Ella Been | Ono Academic College (original) (raw)
Papers by Ella Been
South African Journal of Science, 2021
A report on the skeletons of two individuals from the Malapa cave site in South Africa attributes... more A report on the skeletons of two individuals from the Malapa cave site in South Africa attributes them both to a new hominin species, Australopithecus sediba. However, our analysis of the specimens’ mandibles indicates that Australopithecus sediba is not a ‘Homo-like australopith’, a transitional species between Australopithecus africanus and Homo. According to our results, the specimens represent two separate genera: Australopithecus and Homo. These genera are known to have jointly occupied sites, as seen in several early South African caves, so one cannot rule out the possibility that Malapa also contains remains of the two taxa. Our results lead us to additionally conclude that all the Australopithecus species on which the relevant mandibular anatomy is preserved (not only the ‘robust’ australopiths but also the ‘gracile’ – more generalised – ones) are too specialised to constitute an evolutionary ancestor of Homo sapiens. Furthermore, given that the Malapa site contains represen...
Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation, 2019
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Biological Theory
In this article the author name William Sellers was incorrectly written as William Sellars. The o... more In this article the author name William Sellers was incorrectly written as William Sellars. The original article has been corrected. Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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...
Spinal Evolution, 2019
Reconstruction of the spinal curvatures of extinct hominins is essential in order to understand t... more Reconstruction of the spinal curvatures of extinct hominins is essential in order to understand their posture and function. Despite its importance, researchers face many difficulties in reconstructing spinal posture based solely on osseous material due to the absence of soft tissues.
Spinal Evolution, 2019
Humans are the only living hominoid that habitually stands upright and walks on two legs. The ado... more Humans are the only living hominoid that habitually stands upright and walks on two legs. The adoption of erect posture as habitual imposed substantial changes on spinal morphology and biomechanics. One of the major morphological changes is the increased curvatures found in the human spine. There is an ongoing debate about whether humans “pay” for becoming bipedal by suffering from a high prevalence of back pain and spinal pathology. In order to answer this question, we explored the relationship between sagittal spinal posture and spinal pathologies, back pain, and health-related quality of life. We found that spinal posture closely correlates with spinal pathology. Individuals with a well-aligned spine—within the neutral zone defined as moderate spinal curvatures and the line of gravity close to the acetabulum—have a better quality of life, less back pain, and less spinal pathology. Individuals out of the neutral zone, with accentuated or with decreased pelvic incidence and spinal ...
The vertebral spine is a key element of the vertebrate anatomy and it fulfills two main roles. Fi... more The vertebral spine is a key element of the vertebrate anatomy and it fulfills two main roles. First, it protects the spinal cord and associated blood vessels. Second, it is a structural column that influences both body posture and locomotion. The study of the evolution of the human spine thus provides information on how the distinct posture and locomotion of our species—striding bipedalism with an upright trunk—developed. In this volume we provide the most updated information on the morphology and evolution of the human spine. This volume mainly focuses on the skeletal aspect and contextualizes it within the evolution of the spine in hominoids, but it also provides orthopedic information as well as an overview of new methodological approaches in study of the spine. The objective of this introductory chapter is to provide an overview of the book, to summarize the state of the art on this subject, and to propose new avenues for future research.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
This paper explores the nature of parental involvement in youth basketball in Israel with regard ... more This paper explores the nature of parental involvement in youth basketball in Israel with regard to parenting style and in the context of dilemmas and ethical issues. It is well established that parental involvement in their child's sporting activity has vast implications on the child's motivation and enjoyment. With reference to Israeli society, only a few studies have focused on this subject. In order to address this lacuna, we used two questionnaires, given to 173 youth basketball players (child questionnaire) and their parents (parent questionnaire). Key findings illustrate three main themes. First, a higher level of satisfaction and contentment among basketball players whose parents demonstrated greater involvement; second, that parental emotional involvement is the most important variable for young athletes' satisfaction; and finally, differences in gender roles reveal that fathers are more involved with logistics, while mothers are more dominant in emotional involvement. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that parents should mainly place emphasis on emotional involvement. However, we suggest that parents do not bypass logistical care as this may create opportunities for greater emotional support and therefore greater child satisfaction.
Archives of Anatomy and Physiology, 2020
Purpose: We evaluated the association between cervical lordosis and age, sex, sedentarity, and hi... more Purpose: We evaluated the association between cervical lordosis and age, sex, sedentarity, and history of cervical trauma. Methods: CT scans of 206 individuals, 111 with and 95 without a history of cervical trauma were divided into three age groups (18-39, 40-59 and 60+ years). The cervical lordosis measurements [C0-C7 (total), C0-C3 (upper), C2-C7 (mid-lower), and ...
Human Movement Science, 2019
Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders. Changes in psychomotor behavi... more Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders. Changes in psychomotor behavior can be observed in gross motor skills, with gait disturbances thought to reflect defective brain functions in psychiatric conditions. While balance deficits are well documented in anxiety, only little is known about gait characteristics of people with anxiety. Objective: This study wishes to examine the existence of differences in gait, balance, mobility and muscle strength between people with anxiety and healthy individuals, and to investigate the relationship between level of anxiety and motor characteristics. Methods: An observational study was conducted in a psychiatric outpatient unit at a large Israeli general hospital. The sample consisted of 93 participants, ages 18-65: 48 of them (27 female, 21 male) categorized as having anxiety, and 45 (25 female, 20 male) without anxiety. Participants were divided into two groups of various ages and both genders, and completed two questionnaires and four physical tests: objective anxiety assessment (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale); spatiotemporal gait parameters (10-meter walking test); balance function (Unipedal Stance Test); muscle strength evaluation, and mobility (Time Up and Go Test). No attempt was made to correlate between the anxiety and control groups based on age and/or gender. Results: Participants with anxiety (both genders) were characterized by slower walking speed, shorter step length, and fewer steps per minute (p < 0.001), as well as balance deficiency and mobility dysfunction (p < 0.001), compared to the control group. Muscle strength in women with anxiety was found to be significantly lower than in healthy women. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine spatiotemporal gait components in patients with anxiety. Based on the findings, there is room to consider implementing gait analysis into the physical examination of patients with anxiety, as well as muscle strength, balance, and mobility function. Correct assessment and proper treatment of these aspects might contribute to the well-being of patients with anxiety.
Scientific reports, Jun 7, 2017
The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of ... more The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period-Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site 'Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM(3)); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeat...
Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine
Back pain has serious impacts on individual people and society, but its causes remain poorly unde... more Back pain has serious impacts on individual people and society, but its causes remain poorly understood. One long-standing hypothesis contends that many common back problems may be due at least partly to the stresses caused by our evolutionarily novel form of bipedalism. This chapter discusses this hypothesis and shows how recent palaeopathological, comparative and clinical evidence has been interpretated within an evolutionary framework to develop a new version of the hypothesis. We begin by outlining how the spine in humans differs from those in the great apes. We then review clinical evidence that suggests that there is a link between spinal column and individual vertebral shape on the one hand, and spinal diseases on the other. Next, we outline palaeopathological and comparative anatomical evidence that also supports the link between spinal/vertebral shape and disease. Thereafter, we discuss recent studies that not only indicate that two important acquired spinal diseases—interv...
Spinal Evolution, 2019
The vertebral column is the fundamental body part that determines locomotion and function in vert... more The vertebral column is the fundamental body part that determines locomotion and function in vertebrates. Understanding spinal posture, kinetics and kinematics is of great importance to the study of the paleobiology of extinct species. When discussing the biomechanics of the spine of extinct hominins, arguments are based solely on osseous material, as soft tissues are basically absent from the fossil record and because there is no living representative of these species to track and measure movement and function. In this article, we tried to determine the interactions between spinal posture and biomechanics within modern humans and translate the results to extinct hominins. Our main findings indicate that each group/lineage of hominins had special biomechanical characteristics. Early Homo sapiens and Homo erectus with moderate to high spinal curvatures, similar to the posture of modern humans, probably had similar spinal biomechanical characteristics as modern humans. Neanderthal lin...
Presentacion en: 4rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (Flo... more Presentacion en: 4rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (Florence, Italy ; 18-20 September 2014)
Background: Gait disturbances are common in psychiatric population and in patients with anxiety. ... more Background: Gait disturbances are common in psychiatric population and in patients with anxiety. Even though people with anxiety show slower walking velocity, the effect of the biophysical factors on their gait characteristics has not been examined. This study examines whether pain, balance, muscle strength and general joint hypermobility (GJH) mediate the relationship between anxiety and gait. Methods: A sub-analysis was conducted on a recent one-year observational study, which was conducted at a psychiatric outpatient unit, in a large Israeli general hospital. Results: Pain and static balance were found to mediate the relationship between anxiety and gait velocity and step length. The relationship between anxiety and step length was also mediated by GJH. The findings suggest that both pain, balance and GJH affect gait velocity and step length in people with anxiety. Limitations: The study did not randomize subjects into groups nor enlisted a blind procedure for the researcher or t...
South African Journal of Science, 2021
A report on the skeletons of two individuals from the Malapa cave site in South Africa attributes... more A report on the skeletons of two individuals from the Malapa cave site in South Africa attributes them both to a new hominin species, Australopithecus sediba. However, our analysis of the specimens’ mandibles indicates that Australopithecus sediba is not a ‘Homo-like australopith’, a transitional species between Australopithecus africanus and Homo. According to our results, the specimens represent two separate genera: Australopithecus and Homo. These genera are known to have jointly occupied sites, as seen in several early South African caves, so one cannot rule out the possibility that Malapa also contains remains of the two taxa. Our results lead us to additionally conclude that all the Australopithecus species on which the relevant mandibular anatomy is preserved (not only the ‘robust’ australopiths but also the ‘gracile’ – more generalised – ones) are too specialised to constitute an evolutionary ancestor of Homo sapiens. Furthermore, given that the Malapa site contains represen...
Hand Surgery and Rehabilitation, 2019
This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the ad... more This is a PDF file of an article that has undergone enhancements after acceptance, such as the addition of a cover page and metadata, and formatting for readability, but it is not yet the definitive version of record. This version will undergo additional copyediting, typesetting and review before it is published in its final form, but we are providing this version to give early visibility of the article. Please note that, during the production process, errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain.
Biological Theory
In this article the author name William Sellers was incorrectly written as William Sellars. The o... more In this article the author name William Sellers was incorrectly written as William Sellars. The original article has been corrected. Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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...
Spinal Evolution, 2019
Reconstruction of the spinal curvatures of extinct hominins is essential in order to understand t... more Reconstruction of the spinal curvatures of extinct hominins is essential in order to understand their posture and function. Despite its importance, researchers face many difficulties in reconstructing spinal posture based solely on osseous material due to the absence of soft tissues.
Spinal Evolution, 2019
Humans are the only living hominoid that habitually stands upright and walks on two legs. The ado... more Humans are the only living hominoid that habitually stands upright and walks on two legs. The adoption of erect posture as habitual imposed substantial changes on spinal morphology and biomechanics. One of the major morphological changes is the increased curvatures found in the human spine. There is an ongoing debate about whether humans “pay” for becoming bipedal by suffering from a high prevalence of back pain and spinal pathology. In order to answer this question, we explored the relationship between sagittal spinal posture and spinal pathologies, back pain, and health-related quality of life. We found that spinal posture closely correlates with spinal pathology. Individuals with a well-aligned spine—within the neutral zone defined as moderate spinal curvatures and the line of gravity close to the acetabulum—have a better quality of life, less back pain, and less spinal pathology. Individuals out of the neutral zone, with accentuated or with decreased pelvic incidence and spinal ...
The vertebral spine is a key element of the vertebrate anatomy and it fulfills two main roles. Fi... more The vertebral spine is a key element of the vertebrate anatomy and it fulfills two main roles. First, it protects the spinal cord and associated blood vessels. Second, it is a structural column that influences both body posture and locomotion. The study of the evolution of the human spine thus provides information on how the distinct posture and locomotion of our species—striding bipedalism with an upright trunk—developed. In this volume we provide the most updated information on the morphology and evolution of the human spine. This volume mainly focuses on the skeletal aspect and contextualizes it within the evolution of the spine in hominoids, but it also provides orthopedic information as well as an overview of new methodological approaches in study of the spine. The objective of this introductory chapter is to provide an overview of the book, to summarize the state of the art on this subject, and to propose new avenues for future research.
Frontiers in Psychology, 2020
This paper explores the nature of parental involvement in youth basketball in Israel with regard ... more This paper explores the nature of parental involvement in youth basketball in Israel with regard to parenting style and in the context of dilemmas and ethical issues. It is well established that parental involvement in their child's sporting activity has vast implications on the child's motivation and enjoyment. With reference to Israeli society, only a few studies have focused on this subject. In order to address this lacuna, we used two questionnaires, given to 173 youth basketball players (child questionnaire) and their parents (parent questionnaire). Key findings illustrate three main themes. First, a higher level of satisfaction and contentment among basketball players whose parents demonstrated greater involvement; second, that parental emotional involvement is the most important variable for young athletes' satisfaction; and finally, differences in gender roles reveal that fathers are more involved with logistics, while mothers are more dominant in emotional involvement. Moreover, the findings demonstrate that parents should mainly place emphasis on emotional involvement. However, we suggest that parents do not bypass logistical care as this may create opportunities for greater emotional support and therefore greater child satisfaction.
Archives of Anatomy and Physiology, 2020
Purpose: We evaluated the association between cervical lordosis and age, sex, sedentarity, and hi... more Purpose: We evaluated the association between cervical lordosis and age, sex, sedentarity, and history of cervical trauma. Methods: CT scans of 206 individuals, 111 with and 95 without a history of cervical trauma were divided into three age groups (18-39, 40-59 and 60+ years). The cervical lordosis measurements [C0-C7 (total), C0-C3 (upper), C2-C7 (mid-lower), and ...
Human Movement Science, 2019
Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders. Changes in psychomotor behavi... more Background: Anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders. Changes in psychomotor behavior can be observed in gross motor skills, with gait disturbances thought to reflect defective brain functions in psychiatric conditions. While balance deficits are well documented in anxiety, only little is known about gait characteristics of people with anxiety. Objective: This study wishes to examine the existence of differences in gait, balance, mobility and muscle strength between people with anxiety and healthy individuals, and to investigate the relationship between level of anxiety and motor characteristics. Methods: An observational study was conducted in a psychiatric outpatient unit at a large Israeli general hospital. The sample consisted of 93 participants, ages 18-65: 48 of them (27 female, 21 male) categorized as having anxiety, and 45 (25 female, 20 male) without anxiety. Participants were divided into two groups of various ages and both genders, and completed two questionnaires and four physical tests: objective anxiety assessment (Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale); spatiotemporal gait parameters (10-meter walking test); balance function (Unipedal Stance Test); muscle strength evaluation, and mobility (Time Up and Go Test). No attempt was made to correlate between the anxiety and control groups based on age and/or gender. Results: Participants with anxiety (both genders) were characterized by slower walking speed, shorter step length, and fewer steps per minute (p < 0.001), as well as balance deficiency and mobility dysfunction (p < 0.001), compared to the control group. Muscle strength in women with anxiety was found to be significantly lower than in healthy women. Conclusions: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind to examine spatiotemporal gait components in patients with anxiety. Based on the findings, there is room to consider implementing gait analysis into the physical examination of patients with anxiety, as well as muscle strength, balance, and mobility function. Correct assessment and proper treatment of these aspects might contribute to the well-being of patients with anxiety.
Scientific reports, Jun 7, 2017
The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of ... more The late Middle Palaeolithic (MP) settlement patterns in the Levant included the repeated use of caves and open landscape sites. The fossil record shows that two types of hominins occupied the region during this period-Neandertals and Homo sapiens. Until recently, diagnostic fossil remains were found only at cave sites. Because the two populations in this region left similar material cultural remains, it was impossible to attribute any open-air site to either species. In this study, we present newly discovered fossil remains from intact archaeological layers of the open-air site 'Ein Qashish, in northern Israel. The hominin remains represent three individuals: EQH1, a nondiagnostic skull fragment; EQH2, an upper right third molar (RM(3)); and EQH3, lower limb bones of a young Neandertal male. EQH2 and EQH3 constitute the first diagnostic anatomical remains of Neandertals at an open-air site in the Levant. The optically stimulated luminescence ages suggest that Neandertals repeat...
Palaeopathology and Evolutionary Medicine
Back pain has serious impacts on individual people and society, but its causes remain poorly unde... more Back pain has serious impacts on individual people and society, but its causes remain poorly understood. One long-standing hypothesis contends that many common back problems may be due at least partly to the stresses caused by our evolutionarily novel form of bipedalism. This chapter discusses this hypothesis and shows how recent palaeopathological, comparative and clinical evidence has been interpretated within an evolutionary framework to develop a new version of the hypothesis. We begin by outlining how the spine in humans differs from those in the great apes. We then review clinical evidence that suggests that there is a link between spinal column and individual vertebral shape on the one hand, and spinal diseases on the other. Next, we outline palaeopathological and comparative anatomical evidence that also supports the link between spinal/vertebral shape and disease. Thereafter, we discuss recent studies that not only indicate that two important acquired spinal diseases—interv...
Spinal Evolution, 2019
The vertebral column is the fundamental body part that determines locomotion and function in vert... more The vertebral column is the fundamental body part that determines locomotion and function in vertebrates. Understanding spinal posture, kinetics and kinematics is of great importance to the study of the paleobiology of extinct species. When discussing the biomechanics of the spine of extinct hominins, arguments are based solely on osseous material, as soft tissues are basically absent from the fossil record and because there is no living representative of these species to track and measure movement and function. In this article, we tried to determine the interactions between spinal posture and biomechanics within modern humans and translate the results to extinct hominins. Our main findings indicate that each group/lineage of hominins had special biomechanical characteristics. Early Homo sapiens and Homo erectus with moderate to high spinal curvatures, similar to the posture of modern humans, probably had similar spinal biomechanical characteristics as modern humans. Neanderthal lin...
Presentacion en: 4rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (Flo... more Presentacion en: 4rd Annual Meeting of the European Society for the study of Human Evolution (Florence, Italy ; 18-20 September 2014)
Background: Gait disturbances are common in psychiatric population and in patients with anxiety. ... more Background: Gait disturbances are common in psychiatric population and in patients with anxiety. Even though people with anxiety show slower walking velocity, the effect of the biophysical factors on their gait characteristics has not been examined. This study examines whether pain, balance, muscle strength and general joint hypermobility (GJH) mediate the relationship between anxiety and gait. Methods: A sub-analysis was conducted on a recent one-year observational study, which was conducted at a psychiatric outpatient unit, in a large Israeli general hospital. Results: Pain and static balance were found to mediate the relationship between anxiety and gait velocity and step length. The relationship between anxiety and step length was also mediated by GJH. The findings suggest that both pain, balance and GJH affect gait velocity and step length in people with anxiety. Limitations: The study did not randomize subjects into groups nor enlisted a blind procedure for the researcher or t...
Ein Qashish is an open-air, late Middle Paleolithic site located on the bank of the Qishon River,... more Ein Qashish is an open-air, late Middle Paleolithic site located on the bank of the Qishon River, on the eastern piedmont of Mt. Carmel in the Yizra'el Valley, Israel. This location is interesting because it is close to many of the major Middle Paleolithic cave sites in northern Israel, in an area where no open-air sites were previously known. e site is situated on the paleo-floodplain of the Qishon stream, where many relatively high-energy tributaries flowed from the steep slopes of Mt. Carmel into the main, low-energy channel. An extensive salvage excavation (~650 m2) in 2013 revealed the presence of at least four Middle Paleolithic occupation horizons in a 4.5 m sedimentary sequence, the top of which is 3.5 m below the present-day surface. These occupations were dated by optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) to 70-60 ka. All the occupations are associated with the Middle Paleolithic on the basis of lithic assemblage characteristics. Human remains were found in three stratigraphic layers. One of these occurrences consisted of one femur, two tibiae, and two fibulae in spatial association on one of the better-preserved occupation horizons. Out of the five lower-limb bones, only the femur and two tibiae are preserved well enough for study. e purpose of this study is to investigate and describe the taxonomic affiliation, age, and sex of these bones. Such fossils are of importance given the age of the site and the complex population dynamics that have been proposed recently for Middle Paleolithic hominin groups in the Levant.
Spinal posture has vast biomechanical, locomotor and pathological implications in hominins. Asses... more Spinal posture has vast biomechanical, locomotor
and pathological implications in hominins. Assessing the
curvatures of the spine of fossil hominins can provide
important information towards the understanding of their
paleobiology. Unfortunately, complete hominin spines are
very rarely preserved in the fossil record. The Neanderthal
partial skeleton, Kebara 2 from Israel, constitutes a remarkable
exception, representing an almost complete spine and
pelvis. The aim of this study is, therefore, to create a new 3D
virtual reconstruction of the spine of Kebara 2. To build the
model, we used the CT scans of the sacrum, lumbar and
thoracic vertebrae of Kebara 2, captured its 3D morphology,
and, using visualization software (Amira 5.2©), aligned the
3D reconstruction of the original bones into the spinal
curvature. First we aligned the sacrum and then we added
one vertebra at a time, until the complete spine (T1-S5) was
intact. The amount of spinal curvature (lordosis and
kyphosis), the sacral orientation, and the coronal plane
deviation was determined based on the current literature or
measured and calculated specifically for this study based on
published methods. This reconstruction provides, for the first
time, a complete 3D virtual reconstruction of the spine of an
extinct hominin. The spinal posture and spinopelvic alignment
of Kebara 2 show a unique configuration compared
with that of modern humans, suggesting locomotor and
weight-bearing differences between the two. The spinal
posture of Kebara 2 also shows slight asymmetry in the
coronal plane. Stature estimation of Kebara 2 based on
spinal length confirms that the height of Kebara 2 was
around 170 cm. This reconstruction can now serve as the
basis for a more complete reconstruction of the Kebara 2
specimen, which will include other parts of this remarkable
fossil, such as the pelvis, the rib cage and the cervical spine.