1
|
Rmoutilová R, Brůžek J, Gómez-Olivencia A, Madelaine S, Couture-Veschambre C, Holliday T, Maureille B. Sex estimation of the adult Neandertal Regourdou 1 (Montignac, France): Implications for sexing human fossil remains. J Hum Evol 2024; 189:103470. [PMID: 38552260 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/17/2023] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Abstract
Sex is a biological trait fundamental to the study of hominin fossils. Among the many questions that can be addressed are those related to taxonomy, biological variability, sexual dimorphism, paleoobstetrics, funerary selection, and paleodemography. While new methodologies such as paleogenomics or paleoproteomics can be used to determine sex, they have not been systematically applied to Pleistocene human remains due to their destructive nature. Therefore, we estimated sex from the coxal bone of the newly discovered pelvic remains of the Regourdou 1 Neandertal (Southwest France, MIS 5) based on morphological and metric data employing two methods that have been recently revised and shown to be reliable in multiple studies. Both methods calculate posterior probabilities of the estimate. The right coxal bone of Regourdou 1 was partially reconstructed providing additional traits for sex estimation. These methods were cross validated on 14 sufficiently preserved coxal bones of specimens from the Neandertal lineage. Our results show that the Regourdou 1 individual, whose postcranial skeleton is not robust, is a male, and that previous sex attributions of comparative Neandertal specimens are largely in agreement with those obtained here. Our results encourage additional morphological research of fossil hominins in order to develop a set of methods that are applicable, reliable, and reproducible.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rebeka Rmoutilová
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic; University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France; Hrdlicka Museum of Man, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Jaroslav Brůžek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 00, Prague, Czech Republic; University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | - Asier Gómez-Olivencia
- Departamento de Geología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad Del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain; Sociedad de Ciencias Aranzadi, Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain; Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigacion Sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Stéphane Madelaine
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France; Musée National de Préhistoire, 1 Rue Du Musée, 24620, Les Eyzies-de-Tayac Sireuil, France
| | | | - Trenton Holliday
- Tulane University, Department of Anthropology, 101 Dinwiddie Hall, New Orleans, LA, 70118, USA; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, RSA, South Africa
| | - Bruno Maureille
- University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Hora M, Struška M, Matějovská Z, Kubový P, Sládek V. Muscle activity during crouched walking. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:79-91. [PMID: 37606347 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24834] [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: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Muscle activity during crouched walking has been previously studied in the context of the evolution of hominin bipedalism and human movement disorders. However, crouched walking could also be used in approach hunting where postural height (actual height of the body from the ground to the top of the head during locomotion) is the limiting factor. Here, we aim to analyze the relationship between relative postural height (%stature), kinematics, and muscle activity during crouched walking. MATERIALS AND METHODS Adult males (n = 19) walked with extended limbs and at three degrees of crouch while their 3D motion capture kinematics and lower limb muscle electromyography were recorded. We measured activation of tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis, vastus lateralis, rectus femoris, biceps femoris, and gluteus maximus. We analyzed the effects of postural height on kinematics and muscle activation using linear mixed effects model. RESULTS Flexion angles, individual muscle activation (except for medial gastrocnemius), and total muscle activation were negatively related to relative postural height, that is, were greater at more crouched postures. Relative postural height had a stronger effect on the activation of the thigh and gluteal muscles compared to shank muscles. DISCUSSION General increase in lower limb muscle activation at lower postural heights suggests a negative relationship between relative postural height and fatigue, and may indicate a possible mechanism by which short stature could benefit the hunter in approach hunting. Greater activation of thigh and gluteal muscles relative to shank muscles may help to identify crouched walking in past human populations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hora
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Michal Struška
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Zuzana Matějovská
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Kubový
- Department of Anatomy and Biomechanics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
The relative limb size of Homonaledi. J Hum Evol 2022; 170:103235. [PMID: 35994845 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2021] [Revised: 07/03/2022] [Accepted: 07/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
|
4
|
Vidal-Cordasco M, Rodríguez J, Prado-Nóvoa O, Zorrilla-Revilla G, Mateos A. Locomotor Economy and Foraging Ecology in Hominins. JOURNAL OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021. [DOI: 10.1086/715402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
|
5
|
Vidal-Cordasco M, Mateos A, Zorrilla-Revilla G, Prado-Nóvoa O, Rodríguez J. Energetic cost of walking in fossil hominins. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:609-622. [PMID: 28832938 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2016] [Revised: 01/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Many biomechanical studies consistently show that a broader pelvis increases the reaction forces and bending moments across the femoral shaft, increasing the energetic costs of unloaded locomotion. However, a biomechanical model does not provide the real amount of metabolic energy expended in walking. The aim of this study is to test the influence of pelvis breadth on locomotion cost and to evaluate the locomotion efficiency of extinct Pleistocene hominins. MATERIAL AND METHODS The current study measures in vivo the influence of pelvis width on the caloric cost of locomotion, integrating anthropometry, body composition and indirect calorimetry protocols in a sample of 46 subjects of both sexes. RESULTS We show that a broader false pelvis is substantially more efficient for locomotion than a narrower one and that the influence of false pelvis width on the energetic cost is similar to the influence of leg length. Two models integrating body mass, femur length and bi-iliac breadth are used to estimate the net and gross energetic costs of locomotion in a number of extinct hominins. The results presented here show that the locomotion of Homo was not energetically more efficient than that of Australopithecus and that the locomotion of extinct Homo species was not less efficient than that of modern Homo sapiens. DISCUSSION The changes in the anatomy of the pelvis and lower limb observed with the appearance of Homo ergaster probably did not fully offset the increased expenditure resulting from a larger body mass. Moreover, the narrow pelvis in modern humans does not contribute to greater efficiency of locomotion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- M Vidal-Cordasco
- Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), 3, Burgos 09002, Spain
| | - A Mateos
- Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), 3, Burgos 09002, Spain
| | - G Zorrilla-Revilla
- Escuela Interuniversitaria de Posgrado en Evolucion Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Pza. Misael Bañuelos s/n, Burgos 09001, Spain
| | - O Prado-Nóvoa
- Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), 3, Burgos 09002, Spain
| | - J Rodríguez
- Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), 3, Burgos 09002, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Hora M, Soumar L, Pontzer H, Sládek V. Body size and lower limb posture during walking in humans. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0172112. [PMID: 28192522 PMCID: PMC5305206 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2016] [Accepted: 01/31/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
We test whether locomotor posture is associated with body mass and lower limb length in humans and explore how body size and posture affect net joint moments during walking. We acquired gait data for 24 females and 25 males using a three-dimensional motion capture system and pressure-measuring insoles. We employed the general linear model and commonality analysis to assess the independent effect of body mass and lower limb length on flexion angles at the hip, knee, and ankle while controlling for sex and velocity. In addition, we used inverse dynamics to model the effect of size and posture on net joint moments. At early stance, body mass has a negative effect on knee flexion (p < 0.01), whereas lower limb length has a negative effect on hip flexion (p < 0.05). Body mass uniquely explains 15.8% of the variance in knee flexion, whereas lower limb length uniquely explains 5.4% of the variance in hip flexion. Both of the detected relationships between body size and posture are consistent with the moment moderating postural adjustments predicted by our model. At late stance, no significant relationship between body size and posture was detected. Humans of greater body size reduce the flexion of the hip and knee at early stance, which results in the moderation of net moments at these joints.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martin Hora
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Libor Soumar
- CASRI - Sports Research Institute of Czech Armed Forces, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Herman Pontzer
- Department of Anthropology, Hunter College, New York, New York, United States of America
| | - Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Belcastro MG, Mariotti V. A muscular imprint on the anterolateral surface of the proximal femurs of the Krapina Neandertal collection. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 162:583-588. [PMID: 28102010 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Revised: 11/15/2016] [Accepted: 11/21/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to report and interpret a feature on the anterolateral surface of the proximal femurs of the Krapina hominid collection that we briefly described in 2006 (Periodicum Biologorum, 108, 319-329). MATERIALS AND METHODS We recorded the presence or absence of the feature in all the proximal femurs of the Krapina collection (six specimens recordable) and in 622 modern human adult femurs. RESULTS The feature consists in a series of crests delimitating three raised or depressed areas. This feature has been found in three out of four adult Neandertal femurs observable. The two observable subadult Neandertal femurs do not show this character. None of the modern femurs displayed the feature. CONCLUSION We interpret this feature as a muscular imprint, probably representing the m. vastus intermedius origin and discuss a possible interpretation. We did not find any other references for such imprint in the existing literature regarding the Neandertal femurs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Giovanna Belcastro
- Laboratorio di Bioarcheologia e Osteologia Forense, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via Selmi 3, Bologna, 40126, Italy.,UMR 7268 ADES Anthropologie Bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique Et Santé CNRS/Université d'Aix-Marseille/EFS-Faculté De Médecine-Secteur Nord, CS80011, Marseille Cedex 15, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344, France.,Centro Fermi, Piazza Del Viminale 1, Roma, 00184, Italy
| | - Valentina Mariotti
- Laboratorio di Bioarcheologia e Osteologia Forense, Dipartimento di Scienze Biologiche, Geologiche e Ambientali, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Via Selmi 3, Bologna, 40126, Italy.,UMR 7268 ADES Anthropologie Bioculturelle, Droit, Ethique Et Santé CNRS/Université d'Aix-Marseille/EFS-Faculté De Médecine-Secteur Nord, CS80011, Marseille Cedex 15, Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344, France
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Jindrová A, Tuma J, Sládek V. Impact of Non-Invasively Induced Motor Deficits on Tibial Cortical Properties in Mutant Lurcher Mice. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0158877. [PMID: 27387489 PMCID: PMC4936670 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0158877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 06/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It has been shown that Lurcher mutant mice have significantly altered motor abilities, regarding their motor coordination and muscular strength because of olivorecebellar degeneration. We assessed the response of the cross-sectional geometry and lacuno-canalicular network properties of the tibial mid-diaphyseal cortical bone to motor differences between Lurcher and wild-type (WT) male mice from the B6CBA strain. The first data set used in the cross-sectional geometry analysis consists of 16 mice of 4 months of age and 32 mice of 9 months of age. The second data set used in the lacunar-canalicular network analysis consists of 10 mice of 4 months of age. We compared two cross-sectional geometry and four lacunar-canalicular properties by I-region using the maximum and minimum second moment of area and anatomical orientation as well as H-regions using histological differences within a cross section. We identified inconsistent differences in the studied cross-sectional geometry properties between Lurcher and WT mice. The biggest significant difference between Lurcher and WT mice is found in the number of canaliculi, whereas in the other studied properties are only limited. Lurcher mice exhibit an increased number of canaliculi (p < 0.01) in all studied regions compared with the WT controls. The number of canaliculi is also negatively correlated with the distance from the centroid in the Lurcher and positively correlated in the WT mice. When the Lurcher and WT sample is pooled, the number of canaliculi and lacunar volume is increased in the posterior Imax region, and in addition, midcortical H-region exhibit lower number of canaliculi, lacuna to lacuna distance and increased lacunar volume. Our results indicate, that the importance of precise sample selection within cross sections in future studies is highlighted because of the histological heterogeneity of lacunar-canalicular network properties within the I-region and H-region in the mouse cortical bone.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Alena Jindrová
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
- * E-mail:
| | - Jan Tuma
- Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Pilsen, Czech Republic
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Disorders, Biomedical Centre, Faculty of Medicine in Pilsen, Charles University, Pilsen, Czech Republic
| | - Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Gruss LT, Schmitt D. The evolution of the human pelvis: changing adaptations to bipedalism, obstetrics and thermoregulation. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20140063. [PMID: 25602067 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 85] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The fossil record of the human pelvis reveals the selective priorities acting on hominin anatomy at different points in our evolutionary history, during which mechanical requirements for locomotion, childbirth and thermoregulation often conflicted. In our earliest upright ancestors, fundamental alterations of the pelvis compared with non-human primates facilitated bipedal walking. Further changes early in hominin evolution produced a platypelloid birth canal in a pelvis that was wide overall, with flaring ilia. This pelvic form was maintained over 3-4 Myr with only moderate changes in response to greater habitat diversity, changes in locomotor behaviour and increases in brain size. It was not until Homo sapiens evolved in Africa and the Middle East 200 000 years ago that the narrow anatomically modern pelvis with a more circular birth canal emerged. This major change appears to reflect selective pressures for further increases in neonatal brain size and for a narrow body shape associated with heat dissipation in warm environments. The advent of the modern birth canal, the shape and alignment of which require fetal rotation during birth, allowed the earliest members of our species to deal obstetrically with increases in encephalization while maintaining a narrow body to meet thermoregulatory demands and enhance locomotor performance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Daniel Schmitt
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Heyes P, MacDonald K. Neandertal energetics: Uncertainty in body mass estimation limits comparisons with Homo sapiens. J Hum Evol 2015; 85:193-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2014] [Revised: 04/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/17/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
|