학술논문
Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress.
Document Type
Academic Journal
Author
Sorrentino R; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy. Electronic address: rita.sorrentino2@unibo.it.; Stephens NB; Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA. Electronic address: nbs49@psu.edu.; Marchi D; Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa 56126, Italy; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Palaeosciences Centre, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa.; DeMars LJD; Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA.; Figus C; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy.; Bortolini E; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy.; Badino F; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy; Research Group on Vegetation, Climate and Human Stratigraphy, Lab. of Palynology and Palaeoecology, CNR - Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering (IGAG), Milan 20126, Italy.; Saers JPP; Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3EX, UK.; Bettuzzi M; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna 40127, Italy.; Boschin F; U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena 53100, Italy.; Capecchi G; U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena 53100, Italy.; Feletti F; Department of Diagnostic Imaging, Ausl Romagna, S.Maria delle Croci Hospital, Ravenna 48121, Italy.; Guarnieri T; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy; Interuniversity Consortium 'Istituto Nazionale Biostrutture e Biosistemi' (INBB-Biostructures and Biosystems National Institute), Rome 00136, Italy.; May H; Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 39040, Israel; The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, The Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 39040, Israel.; Morigi MP; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Bologna, Bologna 40127, Italy.; Parr W; Surgical and Orthopaedic Research Laboratories, Prince of Wales Hospital, University of New South Wales, Sydney 1466, Australia.; Ricci S; U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena 53100, Italy.; Ronchitelli A; U.R. Preistoria e Antropologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Fisiche, della Terra e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena 53100, Italy.; Stock JT; Department of Archaeology, Cambridge University, Cambridge CB2 3EX, UK; Department of Anthropology, Western University, London, Ontario N6A 3K7, Canada; Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena 07745, Germany.; Carlson KJ; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Palaeosciences Centre, Johannesburg, Wits 2050, South Africa; Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles 90089, California, USA.; Ryan TM; Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA 16802, USA.; Belcastro MG; Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna 40126, Italy.; Benazzi S; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna 48121, Italy; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103, Germany.
Source
Publisher: Academic Press Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 0337330 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1095-8606 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 00472484 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Hum Evol Subsets: MEDLINE
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
Neanderthal foot bone proportions and morphology are mostly indistinguishable from those of Homo sapiens, with the exception of several distinct Neanderthal features in the talus. The biomechanical implications of these distinct talar features remain contentious, fueling debate around the adaptive meaning of this distinctiveness. With the aim of clarifying this controversy, we test phylogenetic and behavioral factors as possible contributors, comparing tali of 10 Neanderthals and 81 H. sapiens (Upper Paleolithic and Holocene hunter-gatherers, agriculturalists, and postindustrial group) along with the Clark Howell talus (Omo, Ethiopia). Variation in external talar structures was assessed through geometric morphometric methods, while bone volume fraction and degree of anisotropy were quantified in a subsample (n = 45). Finally, covariation between point clouds of site-specific trabecular variables and surface landmark coordinates was assessed. Our results show that although Neanderthal talar external and internal morphologies were distinct from those of H. sapiens groups, shape did not significantly covary with either bone volume fraction or degree of anisotropy, suggesting limited covariation between external and internal talar structures. Neanderthal external talar morphology reflects ancestral retentions, along with various adaptations to high levels of mobility correlated to their presumably unshod hunter-gatherer lifestyle. This pairs with their high site-specific trabecular bone volume fraction and anisotropy, suggesting intense and consistently oriented locomotor loading, respectively. Relative to H.sapiens, Neanderthals exhibit differences in the talocrural joint that are potentially attributable to cultural and locomotor behavior dissimilarity, a talonavicular joint that mixes ancestral and functional traits, and a derived subtalar joint that suggests a predisposition for a pronated foot during stance phase. Overall, Neanderthal talar variation is attributable to mobility strategy and phylogenesis, while H. sapiens talar variation results from the same factors plus footwear. Our results suggest that greater Neanderthal body mass and/or higher mechanical stress uniquely led to their habitually pronated foot posture.
(Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
(Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)