of the areas and the pop- ulational structure of particular areas like Northumberland, and some urban and rural contrasts. Although all the essays are in- dependent of one another, they reflect cer- tain demographic trends, e.g., the city and rural populations tend to marry among themselves but show a downward trend in local endogamy with passage of time; the frequency of endogamy and size of town seem to be directly related; higher frequen- cy of unmarried males in smaller towns than in the larger ones; and a decreasing trend in cousin-marriages with urbaniza- tion.

Section Two covers the major part. Al- most all the papers relate with serological findings; a few include other genetic char- acters like PTC, skin color, ABH secretions, and studies on isoenzymes. The distribu- tion of A and B blood groups indicates a north-south gradient, but different areas, though internally homogeneous, vary in

BOOK REVIEWS 373

their frequencies from neighboring areas - a fact which seems to be a populational trend dependent upon different factors in major populations of the world. The Irish do not seem to have real differences from other European populations (p. 167) ex- cept the marked differences in polymor- phisms of ABO, Duffy, phosphoglucomutase and serum alkaline phosphates, which may be local in origin as in the Orkney Islands (p. 225). There seems to be a significant variation in ABH secretor frequencies among different parts of the British Isles.

The last section is the smallest with three papers on skin color, one on dermato- glyphic variations, and another on some biological variables in the context of social class. Skin pigmentation suggests local variations, and in comparison to other parts of the United Kingdom and north- western Europe also. A north-south gradient from lighter to darker pigmentation falls in the pattern of ABO distribution. Some biological variables like cleft-chin, hair- line, and left-handedness suggest associa- tion with social class differences. In my opinion, this may also be due to social and sexual selection in past generations. Quan- titative and qualitative dermatoglyphic traits suggest a strong clinal pattern, more striking in rural males than in fe- males, and the population is highly hetero- geneous with geographical variations. The utility of discriminant analysis in dealing with quantitative dermatoglyphic traits is in tentative agreement with my unpublished data from Indian castes.

The individual papers in this volume pile up a wealth of information on the genetic nature of the population in Britain, though on a piece-meal basis. The authors could have utilized relevant information emerging from discussions and criticisms in the symposia, but this opportunity appears to have been missed except in two cases where polymorphism in the Orkney Islands and skin color of the Sikhs is discussed.

If the editors had included at the end of each paper the relevant comments of the participants, and the final comments from the individual authors, if necessary, the purpose of the symposium would have been well served.

The title of the book, the introduction by one of the editors, a few questions, (is there any trace of former differences in the

descendants of migrants; have they mixed as to become homogeneous; to what extent do the gene differences still exist; if not, are there differences in highly heritable phenotypic characters only; and if so, why?) and a few remarks on the cover-flap raise some hopes for a comprehensive treat- ment of data on genetic variations. As one proceeds through the pages, some relevant information in this regard keeps coming up in bits and pieces, but the hope for sys- tematic answers, howsoever tentative, is belied because the book comes to an abrupt end. One would normally expect that the editors would synthesize the information and present a unified picture of genetic variation in Britain. The conspicuous ab- sence of such a synthesis leaves the reader lost in a jungle of information; it gives a feeling as if one has been reading not a book but papers scattered over a dozen journals. Hence, the impact of the book is lost.

A few other editorial problems appear. Although the book is organized into three sections as shown on the contents page, this division is not indicated in the main body of text. It is also suprising to note that in reporting the ABO gene frequencies (p. 241), the uniform standard notations are not used; a printing error on page 240, however, is also minor. But certainly these drawbacks could have been removed with little effort.

However, the publication compiles some latest information with regard to genetic traits in Britain in a single handy volume, and for this reason it is a welcome addition to our knowledge. It will definitely save some time for all those who might be searching for such data.

RIPUDAMAN SINGH University of Windsor

FORM AND PATTERN IN HUMAN EVOLU- TION: SOME MATHEMATICAL, PHYSICAL, AND ENGINEERING APPROACHES. ix + 218 pp., figures, tables, bibliography, index. 1973. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. $12.50 (cloth).

The relationship between structure and function as a conceptual framework for