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Bird EE, Kivell TL, Dunmore CJ, Tocheri MW, Skinner MM. Trabecular bone structure of the proximal capitate in extant hominids and fossil hominins with implications for midcarpal joint loading and the dart-thrower's motion. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24824. [PMID: 37493308 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Revised: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This research examines whether the distribution of trabecular bone in the proximal capitates of extant hominids, as well as several fossil hominin taxa, is associated with the oblique path of the midcarpal joint known as the dart-thrower's motion (DTM). MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed proximal capitates from extant (Pongo n = 12; Gorilla n = 11; Pan n = 10; fossil and recent Homo sapiens n = 29) and extinct (Australopithecus sediba n = 2; Homo naledi n = 1; Homo floresiensis n = 2; Neandertals n = 3) hominids using a new canonical holistic morphometric analysis, which quantifies and visualizes the distribution of trabecular bone using relative bone volume as a fraction of total volume (rBV/TV). RESULTS Homo sapiens and Neandertals had a continuous band of high rBV/TV that extended across the scaphoid, lunate, and hamate subarticular regions, but other fossil hominins and extant great apes did not. A. sediba expressed a distinct combination of human-like and Pan-like rBV/TV distribution. Both H. floresiensis and H. naledi had high rBV/TV on the ulnar-side of the capitate but low rBV/TV on the radial-side. CONCLUSION The proximal capitates of H. sapiens and Neandertals share a distinctive distribution of trabecular bone that suggests that these two species of Homo regularly load(ed) their midcarpal joints along the full extent of the oblique path of the DTM. The observed pattern in A. sediba suggests that human-like stress at the capito-scaphoid articular surface was combined with Pan-like wrist postures, whereas the patterns in H. floresiensis and H. naledi suggest their midcarpal joints were loaded differently from that of H. sapiens and Neandertals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma E Bird
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, London, UK
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Christopher J Dunmore
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | - Matthew W Tocheri
- Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA
- Australian Research Council, Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Tanner SB, Bardo A, Davies TW, Dunmore CJ, Johnston RE, Owen NJ, Kivell TL, Skinner MM. Variation and covariation of external shape and cross-sectional geometry in the human metacarpus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24866. [PMID: 37929663 PMCID: PMC10952563 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Analyses of external bone shape using geometric morphometrics (GM) and cross-sectional geometry (CSG) are frequently employed to investigate bone structural variation and reconstruct activity in the past. However, the association between these methods has not been thoroughly investigated. Here, we analyze whole bone shape and CSG variation of metacarpals 1-5 and test covariation between them. MATERIALS AND METHODS We analyzed external metacarpal shape using GM and CSG of the diaphysis at three locations in metacarpals 1-5. The study sample includes three modern human groups: crew from the shipwrecked Mary Rose (n = 35 metacarpals), a Pre-industrial group (n = 50), and a Post-industrial group (n = 31). We tested group differences in metacarpal shape and CSG, as well as correlations between these two aspects of metacarpal bone structure. RESULTS GM analysis demonstrated metacarpus external shape variation is predominately related to changes in diaphyseal width and articular surface size. Differences in external shape were found between the non-pollical metacarpals of the Mary Rose and Pre-industrial groups and between the third metacarpals of the Pre- and Post-industrial groups. CSG results suggest the Mary Rose and Post-industrial groups have stronger metacarpals than the Pre-industrial group. Correlating CSG and external shape showed significant relationships between increasing external robusticity and biomechanical strength across non-pollical metacarpals (r: 0.815-0.535; p ≤ 0.05). DISCUSSION Differences in metacarpal cortical structure and external shape between human groups suggest differences in the type and frequency of manual activities. Combining these results with studies of entheses and kinematics of the hand will improve reconstructions of manual behavior in the past.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel B. Tanner
- School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| | - Ameline Bardo
- School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
- UMR 7194 ‐ Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique (HNHP)CNRS‐Muséum National d'Histoire NaturelleParisFrance
| | - Thomas W. Davies
- School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
- Department of Human OriginsMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
| | | | - Richard E. Johnston
- Advanced Imaging of Materials (AIM) Facility, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Bay CampusSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Nicholas J. Owen
- Applied Sports Technology Exercise and Medicine Research Centre (A‐STEM), School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Bay CampusSwansea UniversitySwanseaUK
| | - Tracy L. Kivell
- School of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
- Department of Human OriginsMax Planck Institute for Evolutionary AnthropologyLeipzigGermany
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Li L, Reeves JS, Lin SC, Braun DR, McPherron SP. Did Early Pleistocene hominins control hammer strike angles when making stone tools? J Hum Evol 2023; 183:103427. [PMID: 37734121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2023] [Revised: 08/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/22/2023] [Indexed: 09/23/2023]
Abstract
In the study of Early Pleistocene stone artifacts, researchers have made considerable progress in reconstructing the technical decisions of hominins by examining various aspects of lithic technology, such as reduction sequences, hammer selection, platform preparation, core management, and raw material selection. By comparison, our understanding of the ways in which Early Pleistocene hominins controlled the delivery and application of percussive force during flaking remains limited. In this study, we focus on a key aspect of force delivery in stone knapping, namely the hammerstone striking angle (or the angle of blow), which has been shown to play a significant role in determining the knapping outcome. Using a dataset consists of 12 Early Pleistocene flake assemblages dated from 1.95 Ma to 1.4 Ma, we examined temporal patterns of the hammer striking angle by quantifying the bulb angle, a property of the flake's Hertzian cone that reflects the hammer striking angle used in flake production. We further included a Middle Paleolithic flake assemblage as a point of comparison from a later time period. In the Early Pleistocene dataset, we observed an increased association between the bulb angle and other flake variables related to flake size over time, a pattern similarly found in the Middle Paleolithic assemblage. These findings suggest that, towards the Oldowan-Acheulean transition, hominins began to systematically adjust the hammer striking angle in accordance with platform variables to detach flakes of different sizes more effectively, implying the development of a more comprehensive understanding of the role of the angle of blow in flake formation by ∼1.5 Ma.
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Affiliation(s)
- Li Li
- The Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), University of Algarve, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
| | - Jonathan S Reeves
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Sam C Lin
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales 2522, Australia
| | - David R Braun
- Technological Primates Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Shannon P McPherron
- The Interdisciplinary Center for Archaeology and the Evolution of Human Behaviour (ICArEHB), University of Algarve, Faro 8005-139, Portugal; Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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Yan Y, Sobinov AR, Bensmaia SJ. Prehension kinematics in humans and macaques. J Neurophysiol 2022; 127:1669-1678. [PMID: 35642848 DOI: 10.1152/jn.00522.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-human primates, especially rhesus macaques, have been a dominant model to study sensorimotor control of the upper limbs. Indeed, human and macaques have similar hands and homologous neural circuits to mediate manual behavior. However, few studies have systematically and quantitatively compared the manual behaviors of the two species. Such comparison is critical for assessing the validity of using the macaque sensorimotor system as a model of its human counterpart. In this study, we systematically compared the prehensile behaviors of humans and rhesus macaques using an identical experimental setup. We found human and macaque prehension kinematics to be generally similar with a few subtle differences. While the structure of the pre-shaping hand postures is similar in humans and macaques, human postures are more object-specific and human joints are less intercorrelated. Conversely, monkeys demonstrate more stereotypical pre-shaping behaviors that are common across all objects and more variability in their postures across repeated presentations of the same object. Despite these subtle differences in manual behavior between humans and monkeys, our results bolster the use of the macaque model to understand the neural mechanisms of manual dexterity in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuke Yan
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.,Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Anton R Sobinov
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.,Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
| | - Sliman J Bensmaia
- Committee on Computational Neuroscience, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.,Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States.,Neuroscience Institute, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
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Bird EE, Kivell TL, Skinner MM. Patterns of internal bone structure and functional adaptation in the hominoid scaphoid, lunate, and triquetrum. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emma E. Bird
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
| | - Tracy L. Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Matthew M. Skinner
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury UK
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
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