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Science Forum Index » Anthropology - Paleo Forum » Morphology of "Hn" from Okladnikov Cave...
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| Marc Verhaegen... |
 Posted: Thu May 08, 2008 10:35 am |
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Viola et al.2008
Morphology of the Easternmost Neanderthals
Neanderthals once were thought to have ranged from Western Europe through
the Near East to Central Asia. According to recently published genetic data
on the fragmentary remains from Okladnikov Cave, their geographic range must
be extended to include southern Siberia (Krause et al.2007). Until now, only
limited information on the morphology of these easternmost Neanderthals was
published, concentrating on the dental remains (Shpakova & Derevianko 2000,
Turner 1990). Okladnikov cave, in the northern foothills of the Altai
mountain range, yielded a rich lithic industry most similar to the Western
European Mousterian, as well as teeth attributable to at least 3 individuals
and postcranial fragments to at least 2 individuals. The teeth show archaic
traits like a very complex occlusal pattern and a large anterior fovea, but
no derived Neanderthal traits like an uninterrupted mid‐trigonid crest, or
strong taurodontism. All teeth are rather small, and fall in the lower half
of the Neanderthal range of variation. The postcranial remains are all small
fragments, but allow some morphological conclusions. A manual phalanx is
strongly flattened and has a very broad distal end, similar to Neanderthals
and Middle Pleistocene Homo. An adult humerus is very small, with a
relatively small olecranon fossa. The child humerus has very thick cortical
bone throughout the distal half of the shaft, and increased antero‐posterior
bending strength compared to a sample of 23 modern children. The distal part
of the shaft is flattened medio‐laterally, similar to non‐modern Homo. In
general, the remains are characterized by a diverse, non‐modern
morphological pattern, but no Neanderthal autapomorphies can be perceived.
We discuss the implications of the presence of these ʺnon‐Neanderthal‐likeʺ
Neanderthals at the periphery of their distribution. |
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