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A Brief History of the Human Biology Association: 1974-2004

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A Brief History of the Human Biology Association: 1974-2004 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY 17:141–154 (2005) Feature Article A Brief History of the Human Biology Association: 1974–2004 1 1,2 MICHAEL A. LITTLE * AND GARY D. JAMES 1Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York 2Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, State University of New York, Binghamton, New York ABSTRACT Originally incorporated as the Human Biology Council in 1974, the Human Biology Association, as it has been known since 1994, has matured in the intervening 30 years to become a society that represents broadly the interests of human biologists in the U.S. and throughout the world. The purpose of this paper is to trace the development of the Association from its foundation to the present in the context of changes in the organization of the Association and in its By-Laws, officers, committees, and membership; the history of the two journals that served as the Association’s official organs (Human Biology and American Journal of Human Biology); and how the annual meetings have evolved from a modest one-day plenary session to meetings that last more than two days and include a variety of scientific contributions. Highlights of the national meetings include the Raymond Pearl Memorial Lecture, the Franz Boas Distinguished Achievement Award, and the Edward E. Hunt, Jr. Student Prize. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 17:141–154, 2005. # 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Scientific disciplines are shaped by and coa- document an important aspect of the develop- lesce around the professional societies that ment of Human Biology as a discipline. are founded and maintained by the scientists who practice them. Discoveries and the evol- EARLY HISTORY ving content of the disciplines are presented at the annual scientific and business meetings The Human Biology Council was incorpo- of the societies. These meetings are seen by rated in Washington, D.C., on November 19, the society members as an important forum 1974. The Certificate of Amendment signify- for the presentation of research and exchange ing the name change of the society to the of ideas in the discipline and a place for social Human Biology Association was formally contact with colleagues, students, and men- approved 20 years later by the Department tors who share their intellectual and profes- of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs in the sional developmental history. The meetings District of Columbia on December 20, 1994. are a place to see and be seen by the scientists The history of the Human Biology Council/ who move and influence the discipline and a Association (HBC/A) has been tied closely place where contribution to the discipline and with three major journals in the field of scientific excellence are recognized. human biology and at least one other major In addition to holding annual scientific society in this science. Hence, some back- meetings, societies also sponsor professional ground history dating back to 1960 is required journals that publish the research of the dis- to place the HBC/A in its modern context. cipline they represent. These journals are a The Society for the Study of Human primary source of the original findings, the- Biology (SSHB) was founded by Joseph ory, and discoveries that characterize the S. Weiner in 1957 in the United Kingdom. science of the discipline. They are as much a In 1960, at a meeting in Berkeley, Gabriel W. part of the history of a discipline as the socie- Lasker, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, ties that sponsor them. As professional societies mature, they can *Correspondence to: Michael A. Little, Department of lose sight of their beginnings and genealogy, Anthropology, Binghamton University, State University of thus obscuring the development of the disci- New York, Binghamton, New York 13902-6000. plines theyrepresent.Wethereforehaveunder- E-mail: [email protected] Received for publication 5 October 2004; Accepted 17 taken this brief history of the first thirty years November 2004 of the Human Biology Council (later renamed Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience. the Human Biology Association) to recall and wiley.com). DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.20110 ß 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc. 142 M.A. LITTLE AND G.D. JAMES Human Biology,andDerekF.Roberts,who separation. Lasker prepared the original was on a visiting position from the U.K. in the By-Laws of the Council with the advice of the United States, discussed the possibility that organizing committee (Human Biology, the largely British SSHB would identify itself 1976). In 1976, the professional dues were as the affiliate society for the journal (Lasker, $10, which included the cost of the quarterly personal communication). Roberts persuaded journal, Human Biology, and membership in his U.K. colleagues to agree, and within a short the Human Biology Council. The first organi- period, the journal was identified as the official zational meeting of the Human Biology publication of the SSHB. It was further agreed Council was held the day before the meetings that one-quarter of the journal space for pub- of the American Association of Physical lications would be reserved for British publica- Anthropologists in Denver, CO, April 9, 1975. tions; an Associate Editor (James M. Tanner) was named from the U.K.; and three editorial THE BY-LAWS OF THE HBC/A board members were appointed from the U.K. This arrangement continued for about a As noted above, the Human Biology Council decade (1963 through late 1973) until the By-Laws were first published in 1976 (Human publisher of Human Biology, Wayne State Biology, 1976). In 1987, revised By-Laws University Press, raised the subscription rate were published (Human Biology, 1987) that in a time frame that was difficult to meet by incorporated changes that had been approved the British. At the same time, members of the in 1977, 1978, 1982, 1985, and 1986. SSHB had been thinking seriously of estab- Comparison of the two sets of By-Laws, span- lishing their own journal. Thus in 1973, the ning about a decade, indicates that there were SSHB ended its association with Human some minor language changes, but there were Biology, and the SSHB began publishing its substantive changes in Article X: Publications. new official journal, the Annals of Human The changes were in Sections 1, 2, and 3: a Biology (Vol. 1 [1], January 1974). This left new Editor-in-Chief was to be recommended the journal, Human Biology, without a profes- by an ad hoc committee, and the appointment sional society to oversee its publications and as would be made by the President with the an identifiable umbrella organization. approval of the Council; the Publications Gabriel Lasker, who had continued editing Committee would be a new standing commit- Human Biology during the years of association tee (President, Secretary-Treasurer, Editor- with the SSHB, saw the separation from SSHB in-Chief of Human Biology [ex officio], and as an opportunity to form a new society to be four elected members of the Council); and a associated with the journal. Thus, it was in specific term of office (six years) was defined 1973 that the Human Biology Council began for the Editor-in-Chief. to be organized (Lasker, 1974) and envisioned In 1995 (American Journal of Human as a small oversight organization. Preliminary Biology, 1995b), the third publication of the discussions were held at the April 12–14, 1973, By-Laws incorporated additional changes meeting of the American Association of that had been approved in 1988, 1990, 1993, Physical Anthropologists (AAPA) in Dallas, and 1994. There were two major changes and TX, and at the August 1973 pre-congress several minor changes. One fundamental (International Congress of Anthropological change throughout the By-Laws had been and Ethnological Sciences) meeting in instituted by an earlier amendment in 1988; Detroit, MI. Paul T. Baker chaired the organ- that is, the official journal was identified as izing committee (Lasker, 1989), with Gabriel the American Journal of Human Biology.The Lasker playing an important role in this initial second major amendment was the name organization. Both Baker and Lasker had had change of the society (reflected throughout considerable experience in the operation and the By-Laws) from the Human Biology management of a professional society as past Council to the Human Biology Association. presidents of the American Association of In Article IVB: Council of Fellows, this Physical Anthropologists. The statement, name, ‘‘Council of Fellows,’’ to designate the ‘‘Official Publication of the Human Biology membership of Association Fellows was Council,’’ first appeared on the cover of retained. Minor changes included the desig- Human Biology for issue 46(4), December nation of two new membership categories, (1) 1974. The SSHB affiliation had been erro- Fellows Emeriti/Emeritae and (2) spouses of neously placed on the cover of the preceding members, in Article III: Membership; the September issue (No. 3), despite the earlier need for a member of the Nominations and HISTORY OF THE HUMAN BIOLOGY ASSOCIATION 143 Elections Committee who is herself/himself association with the journal Human Biology. nominated for an office to withdraw from TheseissueswereraisedattheHBCbusiness these committee activities during that period meeting on Wednesday, March 23, 1988. After (Article VII: Elections); and, under Article X: considerable debate, those attending the meet- Publications, that it is the Publications ing voted with strong support to begin a new Committee that recommends a new Editor-in- journal and to disaffiliate with Human ChiefoftheJournal,notanadhoccommittee Biology. Some had suggested that the HBC or as stipulated in the 1987 By-Laws. Alan R. Liss, Inc. attempt to buy the rights to Human Biology but this was not successful for THE HISTORY OF THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL a variety of reasons. Johnston served as Editor- in-Chief for the first two issues of Human In 1986 and 1987, discussion among some Biology in 1988 before resigning (Human key members of the HBC centered on the Biology continued to be published without an need for continuity in the editorship of the editor throughout the rest of 1988, following official publication, Human Biology.Gabriel which Michael H.
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