This book is a careful integration of the social and biological sciences, drawing on anthropology, biology, human ecology and medicine to provide a comprehensive understanding of how our species adapts to natural and man-made environments. Part I presents techniques to adapt and apply demographic methods to small populations, particularly important for studying non-Western populations. Part II discusses the relationship of medical genetics to human adaptability and patterns of disease in non-Western populations. Part III covers capacity, climatic stress, and nutrition. Part IV presents methods for growth assessment and prediction and addresses the topic of aging. The final section, Part V, presents integrated case studies of human adaptation to high altitude, and patterns of modernization and stress resulting from cultural change.