Dimensionen von Alter und Geschlecht in der Ontogenese des Menschen - : Archäologische Implikationen

The sexual and individual differentiation of a human being is referred to as ontogenesis. This term incorporates all processes in the development of the individual's form and function during maturation and ends, accordingto current thinking, at death. The biological age indicates the stage of development reached by an individual. It corresponds to the average chronological age at which the specific developmental stage of the individual is reached in a population. The criteria for biological age can be divided into distinct stages. The pre-natal stage with its mainly species-specific developmental steps is the subject of anatomy, the last period of life a concern of gerontology. The developmental processes seem to be driven by a sequence of gene activations that occur according to a pre-determined developmental plan. The genetically regulated timing of these events is particularly evident in the criteria of the biological ageing process (e. g. in ossification). The developmental processes in childhood and youth are influenced by (general) genetic, sex-specific and environmental factors. The height and weight of an individual, for instance, depend on nutrition, illnesses suffered, climatic conditions, physical activity level and psychological factors. An accelerated development can become manifest individually, group-specifically or secularly. Knowledge of the dimensions of age and sex in human ontogenesis must be taken into account if we go beyond developmental anthropology to deal with this subject matter in palaeoanthropology and prehistoric anthropology.