Markus Bastir | CSIC (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas-Spanish National Research Council) (original) (raw)

Papers by Markus Bastir

The MIT Press eBooks, Feb 2, 2018

Objetivos : En este trabajo exploramos un flujo metodologico que abarca desde la toma de datos 3D... more Objetivos : En este trabajo exploramos un flujo metodologico que abarca desde la toma de datos 3D y el modelado cuantitativo mediante morfometria geometrica, hasta la produccion de un resultado estadistico “fisico” mediante fabricacion digital (impresora 3D) para evaluar su potencial para la investigacion en diferentes campos de la antropologia. Material y metodos : Se han escaneado varias estructuras del aparato respiratorio y del tronco en humanos y primates no humanos (costillas, vertebras, pulmones pelvis y discos intervertebrales) para obtener modelos virtuales en 3D. Estos modelos se midieron mediante landmarks y semilandmarks de curvas y de superficies, usando protocolos estadisticos estandares. Se ha usado una impresora 3D con diferentes filamentos (materiales) para representar los resultados. Resultados : Los landmarks y semilandmarks cuantifican satisfactoriamente estructuras tan complejas y de dificil medicion como costillas, pulmones, vertebras o discos intervertebrales, que permiten una descripcion anatomica tanto de estructuras seriales como del movimiento respiratorio. La impresion 3D de los resultados estadisticos ha funcionado de manera mas eficiente en geometrias sencillas (costillas aisladas y vertebras) y en tamanos medios (entre 5-10 cm) que en geometrias complejas (torax con pulmones, pelvis) y tamanos grandes. Conclusiones : La fusion entre la morfometria geometrica y los metodos de la fabricacion digital (FABlabs) permite un modelado cuantitativo cuyos resultados pueden dar lugar a modelos reales fisicos en 3D. El metodo permite un proceso heuristico atractivo, aunque limitado en cuanto al tamano y la complejidad geometrica, para la investigacion en antropologia fisica con posibles aplicaciones en diferentes campos relacionados, como por ejemplo la paleoantropologia o la antropologia medica.

Anthropological science, 2017

Approximately 90% of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are right-handed. This handedness is relat... more Approximately 90% of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are right-handed. This handedness is related to laterality patterns of the upper limb due to habitual activity patterns which are known to leave marks on the bone structure. Various studies have shown that Neanderthals were also right-handed in very similar proportions to AMHs. Here, for the first time, 3D geometric morphometric techniques are used to study humeral laterality in a Spanish modern human population and to make a comparative study with a Neanderthal sample. Results obtained in the modern human population show a larger right humerus and clear differences in shape laterality. Shape differences in both epiphyses and in the complete humerus could be caused by non-allometric factors. This could suggest different activity pattern in both arms during life. Shaft shape laterality could be explained by allometric factors, i.e. shape variability is related to size variability. Neanderthals show a larger right humerus compared to the left and the mean shape comparison with the common anatomical regions presents a non-significant result. Finally, olecranon fossa width is the only feature that clearly differs between modern humans and Neanderthals, with geometric morphometric and linear measures being wider on the Neanderthal left side and wider on the modern human population right side. This difference may be due to a combination of different factors and behaviors that involve complete extension of the elbow joint.

Scientific Reports, Apr 26, 2023

Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, Jun 1, 2016

This study analyzed how sex-specific features differed in male and female adult mandibles through... more This study analyzed how sex-specific features differed in male and female adult mandibles throughout the spectrum of vertical facial patterns (i.e., meso-, dolicho-and brachy-facial) and sagittal variations (the so-called skeletal classes I, II and III; normal maxillo-mandibular relationship, maxillary prognathism vs. mandibular retrognathism, and maxillary retrognathism vs. mandibular prognathism, respectively). Specifically, we test the hypothesis that sexual dimorphism in the mandible is independent of such facial vertical and sagittal patterns. A sample of 187 European adults (92 males, 95 females; age range, 20-30 years; mean age, 25.6 ± 4.2 years) from Granada (southern Spain) were randomly selected and grouped according to the standard cephalometric criteria of the sagittal and vertical patterns. Geometric morphometrics were used to analyse the size (centroid size) and shape (principal components analysis, mean shape comparisons) of the mandible. The patterns of sexual dimorphism were evaluated with a Generalised Linear Model with interaction term. We found that sagittal and vertical facial patterns are associated with different mandibular morphologies (size and shape) Also, sexual dimorphism was present in all comparisons. The hypothesis was rejected only for vertical facial patterns. That is, the nature of sexual dimorphism was similar among the skeletal classes but different (e.g., distribution of dimorphic variables, interaction term) in meso-, dolicho-, and brachyfacial mandibles. In conclusion, sex-specific mandibular traits behave in a different way across vertical facial patterns. These results imply that an assessment of the vertical facial pattern of the individual is required before a sexual diagnosis of the mandible is proposed.

Anthropologischer Anzeiger, Aug 1, 2023

El dimorfismo sexual es una importante fuente de variacion esqueletica intra-especifica. En el ap... more El dimorfismo sexual es una importante fuente de variacion esqueletica intra-especifica. En el aparato respiratorio de Homo sapiens esta variacion ha sido observada tanto en la cavidad nasal como en el torax, y ha sido vinculado con factores bioenergeticos relacionado con la masa y la composicion corporal. Mientras que el dimorfismo sexual en la cavidad nasal ha sido rigurosamente cuantificado en 3D en diferentes poblaciones esto no es el caso en el esqueleto toracico. El presente estudio pretende llenar ese vacio de conocimiento. Hemos recogido 402 landmarks y semilandmarks en 40 cajas toracicas (20 masculinos/20 femeninos) de pacientes hospitalarios sanos para analizarlas mediante tecnicas de morfometria geometrica y metodos Procrustes para un estudio independiente de la forma y el tamano. Nuestros resultados muestran diferencias significativas en las medias de centroid size entre mujeres (CS=2511.20) y hombres (CS =2820.20; t=-10.71; p<0.01). Diferencias en las formas medias de hombres y mujeres tambien son estadisticamente significativas (distancia Procrustes=0.04; p<0.01). En mujeres las costillas son mas declinadas y las cajas toracicas son relativamente mas estrechas que en hombres. El mayor tamano del torax masculino es coherente con un mayor tamano de la cavidad nasal observado por otros autores. Las diferencias en forma corroboran resultados previos indicando diferencias en la cinematica respiratoria, que en masculinos estaria mas influida por el diafragma y en femeninos por los musculos intercostales. Futuras investigaciones han de ser enfocadas al estudio del dimorfismo sexual en costillas en aislacion anatomica para un mayor entendimiento de la variabilidad morfologica toracica.

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), 2021

Carles Lalueza-Fox and Ignacio de la Torre (Challenge Coordinators). 185 pp. Disponible para su d... more Carles Lalueza-Fox and Ignacio de la Torre (Challenge Coordinators). 185 pp. Disponible para su descarga gratuita en: http://libros.csic.es/product_info.php?products_id=1459One of the greatest challenges in the study of Human Evolution is to understand the social and biological adaptive processes that took place along our evolutionary history. This challenge has molecular, genetic, behavioural, social and anatomic morphological dimensions and requires new multidisciplinary and technological approaches

American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 2022

ObjectivesRecent studies highlighted the importance of the fibula to further our understanding of... more ObjectivesRecent studies highlighted the importance of the fibula to further our understanding of locomotor adaptations in fossil hominins. In this study, we present a three‐dimensional geometric morphometric (3D‐GM) investigation of the distal fibula in extant hominids and Australopithecus afarensis with the aim of pointing out morphological correlations to arboreal behavior.MethodsThree‐dimensional surface meshes of the distal fibula were obtained using computer tomography for 40 extant hominid specimens and laser scanner for five A. afarensis specimens. Distal fibula morphology was quantified positioning 11 fixed landmarks, 40 curve semilandmarks, and 20 surface landmarks on each specimen. A generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA) was carried out on all landmark coordinates followed by Procrustes ANOVA. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the GPA‐aligned shape coordinates. Kruskal‐Wallis tests and Mann–Whitney test were performed on scores along PCs.ResultsGreat ape...

Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, 2021

This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape o... more This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape of the full series of cervical vertebrae delving into variability related to sex and population background. For this reason, we analyzed the cervical vertebrae of both males and females belonging to Europeans, Africans, and Greenland Inuit. We 3D-scanned a total of 219 cervical vertebrae of males and females of three different modern human populations (European, African, and Inuit). A minimum of 72 landmarks and curve semilandmarks were positioned in each of the 3D vertebral models. Landmark configurations were analyzed following the standards of 3D Geometric Morphometrics to test for size and shape differences related to sex or population variation. Results show that male cervical vertebrae are consistently larger than in females while no regular shape differences are observed between males and females in any of the populations. Sex differences in cervical lordosis are thus not supported...

Cover image: Saccopastore I "Th e discovery of the Neanderthal cranium at Saccopastore (Roma) dem... more Cover image: Saccopastore I "Th e discovery of the Neanderthal cranium at Saccopastore (Roma) demonstrates that these humans lived in Latium, together with the large extince mammals of the Pleistocene, during the interglacial, being witness to the last eruptions of the nearby volcanoes." Translated and adapted from S. Sergi, 1929 (Rivista di Antropologia vol. XXVIII).

Scientific Reports, 2022

The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on the... more The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pl...

Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, 2019

The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital techn... more The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital technology can be combined to build a laboratory capable to produce 3D (and reproduce in 3D) anatomical models for research, teaching and museum exhibitions on topics related to anatomy, morphology in natural sciences, biology and medicine. We present workflows in our Virtual Morphology Lab that can be used for research, training (museum, academic), and external service. We first review different surface scanning equipment and post-processing techniques that are useful for scanning in museum collections and provide technical recommendations for hard- and software as well as storing media on the web. This section is followed by an overview of available software packages for rigorous and effective 3D measurements of landmarks and sliding semi-landmarks, providing extensive supplementary information with guiding manuals for self-teaching in these cutting-edge but complicated research methods. We...

Trabajo presentado en el XI Congreso Luso – Espanol de Herpetologia / XV Congreso Espanol de Herp... more Trabajo presentado en el XI Congreso Luso – Espanol de Herpetologia / XV Congreso Espanol de Herpetologia, celebrado en Sevilla, Espana, del 6 al 9 de octubre de 2010

Fundacion Banco Santander, Sociedad de Amigos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Fundacion... more Fundacion Banco Santander, Sociedad de Amigos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Fundacion Espanola para la Ciencia y Tecnologia, Asociacion Espanola de Cine e Imagen Cientificos, Sociedad Espanola de Biologia Evolutiva.

Resumen del poster presentado en: 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Hum... more Resumen del poster presentado en: 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution, 19-21 September 2013, Vienna/Austria

The MIT Press eBooks, Feb 2, 2018

Objetivos : En este trabajo exploramos un flujo metodologico que abarca desde la toma de datos 3D... more Objetivos : En este trabajo exploramos un flujo metodologico que abarca desde la toma de datos 3D y el modelado cuantitativo mediante morfometria geometrica, hasta la produccion de un resultado estadistico “fisico” mediante fabricacion digital (impresora 3D) para evaluar su potencial para la investigacion en diferentes campos de la antropologia. Material y metodos : Se han escaneado varias estructuras del aparato respiratorio y del tronco en humanos y primates no humanos (costillas, vertebras, pulmones pelvis y discos intervertebrales) para obtener modelos virtuales en 3D. Estos modelos se midieron mediante landmarks y semilandmarks de curvas y de superficies, usando protocolos estadisticos estandares. Se ha usado una impresora 3D con diferentes filamentos (materiales) para representar los resultados. Resultados : Los landmarks y semilandmarks cuantifican satisfactoriamente estructuras tan complejas y de dificil medicion como costillas, pulmones, vertebras o discos intervertebrales, que permiten una descripcion anatomica tanto de estructuras seriales como del movimiento respiratorio. La impresion 3D de los resultados estadisticos ha funcionado de manera mas eficiente en geometrias sencillas (costillas aisladas y vertebras) y en tamanos medios (entre 5-10 cm) que en geometrias complejas (torax con pulmones, pelvis) y tamanos grandes. Conclusiones : La fusion entre la morfometria geometrica y los metodos de la fabricacion digital (FABlabs) permite un modelado cuantitativo cuyos resultados pueden dar lugar a modelos reales fisicos en 3D. El metodo permite un proceso heuristico atractivo, aunque limitado en cuanto al tamano y la complejidad geometrica, para la investigacion en antropologia fisica con posibles aplicaciones en diferentes campos relacionados, como por ejemplo la paleoantropologia o la antropologia medica.

Anthropological science, 2017

Approximately 90% of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are right-handed. This handedness is relat... more Approximately 90% of anatomically modern humans (AMHs) are right-handed. This handedness is related to laterality patterns of the upper limb due to habitual activity patterns which are known to leave marks on the bone structure. Various studies have shown that Neanderthals were also right-handed in very similar proportions to AMHs. Here, for the first time, 3D geometric morphometric techniques are used to study humeral laterality in a Spanish modern human population and to make a comparative study with a Neanderthal sample. Results obtained in the modern human population show a larger right humerus and clear differences in shape laterality. Shape differences in both epiphyses and in the complete humerus could be caused by non-allometric factors. This could suggest different activity pattern in both arms during life. Shaft shape laterality could be explained by allometric factors, i.e. shape variability is related to size variability. Neanderthals show a larger right humerus compared to the left and the mean shape comparison with the common anatomical regions presents a non-significant result. Finally, olecranon fossa width is the only feature that clearly differs between modern humans and Neanderthals, with geometric morphometric and linear measures being wider on the Neanderthal left side and wider on the modern human population right side. This difference may be due to a combination of different factors and behaviors that involve complete extension of the elbow joint.

Scientific Reports, Apr 26, 2023

Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, Jun 1, 2016

This study analyzed how sex-specific features differed in male and female adult mandibles through... more This study analyzed how sex-specific features differed in male and female adult mandibles throughout the spectrum of vertical facial patterns (i.e., meso-, dolicho-and brachy-facial) and sagittal variations (the so-called skeletal classes I, II and III; normal maxillo-mandibular relationship, maxillary prognathism vs. mandibular retrognathism, and maxillary retrognathism vs. mandibular prognathism, respectively). Specifically, we test the hypothesis that sexual dimorphism in the mandible is independent of such facial vertical and sagittal patterns. A sample of 187 European adults (92 males, 95 females; age range, 20-30 years; mean age, 25.6 ± 4.2 years) from Granada (southern Spain) were randomly selected and grouped according to the standard cephalometric criteria of the sagittal and vertical patterns. Geometric morphometrics were used to analyse the size (centroid size) and shape (principal components analysis, mean shape comparisons) of the mandible. The patterns of sexual dimorphism were evaluated with a Generalised Linear Model with interaction term. We found that sagittal and vertical facial patterns are associated with different mandibular morphologies (size and shape) Also, sexual dimorphism was present in all comparisons. The hypothesis was rejected only for vertical facial patterns. That is, the nature of sexual dimorphism was similar among the skeletal classes but different (e.g., distribution of dimorphic variables, interaction term) in meso-, dolicho-, and brachyfacial mandibles. In conclusion, sex-specific mandibular traits behave in a different way across vertical facial patterns. These results imply that an assessment of the vertical facial pattern of the individual is required before a sexual diagnosis of the mandible is proposed.

Anthropologischer Anzeiger, Aug 1, 2023

El dimorfismo sexual es una importante fuente de variacion esqueletica intra-especifica. En el ap... more El dimorfismo sexual es una importante fuente de variacion esqueletica intra-especifica. En el aparato respiratorio de Homo sapiens esta variacion ha sido observada tanto en la cavidad nasal como en el torax, y ha sido vinculado con factores bioenergeticos relacionado con la masa y la composicion corporal. Mientras que el dimorfismo sexual en la cavidad nasal ha sido rigurosamente cuantificado en 3D en diferentes poblaciones esto no es el caso en el esqueleto toracico. El presente estudio pretende llenar ese vacio de conocimiento. Hemos recogido 402 landmarks y semilandmarks en 40 cajas toracicas (20 masculinos/20 femeninos) de pacientes hospitalarios sanos para analizarlas mediante tecnicas de morfometria geometrica y metodos Procrustes para un estudio independiente de la forma y el tamano. Nuestros resultados muestran diferencias significativas en las medias de centroid size entre mujeres (CS=2511.20) y hombres (CS =2820.20; t=-10.71; p<0.01). Diferencias en las formas medias de hombres y mujeres tambien son estadisticamente significativas (distancia Procrustes=0.04; p<0.01). En mujeres las costillas son mas declinadas y las cajas toracicas son relativamente mas estrechas que en hombres. El mayor tamano del torax masculino es coherente con un mayor tamano de la cavidad nasal observado por otros autores. Las diferencias en forma corroboran resultados previos indicando diferencias en la cinematica respiratoria, que en masculinos estaria mas influida por el diafragma y en femeninos por los musculos intercostales. Futuras investigaciones han de ser enfocadas al estudio del dimorfismo sexual en costillas en aislacion anatomica para un mayor entendimiento de la variabilidad morfologica toracica.

Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (España), 2021

Carles Lalueza-Fox and Ignacio de la Torre (Challenge Coordinators). 185 pp. Disponible para su d... more Carles Lalueza-Fox and Ignacio de la Torre (Challenge Coordinators). 185 pp. Disponible para su descarga gratuita en: http://libros.csic.es/product_info.php?products_id=1459One of the greatest challenges in the study of Human Evolution is to understand the social and biological adaptive processes that took place along our evolutionary history. This challenge has molecular, genetic, behavioural, social and anatomic morphological dimensions and requires new multidisciplinary and technological approaches

American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 2022

ObjectivesRecent studies highlighted the importance of the fibula to further our understanding of... more ObjectivesRecent studies highlighted the importance of the fibula to further our understanding of locomotor adaptations in fossil hominins. In this study, we present a three‐dimensional geometric morphometric (3D‐GM) investigation of the distal fibula in extant hominids and Australopithecus afarensis with the aim of pointing out morphological correlations to arboreal behavior.MethodsThree‐dimensional surface meshes of the distal fibula were obtained using computer tomography for 40 extant hominid specimens and laser scanner for five A. afarensis specimens. Distal fibula morphology was quantified positioning 11 fixed landmarks, 40 curve semilandmarks, and 20 surface landmarks on each specimen. A generalized Procrustes analysis (GPA) was carried out on all landmark coordinates followed by Procrustes ANOVA. Principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the GPA‐aligned shape coordinates. Kruskal‐Wallis tests and Mann–Whitney test were performed on scores along PCs.ResultsGreat ape...

Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, 2021

This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape o... more This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape of the full series of cervical vertebrae delving into variability related to sex and population background. For this reason, we analyzed the cervical vertebrae of both males and females belonging to Europeans, Africans, and Greenland Inuit. We 3D-scanned a total of 219 cervical vertebrae of males and females of three different modern human populations (European, African, and Inuit). A minimum of 72 landmarks and curve semilandmarks were positioned in each of the 3D vertebral models. Landmark configurations were analyzed following the standards of 3D Geometric Morphometrics to test for size and shape differences related to sex or population variation. Results show that male cervical vertebrae are consistently larger than in females while no regular shape differences are observed between males and females in any of the populations. Sex differences in cervical lordosis are thus not supported...

Cover image: Saccopastore I "Th e discovery of the Neanderthal cranium at Saccopastore (Roma) dem... more Cover image: Saccopastore I "Th e discovery of the Neanderthal cranium at Saccopastore (Roma) demonstrates that these humans lived in Latium, together with the large extince mammals of the Pleistocene, during the interglacial, being witness to the last eruptions of the nearby volcanoes." Translated and adapted from S. Sergi, 1929 (Rivista di Antropologia vol. XXVIII).

Scientific Reports, 2022

The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on the... more The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal remains. UB 10749 is a complete lower lumbar vertebral body, with morphological characteristics consistent with Homo sp. Our analysis indicates that UB-10749 was a 6- to 12-year-old child at death, displaying delayed ossification pattern compared with modern humans. Its predicted adult size is comparable to other early Pleistocene large-bodied hominins from Africa. Paleobiological differences between UB 10749 and other early Eurasian hominins supports at least two distinct out-of-Africa dispersal events. This observation corresponds with variants of lithic traditions (Oldowan; Acheulian) as well as various ecological niches across early Pl...

Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS, 2019

The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital techn... more The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital technology can be combined to build a laboratory capable to produce 3D (and reproduce in 3D) anatomical models for research, teaching and museum exhibitions on topics related to anatomy, morphology in natural sciences, biology and medicine. We present workflows in our Virtual Morphology Lab that can be used for research, training (museum, academic), and external service. We first review different surface scanning equipment and post-processing techniques that are useful for scanning in museum collections and provide technical recommendations for hard- and software as well as storing media on the web. This section is followed by an overview of available software packages for rigorous and effective 3D measurements of landmarks and sliding semi-landmarks, providing extensive supplementary information with guiding manuals for self-teaching in these cutting-edge but complicated research methods. We...

Trabajo presentado en el XI Congreso Luso – Espanol de Herpetologia / XV Congreso Espanol de Herp... more Trabajo presentado en el XI Congreso Luso – Espanol de Herpetologia / XV Congreso Espanol de Herpetologia, celebrado en Sevilla, Espana, del 6 al 9 de octubre de 2010

Fundacion Banco Santander, Sociedad de Amigos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Fundacion... more Fundacion Banco Santander, Sociedad de Amigos del Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Fundacion Espanola para la Ciencia y Tecnologia, Asociacion Espanola de Cine e Imagen Cientificos, Sociedad Espanola de Biologia Evolutiva.

Resumen del poster presentado en: 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Hum... more Resumen del poster presentado en: 3rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution, 19-21 September 2013, Vienna/Austria

Ramos, J., Bernal, D., Vijande, E. y Cantillo, J.J. (Eds.): El abrigo y la cueva de Benzú: memoria de los trabajos arqueológicos de una decáda en Ceuta (2002-2012): 691-701. Servicio de Publicaciones Universidad de Cádiz y Ciudad Autónoma de Ceuta, 2013

The thorax and pelvis are integrated systems, important for understanding human body shape and ev... more The thorax and pelvis are integrated systems,
important for understanding human body shape
and evolution. Research has shown that in the
lower thorax, sexual dimorphism and allometry
produce wider ribcages in larger males and
narrower ones in smaller females. If the pelvis
and thorax are integrated, we would expect that
the upper pelvis would similarly be wider in larger
males and narrower in smaller females. Within
this framework of torso integration, we explore
allometry and sexual dimorphism in ossa coxae.
From a human sample with variation in body
size (25 males, 25 females, Bass Collection;
N=3 small-bodied humans, AMNH), we measured
142 (semi)landmarks on coxal bones and
analyzed them using Geometric morphometrics.
These results explore how sexual dimorphism
and allometry affect torso width measured from
pelvis morphology compared to previous studies
of the ribcage. Males and females differ both allometrically
and non-allometrically. Allometrically,
smaller individuals have wider ossa coxae than
larger individuals, regardless of sex; non-allometrically,
females have a wider pelvic inlet than
males, presumably due to obstetric adaptations.
Both findings contradict previous results on lower
ribcage dimensions. Our results show that while
allometry and sexual dimorphism are important
factors explaining ossa coxae morphology, they affect the pelvis and thorax differently, challenging
the torso integration model. Morphological and
positional relations between both hip bones and
the sacrum could account for this. However, interactions
between 3D-pelvis shape and size and
stature are likely important in the context of pelvis
reconstructions and body shape in small-bodied
humans and hominins.