The influence of mass,volume and density on the frequency of recovery of fossil hominid hand and wrist bones |
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Authors: | D E Ricklan |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Anatomy, Medical School, University of the Witwatersrand, 7 York Road Parktown, 2193 Johannesburg, South Africa |
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Abstract: | A study of the mass, volume and density of each of the wrist and hand bones of male and female human skeletons was undertaken.
It was found that the mass and volume (i.e. size) of the bones are well correlated with the relative frequencies of preservation
ofAustralopithecus and earlyHomo wrist and hand bones from fossil hominid sites in Africa. In general, the larger the bone, the greater its preservation frequency.
In contrast to findings on bovid bones, the density of hand and wrist bones is not well correlated with the frequency of such
bones recovered from these sites. These findings may be explained in terms of the agents of deposition of the bones, the physical
nature of the deposit, and the methods of extraction of the fossils from the deposit. |
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Keywords: | Mass Volume Density Fossil Wrist Hand Taphonomy |
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