Homo-Journal of Comparative Human Biology最新文献

Variations in the number, size and shape of the foramina transversaria of cervical vertebrae can affect the anatomical course of vital blood vessels and nerves, with the risk for pathological conditions, like vertebrobasilar insufficiency. This can result in compression of the vertebral artery during neck movements, which is characterised by headache, migraine, difficulties in swallowing, problems with speech and sight, balance disturbances and hearing disorders, among others. The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of the diverse anatomical variants of the foramen transversarium in 446 cervical vertebrae from the skeletal remains of 83 victims who died on the ancient beach of Herculaneum (Italy) during the eruption of Vesuvius Volcano in 79 CE. There were complete and incomplete double foramina transversaria in 20.6% of the vertebrae, and absence of foramen transversarium in an atlas (0.2%), a very rare condition in the literature. As the foramen transversarium is a key determinant for correct development of the vertebral artery, evaluations of variations in its number, size and shape provide useful information on the prevalence of these variations in the life and health conditions in the ancient population of Herculaneum.

The estimation of age and sex is mandatory in forensic identification of unknown skeletal remains and it could be reached analyzing different bones' features. The morphometric evaluation of Sella turcica is less described in literature. Many studies have been published in this field for age estimation but none of them based on head CT scan measurement. Previous studies were carried out for age estimation on different populations, but any study has been carried out on the Italian population. Furthermore, no studies were carried out with CT scan technology for the correlation between sex and Sella turcica. Thanks to CT scan technology it has been possible to measure sella turcica's dimensions in an easier way than previous methods, to detect more accurate parameters and even introduce a new one. In this study, the sample was composed of 115 adults, 53 males, and 62 females. Five different measurements of the sellae turcicae were taken. The purpose of this study was to find new elements for sex assessment with the evaluation of sella turcica measurements, improving previous studies, analyzing an Italian European sample. In this study, results of the statistical analysis showed correlation between sex and sella turcica's parameter "Length of Sella Turcica" for which grater values are related to male gender. In conclusion, the Authors consider this unexpected result useful for sex determination in association with other parameters.

Crenulated occlusal surfaces have previously been described on maxillary and mandibular molars; however, the occurrence of crenulations on premolars is only anecdotally supported. This study applies a modified version of a recordation scale developed for molar crenulations to record the frequency of crenulated premolars on the maxillary and mandibular premolars of modern individuals from a variety of populations: African, African American, Asian, Australian, European American, Latino, and Malay (n = 1238). Crenulations on the molars of the same individuals were also recorded to assess the relationship between occurrences on premolars and molars. Observations were compiled into frequency tables and analyzed using chi-square tests and correspondence analysis; relationships among teeth were quantified with polychoric correlation coefficients. Although crenulated premolars are observed rarely overall, the frequency of occurrence is significantly associated with group membership. Crenulated premolars occur most frequently in African, African American, and Australian samples and are observed least often among European American and Malay samples. Additionally, there is a strong relationship between third and fourth premolars, particularly within a jaw, and between fourth premolars and the molars in the same jaw. Interestingly, crenulations in premolars are most strongly associated with Grade 2 crenulations on molars. The observed differences between populations, and the associations between crenulated premolars and molars are evaluated with respect to function, tooth size, and dental development. Based on the results presented here, we recommend the addition of premolar crenulations to existing dental morphological traits used to study human population variation.

Introduction: A major challenge in anthropology is the estimation of human stature based on human bones since the stature of cadavers is slightly different from that of living humans. This study aimed to investigate the feasibility of estimating living stature in Japanese subjects based on sacral and coccygeal lengths as measured on three-dimensional (3D) models of the femur and pelvis reconstructed from cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) images. Subjects and methods: For this cross-sectional study, 106 healthy Japanese subjects (54 men and 52 women) were recruited. We measured the distances from the anterosuperior iliac spine (ASIS) to the most posterior point of the ischial spine (IS) (ASIS-IS), and from the ASIS to the most inferior point of the ischial tuberosity (IT) (ASIS-IT) on 3D bone models reconstructed from multi-slice CT images. Correlations of living stature with ASIS-IS and/or ASIS-IT on the left and right sides of the pelvis were evaluated. Multiple regression equations were derived and used as formulas for living stature estimation. Results: In men, living stature had strong correlations with ASIS-IS + ASIS-IT on both the left and right sides; Pearson's correlation coefficients were 0.717 and 0.706, respectively. In contrast, in women, living stature showed stronger correlations with all of the studied parameters; Pearson's correlation coefficients were highest for ASIS-IS + ASIS-IT on both the left and right sides (r = 0.753 and 0.744, respectively) compared with those in men. Formulas based on ASIS-IS + ASIS-IT provided the best estimation in both men and women, while ASIS-IS alone demonstrated a better estimation than ASIS-IT on both the left and right sides. Conclusions: This study revealed that ASIS-IS and ASIS-IT measured from CT images were reliable predictors of living stature in the Japanese population. Our estimation formulas were derived from measurements of living stature that were not affected by the physiological changes observed in cadavers. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to derive estimation formulas based on living stature. Our method may be useful in the identification of disaster victims, wherein long bones are usually not found intact but pelvic bones are. Furthermore, the findings could be relevant to the field of anthropology for estimating living stature.

Sex estimation is critical during forensic and anthropological investigations, and various techniques are used based on the presence of complete or fragmented human remains. This study evaluated sexual dimorphism in Sudanese sterna using multidetector computed tomography. This information was used to develop models for estimating sex, and to compare the accuracies of models based on discriminant function analysis (DFA) and binary logistic regression (BLR). The study included 126 Sudanese men and 144 Sudanese women who underwent computed tomography scans to create three-dimensional reconstructions. Six linear dimensions were measured on the manubrium and mesosternum. Men had larger mean values for most parameters, and nine parameters exhibited highly significant sexual dimorphism. The leave-one-out cross-validated sex estimation accuracies were 60.4-88.9% for DFA-based models and 60.4-89.3% for BLR-based models. The BLR-based models had noticeably better performances, with six parameters having sex estimation accuracies of >80% (vs. three parameters for DFA). The best BLR-based models incorporated the lengths and widths of the manubrium and mesosternum (accuracy: 89.3%, sex bias: 2.2%) and the combined manubrium and mesosternum lengths (accuracy: 85.6%, sex bias: 2.7%). Thus, computed tomography may be useful for measuring sternal dimensions and estimating sex among Sudanese subjects.

Archaeological studies provide a powerful tool to understand the prehistoric societies, especially when combined to cutting-edge morphological and molecular anthropological analyses, allowing reconstructing past population dynamics, admixture events, and socio-cultural changes. Despite the advances achieved in the last decades by archaeological studies worldwide, several regions of the World have been spared from this scientific improvement due to various reasons. The Arabian Gulf represents a unique ground to investigate, being the passageway for human migrations and one of the hypothesized areas in which Neanderthal introgression occurred. A number of archaeological sites are currently present in the Arabian Gulf and have witnessed the antiquity and the intensiveness of the human settlements in the region. Nevertheless, the archaeological and anthropological investigation in the Gulf is still in its infancy. Data collected through archaeological studies in the area have the potential to help answering adamant questions of human history from the beginning of the structuring of genetic diversity in human species to the Neolithisation process. This review aims at providing an overview of the archaeological studies in the Arabian Gulf with special focus to Qatar, highlighting potentialities and shortcomings.

As part of a larger research project, 274 skeletons from three medieval Icelandic sites were evaluated for signs of infectious disease and 32 were found to have lesions at least consistent with a diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB): eight non-adults ranging in age from infancy to up to 17 years of age, and 24 adults. A higher proportion of individuals from Skeljastaðir and Keldudalur were affected than at Hofstaðir, an observation which may be compatible with Hofstaðir's higher status. A higher number of male skeletons overall (n. 17) than female skeletons (n. 8) exhibited pathological change. The sample is unique for its high numbers of well-preserved infants, and the appearance of TB in children is indicative of continual transmission in a community. The changes recorded in infant remains are marked by destruction and minimal periosteal new bone formation, while one adult skeleton exhibits the classic sign of Pott's disease. Other signs on the skeletons include evidence for past lymphadenitis and iliopsoas (cold) abscess. These cases indicate that TB was likely introduced to Iceland soon after the settlement period and became endemic in different regions from at least the late 10^th - mid 13^th centuries.

Even though the relationship between occupational stress and entheseal changes has been extensively examined in modern skeletal series, less attention has been given in examining degenerative and plastic osseous change along the spine in relation to different professions. This paper attempts this investigation and is the first that explores the level of physical activity in female housekeepers of The Athens Collection. A sample of 65 adult skeletons up to 50 years old and 1653 vertebrae are examined for Degenerative Joint Diseases (including Schmorl's nodes) and spinal facet remodeling. The above sample is divided in three occupational groups: male laborers, male non-laborers and female housekeepers, based on biomechanical and socio-cultural criteria. Males in the labor group present the highest percentage in Schmorl's nodes (13.1%) and osteophytes, whilst housekeepers exhibit the highest rate in spinal facet remodeling (45.8%). As expected, male laborers actually do present a more intense physical activity than those of the non-labor one, while this study confirmed that housekeepers do comprise a physically stressed occupational group. Spinal facet remodeling and Schmorl's nodes seem to be the least affected indicators by the factor of age, and thus are cautiously proposed as markers of physical activity in modern reference collections. Our study supports the significance of examining the current markers and especially spinal facet remodeling, in a modern skeletal collection with documented occupations and hopes to encourage more researchers to further explore the potential merit of exploring occupational stress through spinal plastic and degenerative change in identified skeletal collections.

Discrete, small, roundish lesions of localized porous bone can be occasionally seen in the craniofacial skeleton. Such lesions are rarely mentioned and only occur as an incidental discovery being assigned to plenty of diagnoses. As an example, such multiple small lesions of the facial skeleton in a well-preserved skeleton of a 40-60 year old male of the Hunno-Sarmatian Period from Kazakhstan, are discussed. Some of the lesions were examined by digital microscopy, plain radiography, and plain and polarizing microscopy. Considering possible differential diagnoses of vascular, traumatic, inflammatory/reactive, metabolic, and neoplastic entities, as well as developmental conditions, its microscopic characteristics point to a fibro-osseous process. This paper intends to open a discussion on the diagnosis of such lesions, which have been relatively neglected in previous research.

Objectives: Torus Palatinus (TP) is a bony projection located on the oral surface of the hard palate. The trait is typically benign, has an unknown etiology, and varies widely in phenotypic expression. Prior studies suggest differences in TP prevalence by sex and ancestry, but the reported rates vary, even within a single ancestral group. We assessed the prevalence of TP and its association with palatal shape in a large multi-ethnic cohort of normal individuals. Methodology: 1102 adults were included (625 with European ancestry, 377 with West African anscestry, and 100 with East Asian ancestry). 3D digital dental casts were obtained and rated. TP frequencies were compared between sexes and/or ethnicities using Chi-squared tests. Dental cast models were then landmarked, and canonical variates analysis was performed to test for shape differences between those with and without TP. Results: Females had a significantly higher rate of TP than males across all three ancestral groups (p≤0.004). In males, no significant differences were found among ethnicities. Ancestral differences in TP frequency were driven by females, with East Asians having the highest rate (34.69%), followed by Europeans (24.88%) and West Africans (15.22%). Shape differences were found only in Asians and Africans, indicated a shorter and wider palate in presence of TP. Conclusions: Ethnic differences in TP frequency were present only in females. Further, females have considerably higher rates of TP than males in each population tested. Further studies of TP at earlier time-points and in connection to other aspects of craniofacial growth may shed light on these sex and ethnic differences.