A commentary on the use of multivariate statistical methods in anthropometric research

Abstract

A critical review of the increasing emphasis being placed on the use of multivariate statistical methods in anthropometric research is given. Particular attention is paid to multivariate techniques for testing hypotheses concerning mean vectors, principal components analysis and the use of discriminant functions, but some more general comments about the proper role of statistics in research are included. It is argued that multivariate techniques often do not allow the effective description and communication of the informational content of a body of data and that much additional research — both from the standpoint of theory and from the standpoint of practice — must be done before multivariate analysis can fulfill the promise it holds for the physical anthropologist.