Fotios Alexandros Karakostis

Morphometric patterns among the 3D surface areas of human hand entheses

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to put forth a new and precise methodology for calculating the 3D areas of hand entheses. Furthermore, it investigated some of the factors affecting hand entheses development through an assessment of their correlations and morphometric patterns. MATERIALS AND METHODS Fifty individuals from late-medieval San Pablo were studied. The sample consisted of high-definition 3D models of 17 entheses from the first, second, and fifth hand rays. A new methodology was introduced for quantifying their areas. Precision was verified using intraobserved and interobserver tests. Both raw and relative entheseal size (ratio of entheseal size to total bone surface size) were calculated. Bivariate analyses assessed the effect of age-group on entheses as well as the correlations across entheses of muscles that act synergistically, bone length, and articular surface size. The morphometric patterns among hand entheses were explored using a multivariate analysis. RESULTS The methodology presented no significant error. Age-group variation does not seem to affect hand entheses. In relative size, only particular pairs presented significant association and the entheses involved were not correlated with bone length or articular surface size. The multivariate analysis demonstrated high sexual dimorphism in overall entheseal size as well as two morphometric trends among hand entheses. DISCUSSION The proposed methodology can set the basis for further morphological 3D analysis of entheses. If biomechanical stress affects hand entheses, its impact would possibly be greater on their relative size. The morphometric patterns among entheses seem to reflect the performance of prehensile grips. Am J Phys Anthropol 160:694-707, 2016.

Osteometric sex determination using proximal foot phalanges from a documented human skeletal collection.

Diagnosing sex is vital for developing biological profiles from human skeletal remains. For that purpose, osteometric evaluation of bone size has proven to be usually effective. The present study investigates the degree of sexual dimorphism in proximal foot phalanges from a documented human skeletal collection, known as the Athens collection. Furthermore, it utilizes the data for the development of sex-discriminant formulas in Greek population. The material used consists of 749 proximal foot phalanges (left and right), which belong to 174 adult individuals (91 males and 83 females) that lived during the 20(th) century. The degree of sexual dimorphism reached as high as 16.76 %, with the left side demonstrating higher sexual dimorphism. The 1(st) proximal foot phalanges are proven to be the most sexually dimorphic among the bones of the sample. The minimum sexual dimorphism observed was in the maximum lengths of phalanges, whereas the most sexually dimorphic measurement was the medio-lateral width at midshaft. The discriminant functions developed provide classification accuracies that ranged between 77.1 % and 90.9 % for left and between 72.2 % and 86.6 % for right proximal foot phalanges. The results of this study suggest that proximal foot phalanges are useful for sex determination in Greek population.

A Statistical Method for Reassociating Human Tali and Calcanei from a Commingled Context

In a commingled context, assessing that a talus and a calcaneus correspond to the same individual could become a primary step for accurately sorting human remains. For this purpose, the lengths and widths of the trochlea, posterior calcaneal articular surface, and posterior talar articular surface were measured in 197 individuals (105 males, 92 females) from the Athens Collection. A total of 12 highly accurate equations for reassociating tali and calcanei were developed, using simple and multiple linear regression analysis and they were found to be suitable for sorting commingled human remains. Bilateral asymmetry and sex did not have an effect on the accuracy of the method.

Evidence for precision grasping in Neandertal daily activities

Contrary to common assumptions, Neandertal habitual behavior relied mainly on manual precision rather than brute grip force. Neandertal manual activities, as previously reconstructed from their robust hand skeletons, are thought to involve systematic power grasping rather than precise hand movements. However, this interpretation is at odds with increasing archeological evidence for sophisticated cultural behavior. We reevaluate the manipulative behaviors of Neandertals and early modern humans using a historical reference sample with extensive genealogical and lifelong occupational documentation, in combination with a new and precise three-dimensional multivariate analysis of hand muscle attachments. Results show that Neandertal muscle marking patterns overlap exclusively with documented lifelong precision workers, reflecting systematic precision grasping consistent with the use of their associated cultural remains. Our findings challenge the established interpretation of Neandertal behavior and establish a solid link between biological and cultural remains in the fossil record.

A Reliable Regression-Based Approach for Reassociating Human Skeletal Elements of the Lower Limbs from Commingled Assemblages

Accurate sorting of commingled human remains comprises a fundamental requirement for all further anthropological analyses. The lower limb bones are particularly important for reconstructing biological profiles. This study introduces a metric technique for sorting these elements using eight standard anthropological measurements and 222 adult individuals from Greece. The bones utilized were the os coxae, the femora, the tibiae and the tali. Simple regression analyses were used to develop functions for reassociating articulating bones, providing strong correlations (r = 0.74–0.95, p‐value <0.05) and high coefficients of determination (r2=0.54–0.91). Blind tests demonstrated that combining metric and morphoscopic techniques provides an excellent sorting accuracy for the hip and knee joints (ten of ten individuals), allowing for a reliable reassociation between a sex and age indicator (os coxae) and a body size indicator (femur). Overall, these results indicate the high value of metric methods in sorting commingled human remains.

Sixth annual meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution

The annual conference of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution (ESHE) took place in Madrid, Spain, convening from September 14-17 at the magnificent Museo Arqueol ogico Regional in Alcal a de Henares. Overall, 86 talks and 139 posters were presented to an audience of 354 people; the society itself includes 320 professional and student members. Poster presentations were accessible throughout the meeting in a dedicated area of the museum. This year, ESHE supported 12 student members with travel grants. The society also awarded two student prizes worth 1,500 euros each. The Pecha Kucha prize was awarded to Helen Fewlass (MPI-EVA) and colleagues for their methodological breakthrough in archeometry, while the poster prize went to Ana Pantoja-P erez (Chamartin) and colleagues for their innovative paleopathological analysis of the Sima de los Huesos skulls. Before the conference, 22 scientists from six countries attended the inaugural meeting of the International Council for Archaeozoology’s Microvertebrate Working Group (mvwg2016.wixsite.com/ mvwg), hosted by Angel Blanco-Lapaz and Sara Rhodes (T€ ubingen). In addition to the presentations and posters, the meeting included an informative discussion panel on manuscript submission supported by the Journal of Human Evolution. The conference concluded with a visit to the archeological sites in Pinilla del Valle.

Morphometric variation and ray allocation of human proximal hand phalanges

ABSTRACT In previous studies, the anatomy of proximal hand phalanges has been described and techniques of anatomical allocation have been developed. However, these rely on the observation of small phalangeal traits without providing a multivariate analysis of morphological variation. In bioarchaeological contexts, the form of these distinctive traits is often not clear and the use of alternative supplementary methods is vital. This study aims to conduct a multivariate analysis of proximal phalanges and introduce a new methodology of ray allocation for isolated proximal phalanges. The sample utilized involves 60 Greek individuals of the Athens Collection as well as 48 African-American and 49 European-American individuals of the Hamann-Todd collection. Multivariate analyses of variation were performed to assess differences across three population samples, sexes, and the five hand rays. Subsequently, a metric method for identifying the ray of isolated specimens was developed and a blind test was utilized to assess its value. The results demonstrated that there is extensive overlapping among population samples and substantial sexual dimorphism. Across rays, three morphological groups were observed. Identifying correctly the 1st and the 5th rays was possible in 100% and 93.0% of the cases, respectively. The classification accuracy for the 2nd ray reached the 91.0%. Sex-specific functions provided moderate accuracy for the 3rd and 4th rays, which ranged from 77.2 to 83.3%. The blind test indicated that the combined use of morphological and metric methods can provide a more certain anatomical allocation of proximal hand phalanges than each of these approaches separately.