Possible relationship of cranial traumatic injuries with violence in the south‐east Iberian Peninsula from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age

The main aim of this study was to analyze the presence and distribution of cranial trauma, as possible evidence of violence, in remains from the Neolithic to Bronze Age from the SE Iberian Peninsula. The sample contains skulls, crania, and cranial vaults belonging to 410 prehistoric individuals. We also studied 267 crania from medieval and modern times for comparative purposes. All lesions in the prehistoric crania are healed and none of them can be attributed to a specific weapon. In all studied populations, injuries were more frequent in adults than in subadults and also in males than in females, denoting a sexual division in the risk of suffering accidents or intentional violence. According to the archeological record, the development of societies in the SE Iberian Peninsula during these periods must have entailed an increase in conflict. However, a high frequency of cranial traumatic injuries was observed in the Neolithic series, theoretically a less conflictive time, and the lowest frequency was in crania from the 3rd millennium B.C. (Copper Age), which is characterized by the archeologists as a period of increasing violence. The relatively large size and the high rate of injuries in Neolithic crania and the practice of cannibalism are strongly suggestive of episodes of interpersonal or intergroup conflict. The number and distribution of injuries in Bronze Age is consistent with the increase in violence at that time described by most archeologists. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Within-group human variation in the Asian Pleistocene: the three Upper Cave crania

Numerous studies on Pleistocene samples have shown that within-group cranial variation was greater than that seen today. The three anatomically modern Upper Cave crania (UC 101, UC 102, and UC 103) from Zhoukoudian, China provide one of the best samples available for addressing the issue of the antiquity of the modern pattern of within-group cranial variability because archaeological evidence indicates that they are spatially and temporally restricted. Research on the Upper Cave fossils usually only includes UC 101 and UC 103 because of postmortem damage to UC 102's cranial vault. However, the face of UC 102 is undamaged, allowing for most facial measurements to be performed accurately. In this study we use facial dimensions to compare all three Upper Cave specimens, and we evaluate whether the variation seen among them is larger than that observed in extant populations.Using a worldwide sample of modern populations to establish a baseline, the three Upper Cave crania were compared to each other. Since there is disagreement over the sex of UC 102, this specimen is treated alternately as a female and as a male. Results show that the Upper Cave specimens exhibit significantly more variation than do individuals within more recent human populations, especially if UC 102 is considered male. Furthermore, results indicate that the fossils never fall into the same modern human group, and that each specimen is significantly atypical of its nearest modern neighbor in multivariate space.We conclude that the three Upper Cave crania do not represent a family group but are representative of the larger contemporaneous heterogeneous Asian Pleistocene population. Our results support the contention that today's within-group homogeneity is a relatively recent phenomenon, and is likely the result of a Neolithic population expansion and its many effects.     

Pratiques funéraires et recrutement : reprise d’étude des collections osseuses issues des dolmens du Languedoc oriental et sud des Cévennes à la fin du Néolithique

Collective burials were the main and most widespread funerary practice at the end of the Neolithic, beginning of the Bronze Age in the south of France. Megalithic monuments required a huge investment of time and labor. According to ethnographic studies, these monumental tombs are generally built and managed collectively. One can therefore wonder who was buried inside these structures because several archaeological studies indicate that access to these tombs can sometimes be restricted to certain members of the population. Indeed, ethnography highlights that access to certain tombs can be structured by variables such as kinship, social status, etc. While previous studies have mainly focused on the architecture and function of these monuments, this article focuses on the process of deposition of human remains and the characterization of the population buried inside these monuments. Since 2012, a project has been undertaken on the dolmens of the south of France in order to discuss funerary practices and to compare them with data from other archaeosciences to rediscuss the funerary traditions in place at the end of the Neolithic, the beginning of the Bronze Age.     

广西壮族颅骨的测量与研究

本文以来源于壮族居民世代聚居地区,生前资料比较可靠的150例颅骨为材料并用多因素分析等6方法探索壮族的体质特征、人种地位、地区类型及可能的起源。结果表明,壮族居民属黄色人种南亚类型,中华民族的华南,与柳江人,Chen皮岩人有最接近的亲缘关系。     

颜面扁平度的变异和山顶洞人类化石的颜面扁平度

扁平的颜面这一蒙古人种的颅骨特征可上溯到直立人时代。在新石器时代,颜面扁平度总的来看华北地区的要比华南的稍大些,但这种南北差别并无严格的地理界线;在现代,这种地理上的差别更不明显。山顶洞人类头骨化石的过小的颜面扁平度很可能是受外来“基因流”的影响的结果。     

Growth changes in measurements of upper facial positioning

Growth changes in the position of the midline upper face are examined for samples of Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and modern humans. Horizontal and vertical distances between nasion and the anterior end of the cribriform plate are plotted against stage of dental development. Kendall's nonparametric correlations between facial positioning and stage of dental development are tested for significance. In African apes, the upper face becomes more projecting and positioned higher relative to the anterior cranial base. The extent of this horizontal and vertical separation reflects primarily facial size. In modern humans, the upper face becomes more projecting but is relatively stable in its vertical position. Comparison of Pan and modern human crania in the youngest dental age category indicates that the upper face of modern humans is positioned lower early in postnatal life. The position of the upper face (glabella) relative to the anterior and posterior cranial base is presented for several fossil hominid crania. The fossil crania are similar to Pan and modern humans in facial projection relative to the anterior cranial base. However, glabella is positioned low in the fossil crania. Total facial projection (relative to hormion) for Sts 5 is similar to the mean for Gorilla. Fossil Homo and robust australopithecine crania display very projecting upper faces. We suggest that the upper face of Homo is projecting due to the length of the anterior cranial fossa, while robust australopithecines possess a thick frontal bone.     

福建漳平奇和洞发现的新石器时代早期人类头骨

2011年在福建漳平奇和洞发现的距今1万年左右的新石器时代早期人类遗骸"奇和洞III号",是迄今在福建地区发现的最早、最完整的古人类头骨,为探讨华南更新世晚期向全新世过渡阶段人类的体质特征及现代人群的形成与分化提供了重要的研究材料。本文对这件头骨进行了研究,奇和洞III号为35岁左右的男性个体,牙齿龋病严重,推测当时人类的经济模式主要以农耕为主。通过与更新世晚期柳江、山顶洞101号及14组新石器时代人类头骨的比较,发现奇和洞III号头骨兼有更新世晚期人类及新石器南、北方居民的混合体质特征:奇和洞III号头骨长而脑量大,似更新世晚期人类;其高而狭窄的面部、宽阔而低矮的鼻部,呈现出不同于南、北方人群的特殊体质特征。主成分分析显示,奇和洞III号与对比的新石器时代各组在头骨的测量数据上没有表现为明显的南、北地区间差异,但在头骨的测量指数或形状上存在时代和地区间的不同。本文研究为新旧石器过渡阶段人类体质特征的变异提供了进一步证据。     

Effects of fronto-occipital artificial cranial vault modification on the cranial base and face.

Artificial reshaping of the cranial vault has been practiced by many human groups and provides a natural experiment in which the relationships of neurocranial, cranial base, and facial growth can be investigated. We test the hypothesis that fronto-occipital artificial reshaping of the neurocranial vault results in specific changes in the cranial base and face. Fronto-occipital reshaping results from the application of pads or a cradle board which constrains cranial vault growth, limiting growth between the frontal and occipital and allowing compensatory growth of the parietals in a mediolateral direction. Two skeletal series including both normal and artificially modified crania are analyzed, a prehistoric Peruvian Ancon sample (47 normal, 64 modified crania) and a Songish Indian sample from British Columbia (6 normal, 4 modified). Three-dimensional coordinates of 53 landmarks were measured with a diagraph and used to form 9 finite elements as a prelude to finite element scaling analysis. Finite element scaling was used to compare average normal and modified crania and the results were evaluated for statistical significance using a bootstrap test. Fronto-occipitally reshaped Ancon crania are significantly different from normal in the vault, cranial base, and face. The vault is compressed along an anterior-superior to posterior-inferior axis and expanded along a mediolateral axis in modified individuals. The cranial base is wider and shallower in the modified crania and the face is foreshortened and wider with the anterior orbital rim moving inferior and posterior towards the cranial base. The Songish crania display a different modification of the vault and face, indicating that important differences may exist in the morphological effects of fronto-occipital reshaping from one group to another.     

Evidence of spinal tuberculosis at the beginning of the fourth millennium BC from Arene Candide cave (Liguria, Italy)

This paper describes tuberculosislike lesions affecting the spine of Neolithic skeleton found in Arene Candide cave (Liguria, Italy) and representing one of the earliest cases of this disease in Europe. The burial is attributed to middle Neolithic (square-mouthed pottery culture) whose layers date, by 14C, to the first half of the fourth millennium BC. The skeleton, well preserved in the postcranial portion, belongs to a male aged about 15 years having a very light body build. Resorptive lesions localized to the lower thoracic and upper lumbar vertebral bodies, collapse and angular kyphosis, resulting from complete destruction of T11 and T12 and partial destruction of T10 and L1, are the main pathologic features. The morphology of the lesions, sites involved, and age of the specimen are consistent with a diagnosis of tuberculous spondylitis (Pott's disease). The extreme gracility of the skeleton, along with other signs of stress (Harris lines, enamel hypoplasia) suffered during the last years of life, and the limited bony regeneration point to a disease process in its late phase having arisen at the beginning of adolescence. The funerary ritual suggests that the social integration of this adolescent was not prevented by the severe infirmity.     

辽宁本溪青铜时代人骨

本文记述了辽宁本溪市庙后山出土的青铜时代颅骨的主要特征,并与其他地区青铜时代的和现代的颅骨特征进行比较,讨论了我国东北地区青铜时代居民与其邻近地区居民体质特征之间的关系。     

Relationships between the frontal sinus and climatic conditions: a skeletal approach to cold adaptation

Previous studies in physical anthropology, using superficial facial features, show that the relationship between human facial morphology and climate is not clear. An alternate approach to the problem is the investigation of the deeper facio-anatomical structures (i.e., cranial sinuses and/or foramina) in relation to climatic variables. The present investigation statistically analyses the relationship between climatic conditions (wind chill equivalent temperatures and absolute humidities) and the occurrence and size of frontal sinuses in 153 Eskimo crania. Conditional results from tests of significance of differences and correlation suggest a relationship between low wind chill equivalent temperatures and small frontal sinus surface areas. These results are interpreted in light of cranial sinus function and environmental physiology.     

Skull and limb morphology differentially track population history and environmental factors in the transition to agriculture in Europe

The Neolithic transition in Europe was a complex mosaic spatio-temporal process, involving both demic diffusion from the Near East and the cultural adoption of farming practices by indigenous hunter–gatherers. Previous analyses of Mesolithic hunter–gatherers and Early Neolithic farmers suggest that cranial shape variation preserves the population history signature of the Neolithic transition. However, the extent to which these same demographic processes are discernible in the postcranium is poorly understood. Here, for the first time, crania and postcranial elements from the same 11 prehistoric populations are analysed together in an internally consistent theoretical and methodological framework. Results show that while cranial shape reflects the population history differences between Mesolithic and Neolithic lineages, relative limb dimensions exhibit significant congruence with environmental variables such as latitude and temperature, even after controlling for geography and time. Also, overall limb size is found to be consistently larger in hunter–gatherers than farmers, suggesting a reduction in size related to factors other than thermoregulatory adaptation. Therefore, our results suggest that relative limb dimensions are not tracking the same demographic population history as the cranium, and point to the strong influence of climatic, dietary and behavioural factors in determining limb morphology, irrespective of underlying neutral demographic processes.     

Influence of cranial deformation on facial morphology among prehistoric South Central Andean populations

Calculating biodistances among South American populations using cranial measurements is often hindered, as many available skeletal collections exhibit deformation. Acknowledging vault modifications, researchers have sought measurements in other regions which are unaffected by deformation. In the 1970s, a set of 10 "relatively" unaffected facial measurements was identified in Argentinean crania that later became the basis of numerous South American biodistance studies. These measurements include: minimum frontal breadth, bizygomatic breadth, orbit height, orbit breadth, palate breath, palate length, upper facial height, basion-prosthion length, nasal height, and nasal breadth. Palate length was excluded from the present analysis due to considerable measurement error. The suitability of these measurements in populations other than Argentineans has not been rigorously tested. Using a sample of 350 prehistoric crania from the Museo Arqueológico San Miguel de Azapa (MASMA, Arica, Chile), this project tested the hypothesis that these measurements are unaffected by either annular or tabular deformation. Results obtained from MANOVA analysis indicate this hypothesis cannot be fully supported. Among males, only 3 of the 9 measurements are unaffected by either form of deformation (palate breadth, basion-prosthion length, and nasal breadth), while analysis of females indicates that 4 of the 9 measurements remain unaltered (minimum frontal breadth, orbit breadth, basion-prosthion length, and nasal breadth). Additionally, analogous to the vault, facial measurements display patterns consistent with the deformation applied. Two implications can be drawn from this research: 1) previous studies using these measurements must be interpreted cautiously, and 2) researchers using these measurements must explicitly test their suitability in each population.     

Artificial cranial deformation and fossil Australians revisited

Based on cranial characters shared by Homo erectus in Java and Homo sapiens in Australia, Australasia is widely considered the strongest case for a regional origin of modern humans. However, artificial vault deformation has been suggested to be the cause of "archaic" characters such as frontal recession in key fossil Australian crania. We use log-log plots of cranial arc versus chord measurements and we score nonmetric traits often thought to be associated with artificial deformation to make systematic comparisons across groups and deformation types to identify universal consequences of artificial deformation. Based on our large comparative sample (n = 588) apparatus-deformed crania have flatter frontals and occipitals and usually more angulated parietals in the sagittal plane than undeformed crania, regardless of deformation type. Fossil Australian samples exhibit evidence of both undeformed and deformed individuals. The sample from Coobool Creek provides evidence that undeformed individuals had more rounded frontals than recent Australians. However, many individuals from Coobool Creek, Kow Swamp, and Nacurrie exhibit modification of one or more cranial contours. The Kow Swamp individuals in particular plot with deformed crania from all regions. In addition, the frequency of hyperostotic traits such as bregmatic eminence, metopic and sagittal keels in H. sapiens is influenced by both artificial deformation and pathological hypervascularity/hyperostosis. Thus it is unwise to use cranial contours and these nonmetric traits to infer genetic relatedness between Fossil Australians and Indonesian H. erectus.     

内蒙古察右前旗庙子沟新石器时代颅骨的人类学特征

本文所报道的１７例新石器时代人类颅骨出土于内蒙古自治区右前旗的庙子沟遗址,其年年代相当于仰韶文化晚期阶段。对该组颅骨的观察和测量结果表明,庙子沟新石器时代居民的体质特征与现代东亚蒙古人种最为接近。     

Position and orientation of the foramen magnum in higher primates

The location of the foramen magnum, with respect to the longitudinal axis of the cranium, and its orientation with respect to the Frankfurt Horizontal, have been studied in a total of 328 modern human and Pan crania. The samples were chosen in order to examine the effect of overall size difference on foramen magnum disposition. Foramen position (expressed as three indices) and inclination are relatively invariant among the modern human samples, but the foramen magnum is consistently, and statistically significantly, more anteriorly located in Pan paniscus than in Pan troglodytes. Sexual dimorphism is virtually non-existent. There is an apparent allometric effect on foramen position, but not on inclination, so that larger crania in the modern human and Pan paniscus samples tend to have more posteriorly situated foramina. The disposition of the foramen is unrelated to cranial base angle or facial prognathism, except that in Pan paniscus its relative anterior location is linked with the more flexed cranial base in that species. These results provide a comparative context for the examination of differences in foramen magnum disposition in fossil hominids. Differences in foramen magnum position and orientation between KNM-ER 1813 and A. africanus are most unlikely to be due to within-taxon variability.     

A study of sutural bones in Gujarati (Indian) crania

370 adult crania were examined to find the incidence of sutural bones in Gujarati (Indian) crania and to compare it with other populations to establish the distance between them. The mean measure of difference between Indian and other populations was statistically significant. Comparison of cranial capacity in skulls with and without sutural bones showed no significant difference, and this is interpreted as indicating that sutural bones are not formed secondary to stress.     

Rocker jaws

Most adult Polynesian mandibles are of the rocker form. Polynesian crania possess a very open cranial base angle and a large upper facial height. The mandibular growth rotations necessary to maintain occlusion in the presence of this cranial morphology lead to development of an exceptionally closed ramus-body angle, with consequent loss of the antegonial notch and appearance of the rocker form.     

Test of the relationship between sutural ossicles and cultural cranial deformation: Results from Hawikuh,New Mexico

A number of researchers have hypothesized that the biomechanical forces associated with cultural cranial deformation can influence the formation of sutural ossicles. However, it is still difficult to make definitive conclusions about this relationship because the effects appear to be quite weak, and contradictory results have been obtained when specific sutures and deformation types are compared across studies. This research retests the hypothesis using a single archeological sample of lamdoidally deformed, occipitally deformed, and undeformed crania from Hawikuh, New Mexico (AD 1300–1680). Our results show no significant difference in either the prevalence or number of ossicles between deformed and undeformed crania, suggesting that the abnormal strains generated by cranial shape modification during infancy are not a factor in ossicle development for this population. One significant relationship was detected at the right lambdoid suture in crania with asymmetrical occipital deformation. Crania that were more deformed on the left side showed greater numbers of ossicles on the right side, but the effect was small. Furthermore, the relationship may well reflect a sampling error, due to the small number of crania with greater left side deformation and scorable right side lambdoid ossicles (n = 11). Although it is possible that forms of cranial deformation other than the posterior tabular types examined here may affect ossicle expression, our review of the literature suggests that the relationship in humans is complex and incompletely understood at this time. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2009. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Recaching Decisions of Florida Scrub‐Jays are Sensitive to Ecological Conditions

Food caching animals depend on their caches at times of low food availability. Because stored food is susceptible to being stolen or degraded, many species employ cache protection strategies such as ceasing caching in the presence of others or avoiding storing perishable items for long periods. Several species frequently recover their caches and recache, which may reduce pilferage or degradation of cached items. We studied the food handling decisions of Florida scrub‐jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) after cache recovery to determine the roles that social and ecological environments play in post‐recovery decisions. Instead of reducing recaching in the presence of others, recovering jays flew away from the recovery site, allowing them to eat or recache a recovered item regardless of the social context. Microhabitat type and soil moisture of the recovery sites had a significant influence on whether recoveries were eaten or recached; most items that were recached had been recovered from bare sand sites or sites with low soil moisture. Taken together, our results suggest that food store management of Florida scrub‐jays are unaffected by the social context, but are strongly affected by the habitat conditions that influence the quality of caches.