Institution: | 1. PaleoFED team, UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France;2. PaleoFED team, UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, France
Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
Contribution: Conceptualization (equal), Data curation (equal), Formal analysis (supporting), Funding acquisition (lead), Methodology (supporting), Project administration (lead), Resources (equal), Supervision (equal), Visualization (supporting), Writing - original draft (supporting), Writing - review & editing (supporting) |
Abstract: | Objectives The diploic venous system has been hypothesized to be related to human brain evolution, though its evolutionary trajectory and physiological functions remain largely unclear. This study examines the characteristics of the diploic venous channels (DCs) in a selection of well-preserved Homo neanderthalensis and Upper Paleolithic Homo sapiens crania, searching for the differences between the two taxa and exploring the associations between brain anatomy and DCs. Materials and Methods Five H. neanderthalensis and four H. sapiens fossil specimens from Western Europe were analyzed. Based on Micro-CT scanning and 3D reconstruction, the distribution pattern and draining orifices of the DCs were inspected qualitatively. The size of the DCs was quantified by volume calculation, and the degree of complexity was quantified by fractal analyses. Results High-resolution data show the details of the DC structures not documented in previous studies. H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens specimens share substantial similarities in the DCs. The noticeable differences between the two samples manifest in the connecting points surrounding the frontal sinuses, parietal foramina, and asterional area. Discussion This study provides a better understanding of the anatomy of the DCs in H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. The connection patterns of the DCs have potential utility in distinguishing between the two taxa and in the phylogenetic and taxonomic discussion of the Neandertal-like specimens with controversial taxonomic status. |