1
|
Raventós-Izard G, Potau JM, Casado A, Pastor JF, Arias-Martorell J. The morphofunctional implications of the glenoid labrum of the glenohumeral joint in hominoids. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2023; 181:195-205. [PMID: 36939238 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2023] [Indexed: 03/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES A morphocline of the glenoid cavity has been used to infer differences in locomotor behaviors; however, the glenoid cavity is surrounded by the glenoid labrum, a fibrocartilaginous structure that could influence the functionality of the glenoid. The objectives of this study are to explore the effects of the glenoid labrum on the area, depth, and morphology of the glenoid cavity in primates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Photogrammetry was used to build 3D models of the glenoid, with and without the labrum, and three- (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) geometric morphometrics (GM) was applied. 2D areas were collected from zenithal images for glenoids with and without labrum to evaluate the availability of articular surface area. RESULTS In the 2D GM the morphocline is present in the dry-bone sample but not with the presence of the glenoid labrum. In the 3D GM there are differences between species mainly concerning the depth of the glenoid cavity. 2D areas reveal that the amount of articular area of the glenoid cavity increases with the presence of the labrum, particularly in humans. DISCUSSION The glenoid labrum changes the shape, increases the depth and the surface area of the glenoid cavity, particularly in humans. Therefore, the glenoid labrum might hold a functional role, increasing the stability of the glenohumeral joint of primates in general, and especially in humans.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Georgina Raventós-Izard
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Josep Mª Potau
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Aroa Casado
- Unit of Human Anatomy and Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.,Institut d'Arqueologia de la Universitat de Barcelona (IAUB), Faculty of Geography and History, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Juan F Pastor
- Museo Anatómico, Departamento de Anatomía y Radiología, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
| | - Julia Arias-Martorell
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.,School of Anthropology and Conservation, Marlowe Building, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Grine FE, Mongle CS, Fleagle JG, Hammond AS. The taxonomic attribution of African hominin postcrania from the Miocene through the Pleistocene: Associations and assumptions. J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103255. [PMID: 36375243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Postcranial bones may provide valuable information about fossil taxa relating to their locomotor habits, manipulative abilities and body sizes. Distinctive features of the postcranial skeleton are sometimes noted in species diagnoses. Although numerous isolated postcranial fossils have become accepted by many workers as belonging to a particular species, it is worthwhile revisiting the evidence for each attribution before including them in comparative samples in relation to the descriptions of new fossils, functional analyses in relation to particular taxa, or in evolutionary contexts. Although some workers eschew the taxonomic attribution of postcranial fossils as being less important (or interesting) than interpreting their functional morphology, it is impossible to consider the evolution of functional anatomy in a taxonomic and phylogenetic vacuum. There are 21 widely recognized hominin taxa that have been described from sites in Africa dated from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene; postcranial elements have been attributed to 17 of these. The bones that have been thus assigned range from many parts of a skeleton to isolated elements. However, the extent to which postcranial material can be reliably attributed to a specific taxon varies considerably from site to site and species to species, and is often the subject of considerable debate. Here, we review the postcranial remains attributed to African hominin taxa from the Late Miocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene and place these assignations into categories of reliability. The catalog of attributions presented here may serve as a guide for making taxonomic decisions in the future.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - John G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY 10024, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Torres-Tamayo N, Schlager S, García-Martínez D, Sanchis-Gimeno JA, Nalla S, Ogihara N, Oishi M, Martelli S, Bastir M. Three-dimensional geometric morphometrics of thorax-pelvis covariation and its potential for predicting the thorax morphology: A case study on Kebara 2 Neandertal. J Hum Evol 2020; 147:102854. [PMID: 32805525 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102854] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2019] [Revised: 07/04/2020] [Accepted: 07/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
The skeletal torso is a complex structure of outstanding importance in understanding human body shape evolution, but reconstruction usually entails an element of subjectivity as researchers apply their own anatomical expertise to the process. Among different fossil reconstruction methods, 3D geometric morphometric techniques have been increasingly used in the last decades. Two-block partial least squares analysis has shown great potential for predicting missing elements by exploiting the covariation between two structures (blocks) in a reference sample: one block can be predicted from the other one based on the strength of covariation between blocks. The first aim of this study is to test whether this predictive approach can be used for predicting thorax morphologies from pelvis morphologies within adult Homo sapiens reference samples with known covariation between the thorax and the pelvis. The second aim is to apply this method to Kebara 2 Neandertal (Israel, ∼60 ka) to predict its thorax morphology using two different pelvis reconstructions as predictors. We measured 134 true landmarks, 720 curve semilandmarks, and 160 surface semilandmarks on 60 3D virtual torso models segmented from CT scans. We conducted three two-block partial least squares analyses between the thorax (block 1) and the pelvis (block 2) based on the H. sapiens reference samples after performing generalized Procrustes superimposition on each block separately. Comparisons of these predictions in full shape space by means of Procrustes distances show that the male-only predictive model yields the most reliable predictions within modern humans. In addition, Kebara 2 thorax predictions based on this model concur with the thorax morphology proposed for Neandertals. The method presented here does not aim to replace other techniques, but to rather complement them through quantitative prediction of a virtual 'scaffold' to articulate the thoracic fossil elements, thus extending the potential of missing data estimation beyond the methods proposed in previous works.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole Torres-Tamayo
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain; GIAVAL Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibanez, 15, E-46010, Valencia, Spain.
| | - Stefan Schlager
- Biological Anthropology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Hebelstr 29, D-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Daniel García-Martínez
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain; Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Avenida de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
| | - Juan Alberto Sanchis-Gimeno
- GIAVAL Research Group, Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, University of Valencia, Av. Blasco Ibanez, 15, E-46010, Valencia, Spain
| | - Shahed Nalla
- Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Auckland Park, Johannesburg, 2006, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Naomichi Ogihara
- Department of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
| | - Motoharu Oishi
- Laboratory of Anatomy 1, School of Veterinary Medicine, Azabu University, Kanagawa, 252-5201, Japan
| | - Sandra Martelli
- UCL Centre for Integrative Anatomy (CIA), Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT, London, UK
| | - Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), J.G. Abascal 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Arias‐Martorell J. The morphology and evolutionary history of the glenohumeral joint of hominoids: A review. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:703-722. [PMID: 30680150 PMCID: PMC6342098 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2017] [Revised: 06/11/2018] [Accepted: 06/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The glenohumeral joint, the most mobile joint in the body of hominoids, is involved in the locomotion of all extant primates apart from humans. Over the last few decades, our knowledge of how variation in its morphological characteristics relates to different locomotor behaviors within extant primates has greatly improved, including features of the proximal humerus and the glenoid cavity of the scapula, as well as the muscles that function to move the joint (the rotator cuff muscles). The glenohumeral joint is a region with a strong morphofunctional signal, and hence, its study can shed light on the locomotor behaviors of crucial ancestral nodes in the evolutionary history of hominoids (e.g., the last common ancestor between humans and chimpanzees). Hominoids, in particular, are distinct in showing round and relatively big proximal humeri with lowered tubercles and flattened and oval glenoid cavities, morphology suited to engage in a wide range of motions, which enables the use of locomotor behaviors such as suspension. The comparison with extant taxa has enabled more informed functional interpretations of morphology in extinct primates, including hominoids, from the Early Miocene through to the emergence of hominins. Here, I review our current understanding of glenohumeral joint functional morphology and its evolution throughout the Miocene and Pleistocene, as well as highlighting the areas where a deeper study of this joint is still needed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julia Arias‐Martorell
- Animal Postcranial Evolution LabSkeletal Biology Research CentreSchool of Anthropology and ConservationUniversity of KentCanterburyUK
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Torres-Tamayo N, García-Martínez D, Nalla S, Barash A, Williams SA, Blanco-Pérez E, Mata Escolano F, Sanchis-Gimeno JA, Bastir M. The torso integration hypothesis revisited in Homo sapiens: Contributions to the understanding of hominin body shape evolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 167:777-790. [PMID: 30259957 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 08/04/2018] [Accepted: 08/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Lower thoracic widths and curvatures track upper pelvic widths and iliac blades curvatures in hominins and other primates (torso integration hypothesis). However, recent studies suggest that sexual dimorphism could challenge this assumption in Homo sapiens. We test the torso integration hypothesis in two modern human populations, both considering and excluding the effect of sexual dimorphism. We further assess covariation patterns between different thoracic and pelvic levels, and we explore the allometric effects on torso shape variation. MATERIAL AND METHODS A sex-balanced sample of 50 anatomically connected torsos (25 Mediterraneans, 25 Sub-Saharan Africans) was segmented from computed tomography scans. We compared the maximum medio-lateral width at seventh-ninth rib levels with pelvic bi-iliac breadth in males and females within both populations. We measured 1,030 (semi)landmarks on 3D torso models, and torso shape variation, mean size and shape comparisons, thoraco-pelvic covariation and allometric effects were quantified through 3D geometric morphometrics. RESULTS Females show narrow thoraces and wide pelves and males show wide thoraces and narrow pelves, although this trend is more evident in Mediterraneans than in Sub-Saharans. Equal thoracic and pelvic widths, depths and curvatures were found in absence of sexual dimorphism. The highest strength of covariation was found between the lowest rib levels and the ilia, and allometric analyses showed that smaller torsos were wider than larger torsos. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study testing statistically the torso integration hypothesis in anatomically connected torsos. We propose a new and more complex torso integration model in H. sapiens with sexual dimorphism leading to different thoracic and pelvic widths and curvatures. These findings have important implications in hominin body shape reconstructions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Shahed Nalla
- Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Alon Barash
- Faculty of Medicine, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
| | - Scott A Williams
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, New York
| | | | - Federico Mata Escolano
- CT and MRI Unit, ERESA, Department of Radiology, General University Hospital, Valencia, Spain
| | - Juan Alberto Sanchis-Gimeno
- Department of Radiology, Hospital de La Ribera, Valencia, Spain.,Department of Anatomy and Human Embryology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Markus Bastir
- Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Kivell TL, Davenport R, Hublin JJ, Thackeray JF, Skinner MM. Trabecular architecture and joint loading of the proximal humerus in extant hominoids, Ateles, and Australopithecus africanus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 167:348-365. [PMID: 30129074 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Several studies have investigated potential functional signals in the trabecular structure of the primate proximal humerus but with varied success. Here, we apply for the first time a "whole-epiphyses" approach to analysing trabecular bone in the humeral head with the aim of providing a more holistic interpretation of trabecular variation in relation to habitual locomotor or manipulative behaviors in several extant primates and Australopithecus africanus. MATERIALS AND METHODS We use a "whole-epiphysis" methodology in comparison to the traditional volume of interest (VOI) approach to investigate variation in trabecular structure and joint loading in the proximal humerus of extant hominoids, Ateles and A. africanus (StW 328). RESULTS There are important differences in the quantification of trabecular parameters using a "whole-epiphysis" versus a VOI-based approach. Variation in trabecular structure across knuckle-walking African apes, suspensory taxa, and modern humans was generally consistent with predictions of load magnitude and inferred joint posture during habitual behaviors. Higher relative trabecular bone volume and more isotropic trabeculae in StW 328 suggest A. africanus may have still used its forelimbs for arboreal locomotion. DISCUSSION A whole-epiphysis approach to analysing trabecular structure of the proximal humerus can help distinguish functional signals of joint loading across extant primates and can provide novel insight into habitual behaviors of fossil hominins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tracy L Kivell
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Rebecca Davenport
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - J Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, Skeletal Biology Research Centre, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|