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Osipov B, Harrington L, Cowgill L, MacKinnon M, Kurki H. Asymmetry in linear measurements and cross-sectional geometry in the humerus during ontogeny. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 184:e24940. [PMID: 38602232 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Adult upper limb asymmetry is used to reconstruct behavior. However, the developmental trajectory of asymmetry in bone length, cross-sectional geometry (CSG), and joint dimensions is poorly understood. This study examines the development trajectory of humeral asymmetry and if asymmetry in bone length, joint size, and CSG develop in concert. MATERIALS AND METHODS Linear measurements of bone length and metaphyseal/epiphyseal breadth, bending rigidity (Imax and Imin), and cross-sectional shape (Imax/Imin) at 30%, 50%, and 70% of bone length were acquired from 3D models of humeri from four skeletal samples of prehistoric hunter-gatherer populations (n = 82). Dental age cohorts were used to assess ontogenetic trends. Percent absolute (%AA) and directional (%DA) asymmetry were calculated for paired measures. Percentage of matching direction of asymmetry across variables and correlation analysis tested relationships between variables. RESULTS Within the total pooled sample, Imax shows the highest %AA and %DA, followed by shape and linear dimensions. Asymmetry is lowest in neonates and increases with age, particularly %DA of Imax in mid-proximal sections. Correlations among variables are low to moderate and strongest between Imax measures. Matching direction of asymmetry between variables is low and generally increases with age. DISCUSSION Higher correlations with age in CSG likely indicate greater responsiveness to mechanical loading. Low correlations in magnitude of asymmetry and side dominance suggest independence in the development of asymmetry between maximum rigidity, shape, and linear measures. Differences in how asymmetric loading affects the ontogeny of linear and CSG variables may account for the heterogeneous development of asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Osipov
- Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of California, Davis Health, Sacramento, California, USA
| | - Lesley Harrington
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Libby Cowgill
- Department of Anthropology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA
| | - Marla MacKinnon
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Helen Kurki
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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2
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Parkinson EW, Stoddart S, Sparacello V, Bertoldi F, Fonzo O, Malone C, Marini E, Martinet F, Moggi-Cecchi J, Pacciani E, Raiteri L, Stock JT. Multiproxy bioarchaeological data reveals interplay between growth, diet and population dynamics across the transition to farming in the central Mediterranean. Sci Rep 2023; 13:21965. [PMID: 38081902 PMCID: PMC10713518 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-49406-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Accepted: 12/07/2023] [Indexed: 12/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The transition to farming brought on a series of important changes in human society, lifestyle, diet and health. The human bioarchaeology of the agricultural transition has received much attention, however, relatively few studies have directly tested the interrelationship between individual lifestyle factors and their implications for understanding life history changes among the first farmers. We investigate the interplay between skeletal growth, diet, physical activity and population size across 30,000 years in the central Mediterranean through a 'big data' cross-analysis of osteological data related to stature (n = 361), body mass (n = 334) and long bone biomechanics (n = 481), carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) stable isotopes (n = 1986 human, n = 475 animal) and radiocarbon dates (n = 5263). We present the observed trends on a continuous timescale in order to avoid grouping our data into assigned 'time periods', thus achieving greater resolution and chronological control over our analysis. The results identify important changes in human life history strategies associated with the first farmers, but also highlight the long-term nature of these trends in the millennia either side of the agricultural transition. The integration of these different data is an important step towards disentangling the complex relationship between demography, diet and health, and reconstruct life history changes within a southern European context. We believe the methodological approach adopted here has broader global implications for bioarchaeological studies of human adaptation more generally.
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Affiliation(s)
- E W Parkinson
- Archaeology & Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.
| | - S Stoddart
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - V Sparacello
- Dipartimento di Scienze della vita e dell'ambiente, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - F Bertoldi
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università Ca Foscari Venezia, Venice, Italy
| | - O Fonzo
- Museo Archeologico "Genna Maria" di Villanovaforru, Villanovaforru, Italy
| | - C Malone
- Archaeology & Palaeoecology, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - E Marini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della vita e dell'ambiente, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - F Martinet
- Soprintendenza per i beni e le Attività Culturali della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta, Italy
| | - J Moggi-Cecchi
- Dipartimento Di Biologia, Università degli Studi Firenze, Florence, Italy
| | - E Pacciani
- Soprintendenza Archeologia, Belle Arti e Paesaggio di Firenze, Pistoia e Prato, Florence, Italy
| | - L Raiteri
- Soprintendenza per i beni e le Attività Culturali della Valle d'Aosta, Aosta, Italy
| | - J T Stock
- Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Canada
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3
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Sikdar A, Mushrif-Tripathy V. A comparative study of robusticity indices of long bones among hunter-gatherers and early agro-pastoral groups of India. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 182:93-108. [PMID: 37283202 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Diaphyseal robusticity and cross-sectional shapes of the bone tissues are influenced by mechanical loading history. It changes according to work demand on the body. It is the objective of this study to identify the shifts in the modes of subsistence, activities and mobility patterns through the comparison of the shape and strength of bone diaphyses among the Mesolithic, Chalcolithic and Harappan populations of India. MATERIALS AND METHODS For the analysis, 7 sites including 2 from Mesolithic (8000-4000 bc), 2 from Chalcolithic (2000-700 bc) and 3 from Harappan (3500-1800 bc) contexts are considered. The ratio obtained from the maximum length of the bones to their girth (at 50% or 35% from the distal end) and that from anterior-posterior and medio-lateral diameters were calculated (following Martin and Saller codes, 1957) to understand certain functional adaptations and stress markers on preserved long bones. Independent-sample T-tests and ANOVA were applied to detect mean differences of statistical significance within and between cultures. RESULTS The robusticity indices obtained from the humeri increase from the hunting-gathering phase (M/F; 19.39/18.45) to the Chalcolithic phase (M/F; 21.99/19.39) showing a slight drop in the Harappan phase (M/F; 18.58/18.37). The right humeri of Mesolithic females show a directional asymmetry of length (4.08%-5.13%) while that in males reach up to 26.09% indicating right-dominant lateralization. In the Harappan phase, females show a greater value for the right ranging from 0.31% to 3.07%. The femoral robusticity of females increases from 11.42 in hunting-gathering societies to 13.28 in Harappan times while mid-shaft of the Mesolithic population clearly shows greater loading along the anterior-posterior (A-P) plane as the index in most cases exceeds 100. There are significant differences among males and females within each group in terms of the indices but significant differences could be discerned between the Mesolithic, Chalcolithic and Harappan populations in case of tibiae, radii and ulnae only. CONCLUSION The occupation patterns certainly changed as humans became a food-producer from a hunter-gatherer. Occupations involving the extensive flexion and extension of upper limbs in the Chalcolithic period increase particularly in the Harappan phase. Sedentism gave rise to roundness of the femur and reduced the magnitude of lateralization. While equal level of mobility can be traced in case of both the sexes before the advent of agriculture, this distinction increases between the males and females in the agro-pastoral phases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asmita Sikdar
- Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
| | - Veena Mushrif-Tripathy
- Department of Ancient Indian History, Culture and Archaeology, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, India
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4
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Agarwal SC. What is normal bone health? A bioarchaeological perspective on meaningful measures and interpretations of bone strength, loss, and aging. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 33:e23647. [PMID: 34272787 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 06/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bioarchaeological (the study of archeological human remains together with contextual and documentary evidence) offers a unique vantage point to examine variation in skeletal morphology related to influences such as activity, disease, and nutrition. The human skeleton is composed of a dynamic tissue that is forged by biocultural factors over the entire life course, providing a record of individual, and community history. Various aspects of adult bone health, particularly bone maintenance and loss and the associated skeletal disease osteoporosis, have been examined in numerous past populations. The anthropological study of bone loss has traditionally focused on the signature of postmenopausal aging, costs of reproduction, and fragility in females. The a priori expectation of normative sex-related bone loss/fragility in bioanthropological studies illustrates the wider gender-ideological bias that continues in research design and data analysis in the field. Contextualized data on bone maintenance and aging in the archeological record show that patterns of bone loss do not constitute predictable consequences of aging or biological sex. Instead, the critical examination of bioarchaeological data highlights the complex and changing processes that craft the human body over the life course, and calls for us to question the ideal or "normal" range of bone quantity and quality in the human skeleton, and to critically reflect on what measures are actually biologically and/or socially meaningful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabrina C Agarwal
- Department of Anthropology, University of California Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA
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5
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Jiménez-Brobeil SA, Charisi D, Laffranchi Z, Maroto Benavides RM, Delgado Huertas A, Milella M. Sex differences in diet and life conditions in a rural Medieval Islamic population from Spain (La Torrecilla, Granada): An isotopic and osteological approach to gender differentiation in al-Andalus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:794-815. [PMID: 33772756 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24277] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2020] [Revised: 02/02/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Gender differentiation can influence the diet, physical activity, and health of human populations. Multifaceted approaches are therefore necessary when exploring the biological consequences of gender-related social norms in the past. Here, we explore the links between diet, physiological stress, physical activity, and gender differentiation in the Medieval Islamic population of La Torrecilla (Granada, Spain, 13th-15th century AD), by analyzing stable isotope patterns, stature, and long bone diaphyseal measurements. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample includes 96 individuals (48 females, 48 males) classified as young and middle adults (20-34 and 35-50 years of age respectively). Diet was reconstructed through the analysis of δ13 C and δ15 N. Stature, humeral and femoral diaphyseal shape and product of diaphyseal diameters served as proxies of physiological stress and physical activity. RESULTS Isotopic ratios suggest a substantial dietary contribution of C4 plants (e.g., sorghum, millet), a variable access to animal proteins, and no differences between the sexes. Sexual dimorphism in stature derives from a markedly low female stature. Long bone diaphyseal properties suggest that men performed various physically stressful activities, whereas women were involved in less physically demanding activities (possibly related to household work). DISCUSSION Gender differentiation in La Torrecilla was expressed by a possibly differential parental investment in male versus female offspring and by culturally sanctioned gender differences in the performance of physical tasks. Diet was qualitatively homogenous between the sexes, although we cannot rule out quantitative differences. Our results shed new light on the effects of gender-related social norms on human development and lifestyle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sylvia A Jiménez-Brobeil
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Drosia Charisi
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Zita Laffranchi
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.,Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Rosa M Maroto Benavides
- Department of Legal Medicine, Toxicology and Physical Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Antonio Delgado Huertas
- Biogeochemistry of Stable Isotopes Laboratory, Andalusian Institute of Earth Sciences, (IACT-CSIC-UGR), Granada, Spain
| | - Marco Milella
- Department of Physical Anthropology, Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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6
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Varalli A, Villotte S, Dori I, Sparacello V. New Insights into Activity-Related Functional Bone Adaptations and Alterations in Neolithic Liguria (Northwestern Italy). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2020. [DOI: 10.3166/bmsap-2020-0072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
This study offers a combined analysis of longbone mechanical properties (cross-sectional geometry, CSG), upper-limb enthesopathies (entheseal changes, ECs), and external auditory exostoses (EAEs) among Neolithic people from Liguria (Italy). Previous CSG studies have suggested a high degree of mobility in mountainous terrain and sexual dimorphism in the upper limbs, with males being more oriented toward unimanual activities and females performing strenuous bimanual tasks. The aims of the study were to: 1) increase the sample size of the CSG analysis via the acquisition of surface 3D models, 2) provide a solid chronological framework through direct dating in order to allow for subsampling of individuals dated to the Impresso-Cardial Complex (ICC, c. 5800–5000 BCE) and the Square-Mouthed Pottery culture (c. 5000–4300 BCE), 3) integrate the results of CSG analysis with information on ECs of the humeral epicondyles, and 4) assess possible marine activities through analysis of EAEs. Results from the CSG analysis confirmed those of previous studies, with no significant diachronic change. ECs in the humeral medial epicondyle parallelled CSG adaptations: males tended to display more changes, especially unilaterally. Only one individual from the ICC period showed bilateral EAE, suggesting that marine activities were not prevalent. This study adds to our knowledge on activity patterns in the Neolithic in Liguria, and shows that integrating structural adaptations with information from specific entheseal alterations and exostoses can improve reconstructions of past habitual activities.
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7
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Osipov B, Alaica AK, Pickard C, Garcia‐Donas JG, Márquez‐Grant N, Kranioti EF. The effect of diet and sociopolitical change on physiological stress and behavior in late
Roman‐Early
Byzantine (300–700
AD
) and Islamic (902–1,235
AD
) populations from Ibiza, Spain. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 172:189-213. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2019] [Revised: 02/24/2020] [Accepted: 04/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Osipov
- Lawrence J. Ellison Musculoskeletal Research Center, Department of Orthopaedic SurgeryUniversity of California Davis Medical Center Sacramento California USA
| | - Aleksa K Alaica
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Toronto Toronto Ontario Canada
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Catriona Pickard
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
| | - Julieta G Garcia‐Donas
- School of Science and Engineering, Center for Anatomy and Human IdentificationUniversity of Dundee Dundee UK
| | - Nicholas Márquez‐Grant
- Cranfield Forensic InstituteCranfield University, Defence Academy of the United Kingdom UK
| | - Elena F. Kranioti
- School of History, Classics and ArchaeologyUniversity of Edinburgh Edinburgh UK
- Department of Forensic Sciences, Faculty of MedicineUniversity of Crete Crete Greece
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8
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Mulder B, Stock JT, Saers JPP, Inskip SA, Cessford C, Robb JE. Intrapopulation variation in lower limb trabecular architecture. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:112-129. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2019] [Revised: 02/20/2020] [Accepted: 03/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Bram Mulder
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
| | - Jay T. Stock
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
- Department of Anthropology University of Western Ontario London Canada
- Department of Archaeology Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
| | - Jaap P. P. Saers
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
| | - Sarah A. Inskip
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
| | - Craig Cessford
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
| | - John E. Robb
- University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research Cambridge UK
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9
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Macintosh AA, Stock JT. Intensive terrestrial or marine locomotor strategies are associated with inter- and intra-limb bone functional adaptation in living female athletes. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:566-581. [PMID: 30613942 PMCID: PMC6519197 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2018] [Revised: 12/11/2018] [Accepted: 12/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To systematically characterize intra-limb patterns of skeletal plasticity to loading among living women, in order to better understand regional complexity in structural adaptation within the lower limb and more accurately infer behavior in the past. MATERIALS AND METHODS We used peripheral quantitative computed tomography imaging of the femur, tibia, first and second metatarsals to quantify bone morphology among female controls and athletes representative of either terrestrial or marine mobility, grouped by loading category (odd-impact, repetitive low-impact, and high-magnitude). Parameters included midshaft bone density, areas, rigidity, and shape, epiphyseal bone densities and areas. We assessed between-group differences and the influence of training history on significant variation among the loading groups. RESULTS Terrestrial mobility strategies were best distinguished by significant midshaft periosteal hypertrophy across the lower limb/foot relative to controls, and by particularly high midshaft femoral and tibial cortical bone areas relative to rowers. Enhanced midshaft bone area was typically paired with decreased bone density among athlete groups. Sport-specific variation in training duration/timing was significantly correlated with multiple midshaft parameters. DISCUSSION Results demonstrate characteristic patterns of intra-limb adaptation to terrestrial and marine mobility strategies among active women relative to controls, and highlight components of these patterns that may be shaped in part by differences in loading duration/timing. Additionally, our findings support constraints on skeletal variation in the distal tibia and foot relative to more proximal locations about the knee among living women. For example, metatarsal variation was constrained, but where present reflected sport-specific variation in force distribution in the foot.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A Macintosh
- Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.,Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jay T Stock
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany
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10
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Stephens NB, Kivell TL, Pahr DH, Hublin JJ, Skinner MM. Trabecular bone patterning across the human hand. J Hum Evol 2018; 123:1-23. [PMID: 30072187 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.05.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Revised: 05/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Hand bone morphology is regularly used to link particular hominin species with behaviors relevant to cognitive/technological progress. Debates about the functional significance of differing hominin hand bone morphologies tend to rely on establishing phylogenetic relationships and/or inferring behavior from epigenetic variation arising from mechanical loading and adaptive bone modeling. Most research focuses on variation in cortical bone structure, but additional information about hand function may be provided through the analysis of internal trabecular structure. While primate hand bone trabecular structure is known to vary in ways that are consistent with expected joint loading differences during manipulation and locomotion, no study exists that has documented this variation across the numerous bones of the hand. We quantify the trabecular structure in 22 bones of the human hand (early/extant modern Homo sapiens) and compare structural variation between two groups associated with post-agricultural/industrial (post-Neolithic) and foraging/hunter-gatherer (forager) subsistence strategies. We (1) establish trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV), modulus (E), degree of anisotropy (DA), mean trabecular thickness (Tb.Th) and spacing (Tb.Sp); (2) visualize the average distribution of site-specific BV/TV for each bone; and (3) examine if the variation in trabecular structure is consistent with expected joint loading differences among the regions of the hand and between the groups. Results indicate similar distributions of trabecular bone in both groups, with those of the forager sample presenting higher BV/TV, E, and lower DA, suggesting greater and more variable loading during manipulation. We find indications of higher loading along the ulnar side of the forager sample hand, with high site-specific BV/TV distributions among the carpals that are suggestive of high loading while the wrist moves through the 'dart-thrower's' motion. These results support the use of trabecular structure to infer behavior and have direct implications for refining our understanding of human hand evolution and fossil hominin hand use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas B Stephens
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Dieter H Pahr
- Institute for Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, Getreidemarkt 9, A-1060 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NZ, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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11
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Ruff CB. Functional morphology in the pages of the AJPA. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 165:688-704. [PMID: 29574828 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Revised: 12/20/2017] [Accepted: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205
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12
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Macintosh AA, Pinhasi R, Stock JT. Prehistoric women's manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:eaao3893. [PMID: 29209662 PMCID: PMC5710185 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aao3893] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2017] [Accepted: 11/01/2017] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The intensification of agriculture is often associated with declining mobility and bone strength through time, although women often exhibit less pronounced trends than men. For example, previous studies of prehistoric Central European agriculturalists (~5300 calibrated years BC to 850 AD) demonstrated a significant reduction in tibial rigidity among men, whereas women were characterized by low tibial rigidity, little temporal change, and high variability. Because of the potential for sex-specific skeletal responses to mechanical loading and a lack of modern comparative data, women's activity in prehistory remains difficult to interpret. This study compares humeral and tibial cross-sectional rigidity, shape, and interlimb loading among prehistoric Central European women agriculturalists and living European women of known behavior (athletes and controls). Prehistoric female tibial rigidity at all time periods was highly variable, but differed little from living sedentary women on average, and was significantly lower than that of living runners and football players. However, humeral rigidity exceeded that of living athletes for the first ~5500 years of farming, with loading intensity biased heavily toward the upper limb. Interlimb strength proportions among Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age women were most similar to those of living semi-elite rowers. These results suggest that, in contrast to men, rigorous manual labor was a more important component of prehistoric women's behavior than was terrestrial mobility through thousands of years of European agriculture, at levels far exceeding those of modern women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Macintosh
- PAVE (Phenotypic Adaptability, Variation and Evolution) Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Jay T. Stock
- PAVE (Phenotypic Adaptability, Variation and Evolution) Research Group, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3DZ, UK
- Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada
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13
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Hagihara Y, Nara T. The characteristic mid-shaft cross-sectional shape of the ulna in Jomon hunter-gatherers. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:598-608. [PMID: 28832931 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/05/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The Jomon people were hunter-gatherers who inhabited the Japanese archipelago between 10,000 BC and 300 BC. Here, we focus on the mid-shaft cross-sectional shape of the ulna in the Jomon population and compare it with modern Japanese people. MATERIALS AND METHODS Jomon specimens, including 32 males and 22 females, were excavated from shell mound sites in the Pacific and Seto inland coastal area of Honshu island in the Japanese archipelago dated to the Late-to-Final Jomon phase (between 2,000 BC and 300 BC). Mid-shaft ulna cross-sectional shapes were compared with modern Japanese specimens (25 males, 21 females) using standard linear measurements and elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA). Differences from both sides of this element were compared using predicted handedness. RESULTS Linear measurements and EFA results show that ulna shape of both sexes within the Jomon population are relatively larger in the antero-posterior direction and have more developed posterior borders than modern Japanese males and females. No significant differences were observed between Jomon sexes based on the predicted dominant side, but differences were evident in the predicted nondominant side. At the same time, bilateral differences were recognized in Jomon females, because of a lower level of posterior border development in the predicted nondominant side compared to the dominant side. DISCUSSION Shape differences between Jomon people and modern Japanese can be explained by variation in the habitual loading of the ulna. Sexual dimorphism in ulna shape within the Jomon population suggests division of labor differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yasuo Hagihara
- Department of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Kita-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, Japan
| | - Takashi Nara
- Department of Medical Technology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Kita-ku, Niigata City, Niigata, Japan
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Kurki HK. Bilateral Asymmetry in the Human Pelvis. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2017; 300:653-665. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2016] [Revised: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Helen K. Kurki
- Department of Anthropology; University of Victoria; Victoria BC V8W 2Y2 Canada
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Stephens NB, Kivell TL, Gross T, Pahr DH, Lazenby RA, Hublin JJ, Hershkovitz I, Skinner MM. Trabecular architecture in the thumb of Pan and Homo: implications for investigating hand use, loading, and hand preference in the fossil record. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 161:603-619. [PMID: 27500902 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2015] [Revised: 06/14/2016] [Accepted: 07/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Humans display an 85-95% cross-cultural right-hand bias in skilled tasks, which is considered a derived behavior because such a high frequency is not reported in wild non-human primates. Handedness is generally considered to be an evolutionary byproduct of selection for manual dexterity and augmented visuo-cognitive capabilities within the context of complex stone tool manufacture/use. Testing this hypothesis requires an understanding of when appreciable levels of right dominant behavior entered the fossil record. Because bone remodels in vivo, skeletal asymmetries are thought to reflect greater mechanical loading on the dominant side, but incomplete preservation of external morphology and ambiguities about past loading environments complicate interpretations. We test if internal trabecular bone is capable of providing additional information by analyzing the thumb of Homo sapiens and Pan. MATERIALS AND METHODS We assess trabecular structure at the distal head and proximal base of paired (left/right) first metacarpals using micro-CT scans of Homo sapiens (n = 14) and Pan (n = 9). Throughout each epiphysis we quantify average and local bone volume fraction (BV/TV), degree of anisotropy (DA), and elastic modulus (E) to address bone volume patterning and directional asymmetry. RESULTS We find a right directional asymmetry in H. sapiens consistent with population-level handedness, but also report a left directional asymmetry in Pan that may be the result of postural and/or locomotor loading. CONCLUSION We conclude that trabecular bone is capable of detecting right/left directional asymmetry, but suggest coupling studies of internal structure with analyses of other skeletal elements and cortical bone prior to applications in the fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas B Stephens
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.,Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas Gross
- Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, A-1060 Vienna, Getreidemarkt 9/BE, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dieter H Pahr
- Institute of Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, A-1060 Vienna, Getreidemarkt 9/BE, Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard A Lazenby
- Department of Anthropology, University of Northern British Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, Canada, V2N 4Z9
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Israel Hershkovitz
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany.,Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NR, United Kingdom
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Macintosh AA, Pinhasi R, Stock JT. Early Life Conditions and Physiological Stress following the Transition to Farming in Central/Southeast Europe: Skeletal Growth Impairment and 6000 Years of Gradual Recovery. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0148468. [PMID: 26844892 PMCID: PMC4742066 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0148468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2015] [Accepted: 01/17/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Early life conditions play an important role in determining adult body size. In particular, childhood malnutrition and disease can elicit growth delays and affect adult body size if severe or prolonged enough. In the earliest stages of farming, skeletal growth impairment and small adult body size are often documented relative to hunter-gatherer groups, though this pattern is regionally variable. In Central/Southeast Europe, it is unclear how early life stress, growth history, and adult body size were impacted by the introduction of agriculture and ensuing long-term demographic, social, and behavioral change. The current study assesses this impact through the reconstruction and analysis of mean stature, body mass, limb proportion indices, and sexual dimorphism among 407 skeletally mature men and women from foraging and farming populations spanning the Late Mesolithic through Early Medieval periods in Central/Southeast Europe (~7100 calBC to 850 AD). Results document significantly reduced mean stature, body mass, and crural index in Neolithic agriculturalists relative both to Late Mesolithic hunter-gatherer-fishers and to later farming populations. This indication of relative growth impairment in the Neolithic, particularly among women, is supported by existing evidence of high developmental stress, intensive physical activity, and variable access to animal protein in these early agricultural populations. Among subsequent agriculturalists, temporal increases in mean stature, body mass, and crural index were more pronounced among Central European women, driving declines in the magnitude of sexual dimorphism through time. Overall, results suggest that the transition to agriculture in Central/Southeast Europe was challenging for early farming populations, but was followed by gradual amelioration across thousands of years, particularly among Central European women. This sex difference may be indicative, in part, of greater temporal variation in the social status afforded to young girls, in their access to resources during growth, and/or in their health status than was experienced by men.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alison A. Macintosh
- PAVE Research Group, Division of Biological Anthropology, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Ron Pinhasi
- Earth Institute and School of Archaeology, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Jay T. Stock
- PAVE Research Group, Division of Biological Anthropology, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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Sládek V, Ruff CB, Berner M, Holt B, Niskanen M, Schuplerová E, Hora M. The impact of subsistence changes on humeral bilateral asymmetry in Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene Europe. J Hum Evol 2016; 92:37-49. [PMID: 26989015 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2015] [Revised: 11/06/2015] [Accepted: 12/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Analyses of upper limb bone bilateral asymmetry can shed light on manipulative behavior, sexual division of labor, and the effects of economic transitions on skeletal morphology. We compared the maximum (absolute) and directional asymmetry in humeral length, articular breadth, and cross-sectional diaphyseal geometry (CSG) in a large (n > 1200) European sample distributed among 11 archaeological periods from the Early Upper Paleolithic through the 20(th) century. Asymmetry in length and articular breadth is right-biased, but relatively small and fairly constant between temporal periods. Females show more asymmetry in length than males. This suggests a low impact of behavioral changes on asymmetry in length and breadth, but strong genetic control with probable sex linkage of asymmetry in length. Asymmetry in CSG properties is much more marked than in length and articular breadth, with sex-specific variation. In males, a major decline in asymmetry occurs between the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. There is no further decline in asymmetry between the Mesolithic and Neolithic in males and only limited variation during the Holocene. In females, a major decline occurs between the Mesolithic and Neolithic, with resulting average directional asymmetry close to zero. Asymmetry among females continues to be very low in the subsequent Copper and Bronze Ages, but increases again in the Iron Age. Changes in female asymmetry result in an increase of sexual dimorphism during the early agricultural periods, followed by a decrease in the Iron Age. Sexual dimorphism again slightly declines after the Late Medieval. Our results indicate that changes in manipulative behavior were sex-specific with a probable higher impact of changes in hunting behavior on male asymmetry (e.g., shift from unimanual throwing to use of the bow-and-arrow) and food grain processing in females, specifically, use of two-handed saddle querns in the early agricultural periods and one-handed rotary querns in later agricultural periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladimír Sládek
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - Christopher B Ruff
- The Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
| | - Margit Berner
- Department of Anthropology, Natural History Museum, Vienna, Austria
| | - Brigitte Holt
- Department of Anthropology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, USA
| | - Markku Niskanen
- Department of Archaeology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
| | - Eliška Schuplerová
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Martin Hora
- Department of Anthropology and Human Genetics, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic
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Scherf H, Wahl J, Hublin JJ, Harvati K. Patterns of activity adaptation in humeral trabecular bone in Neolithic humans and present-day people. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 159:106-15. [PMID: 26293309 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2014] [Revised: 08/04/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The annual turnover rate of trabecular bone by far exceeds that of cortical bone and, therefore, is very sensitive to its daily loading regime. Here we test the hypothesis that the study of the trabecular bone architecture of the human humerus is able to differentiate between different habitual manual activities. MATERIALS AND METHODS For this purpose, we compared the trabecular architecture of the humeral head in a Neolithic population to that of a sample of contemporary Europeans using micro-computed tomography (microCT). We defined in each specimen a spherical volume of interest with a diameter of 57.5 ± 2.5% of the maximal diameter of the humeral head to metrically analyze the bulk of humeral head trabecular architecture. We subsequently quantified the trabecular architectures in the VOIs, measuring seven standard 3D-morphometric parameters, and used univariate and multivariate statistical analyses for comparisons within and between populations. RESULTS Univariate statistical analysis showed significant differences in a combination of 3D-morphometric parameters. A principal components analysis of the 3D-morphometrics of the trabecular architectures separated the Neolithic from the contemporary samples on the basis of differences in their gross trabecular architecture, including differences in the bone volume fraction (BV/TV), the number of trabeculae per unit length (Tb N), and the distance between trabeculae (Tb Sp). DISCUSSION We interpret the significant differences found in the humeral trabecular bone of the Neolithic and the contemporary group as likely reflecting the distinct manual working routines. The trabecular bone configuration in the Neolithic sample shows presumably functional signatures of prehistoric subsistence techniques and activity levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heike Scherf
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University, Rümelinstraße 23, Tübingen, 72070, Germany
| | - Joachim Wahl
- Landesamt Für Denkmalpflege, Regierungspräsidium Stuttgart, Stromeyersdorfstraße 3, Konstanz, 78467, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls University, Rümelinstraße 23, Tübingen, 72070, Germany
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