Introduction

1What future for biological anthropology ?

2In answering this question we need to consider three others :

• How can biological anthropology be defined ? What are the outlines of the research fields concerned ?
• What scientific interest and sociological importance can biological anthropology generate for its future development ?
• Given the current state of the discipline, what are the challenges and prospects ?

3The first question concerns the specificity of biological anthropology which, by nature, is interdisciplinary. This “biological human science” has always been close to neighboring biomedical or biocultural fields of research. It has often adopted their methodologies and perspectives, sometimes at the risk of merging with them. In the past, biological anthropology also generated the worst classifactory and racist discourse, which tainted its social representation. This ambiguous and outdated image is now fading, as anthropologists increasingly focus on new problematics concerning biology and human ecology. But biological anthropology is without a doubt suffering from a thematic dispersion, which makes its strength and richness on the one hand, but also its weakness because of its interdisciplinary identification, on the other.

4And yet, biological anthropology does have a specific scientific approach compassing the multiplicity of its fields of intervention. The common ground for all these anthropologists, whether they are studying past or present populations, is the fact of sharing the same paradigm : that of space and time, in other words, of diversity and human evolution. In this singular perspective, and whatever the research topic, humans are always considered as biological beings, interacting and evolving with their physical, cultural and social environment.

5The second question concerns the importance of the development of this discipline, for neighboring scientific fields as much as for society’s demand in general.

6In order to develop, biological anthropology needs to rely on one of its essential characteristics : interdisciplinarity. The holistic nature of biological anthropology is in itself an asset for scientific knowledge in general. In an era when the fragmentation of knowledge and the super-specialization of research are starting to reach their own limits of efficiency, the development of a field that is naturally open to all the aspects of human biological diversity is particularly important on a conceptual level, but also on the level of research production. The singular, naturally pluridisciplinary approach of biological anthropology undoubtedly gives neighboring areas of research (biological, medical, ecological) a specific perspective on common objects of study.

7Furthermore, society’s demand concerning biological anthropology is strong. Questions on the biological evolution of our species, its adaptation to fast-changing lifestyles and diet, the influence of migrations on the evolution of gene flows, the possible morphological or physiological modifications of the human body in a close or distant future, all fall into the field of anthropology.

8Understanding the complexity of the biological processes involved in the transformation of our species, in relation to a fast-changing milieu, is also the aim of our discipline.

9Lastly, what are the prospects of biological anthropology, considering its scientific and institutional environment ?

10It is clear that in France this discipline is experiencing a real crisis in terms of material and human resources. We are presently unable to efficiently meet the scientific challenges mentioned above. In the very short term, biological anthropology could even disappear from the French research scene because, if nothing is done, the number of researchers employed will fall below the survival threshold of any species, in just a few years. This situation is not inevitable, since in other countries, in the English-speaking world and Italy, for example, the discipline shows no sign of decline.

11Of course, the investments that would need to be made are largely dependant on the choices made in the scientific policies of the institutions and funding bodies that structure and fund research. Scientists should nonetheless clearly formulate their priorities, propose structuring actions to the different research actors, and organize international networks or working groups to promote and carry initiatives in this discipline. For each proposed topic, we also need to try to broaden the current field of investigation, to propose paths for future exploration, to compare research topics, in short, to open up. The singularity of biological anthropology, compared to related disciplines, is that it introduces the factor of time as a fundamental element in research problematics. This should be a starting point for new ideas and future national and international collaborations.

12This collective work stems from the extreme urgency to define the outlines, the challenges, and the future of this area now. It is the continuation of ongoing reflection that started during a prospective conference organized around this theme in April 20061. There, specialists on the different research areas of the biological anthropology of contemporary populations were able to compare their points of view, to propose directions for research, and to evaluate the discipline’s capacities for evolution. The richness of their contributions attests to a vitality and dynamism that portend a positive and fruitful future.

13The thematic syntheses presented here are a reflection of this flourishing collective work. In addition to offering an overview of the biological anthropology of contemporary populations, they aim at providing a starting point to reflection, and to research avenues that are still to be explored in depth.

14The different chapters of this book do not simply correspond to the papers delivered orally at the conference. They are the result of synthetic reflection, and of the collective written input of the participants on each topic. We wish to thank all the authors for their difficult and unusual work that will, without a doubt, contribute towards building the future of our discipline, so fundamental to the understanding of the evolution of our species.