This thesis is about a forest hunter-gatherer people, the Mbendjele Yaka Pygmies of northern Congo-Brazzaville. The thesis is based on field research carried out between 1994 and 2001. I begin by examining certain key terms used in the thesis and by situating my research within the existing literature. Research methodologies are presented and the fieldwork experience described. I provide an overview of the historical, political and economic context of the research including an outline assessment of the main historical reconstructions of regional history. Conservationist and loggers' models of the forest are juxtaposed with Mbendjele ways of representing landscape and the forest environment. I discuss the significance of the forest in Mbendjele social experience and its role as the ideal environment for social life. I examine the way the Mbendjele classify animals and the cosmological significance of hunting and killing. This theme is continued with a presentation of ekila, a complex set of practices and beliefs that regulate the interactions of people with animals and express a complex relationship between human fertility and the correct handling of prey animals. I continue the analysis of Mbendjele collective representations with a presentation of the activity of massana. The link between children's play and adult rituals implicit in the use of this term is analysed. I then build on this understanding to present an analysis of aspects of two ritual associations, Ejengi and Ngoku, central to men's and women's power in society. The thesis is brought to a close by moving beyond the forest to examine Mbendjele relations with and conceptualisations of outsiders and property rights. New technological developments and financial incentives are increasingly transforming the Mbendjele forest into faunal and floral assets for distribution to international organizations.

Since their discovery Neanderthals were described as having a marked degree of anteroposterior curvature of the femoral shaft. Although initially believed to be pathological, subsequent discoveries of Neanderthal remains made femoral curvature as well as the lateral curvature of the radius to be considered derived Neanderthal features. Femoral curvature has previously been used in racial identification in modern humans but its functional significance is poorly understood. A recent study on Neanderthals and early modern humans found no differences in femoral curvature, but did not consider size-corrected curvature. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to 1) use 3D morphometric landmark and semi-landmark analysis to quantify bone curvature (femur, ulna, radius) in Neanderthals, Upper Palaeolithic and recent modern humans, 2) compare adult bone curvature between these populations, and 3) test hypotheses on the effects of climate, body size, and activity patterns on curvature. Comparisons between and within populations were made using geometric morphometries (3D landmarks) and standard multivariate methods. Comparative material involved all available Neanderthal and Upper Palaeolithic modern human femora, ulnae and radii, archaeological (Mesolithic, Neolithic, Medieval) and recent human populations representing a wide geographical and lifestyle range. The study found that there are significant differences in the anatomy of the femur, ulna and radius between Neanderthals and modern humans. Neanderthals have more curved femora and radii than modern humans. Early modern humans are most similar to recent modern humans in their anatomy. Recent modern human analyses indicate that femoral curvature and forearm curvature are responses to disparate influences. Femoral curvature is a good indicator of activity level and habitual loading of the lower limb. Curvature of the forearm is a consequence of cold adaptation and its purpose is to maintain biomechanical function of the forearm despite its foreshortening.