78 Section HUMAN DIVERSITY CRANIOLOGICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF MODERN MANKIND Pestryakov Alexandr, Grigorieva Olga Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia To assess the patterns of human cranial differentiation we used characteristics other than those traditionally employed in racial studies. <...> Based on the size and shape of the skull three modern craniotypes were established – Tropids, Holarctids, and Pacifi ds. Differences between them concern three major dimensions of the braincase (Martin 1, 8, and 17) and their ratios, as proposed by V.V. Bunak (1922). <...> The Tropids originated in the tropical zone of the Old World. <...> They have the smallest crania with ORV=262.6, with the largest longitudinal diameter and the smallest transverse diameter. <...> Holarctids, who originated in northern Eurasia, are characterized by the largest crania ORV=266.7, the largest transverse development, and the smallest cranial height. <...> The Pacifi ds originated in East Asia and spread on both sides of the Pacifi c (in Asia and America). <...> They are characterized by large crania (ORV=265.7), which are high and broad but short. <...> Apart from these groups, there are also local ones such as Capoids (Bushmen and Hottentots) and Tropical Pacifi ds (Andamanese and Aeta). <...> This classifi cation is based on general cranial shape, not on “racial” traits. <...> Therefore certain disagreement between geographic races and craniotypes is predictable (Pestryakov, 1995; Pestryakov, Grigorieva, 2004). <...> Key words: craniometry, cranial differentiation, cranial types Contact information: Pestryakov Alexandr, e-mail: pestryackov.a@yandex.ru. <...> FROM BIOLOGICAL HISTORY AND DEMOGRAPHY TO LINGUISTICS AND DNA ANALYSIS: A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO POPULATION STRUCTURE STUDIES IN THE ADRIATIC AREA Rudan Pavao1 , Sujoldzic Anita2 1Anthropological Centre of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Zagreb, Croatia 2Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia Anthropological research of modern European populations indicates pronounced diversity between and among various groups, confi rming the complexity of interactions of the components of the “eternal triangle” (heredity, environment and culture). <...> Such studies require an interdisciplinary approach and a large scale of diverse data: sociocultural, linguistic, archeological, anthropo-genetic, biological, and biomedical. <...> For several decades, holistic anthropological research, based on the belief that human evolution and variability can be understood only by the simultaneous study <...>