A geometric approach to cranial sexual dimorphism in the upper palaeolithic skulls from Predmosti (Upper Palaeolithic, Czech Republic)

The recently rediscovered glass plate negatives of unique skeletal fossil material from Předmostí – their estimated ranges from 25–27 000 years but they were destroyed during World War II – were studied by means of geometric morphometrics. The aim of this study was to determine the sexual shape variability of the best preserved skulls of adult individuals, using the methods of statistical shape analysis. While the results roughly support Matiegka’s sex estimation, skull 1 (Matiegka’s female) is more similar to males. The differences between the skulls of the Předmostí specimens are “more striking” in the lateral, frontal and vertical views, whereas the inter-sexual differences affect the non-affine parts of changes in vertical, lateral and basal views in particular. The areas of the metopion, glabella, auriculare, porion, asterion, gnathion and opisthocranion landmarks present more striking variations, i.e. those with more discriminatory power. According to the computations made of the various skull distances, the male skulls are more similar to each other and the female skulls less similar. This suggests possible patrilocal behaviour on the part of the males

A late upper palaeolithic skull from Moca (The Slovak Republic) in the context of central Europe

In April 1990, an excellently preserved cranium was found during gravel extractions from the bottom of the river Danube at Moča, in the Komárno district of southern Slovakia. Neither animal, nor archaeological remains were associated with this find. According to the calibrated 14C date, the individual had lived during the second half of the twelfth millennia cal BC, during the Late Upper Palaeolithic. The geologic-morphological background of this find, combined with absolute dating, made the reconstruction of its approximately primary position possible. The skull’s primary fossilization site is presumed to have been somewhere on the periphery of the local Kravany Terrace of the Danube. Both the fossiliferous layer sediments and the skull were later eroded and transported to the flood plain. Regarding the skull, its sex, age, morphology and morphometrics were investigated. The partly fossilised cranium was of an adult female, most probably aged 40 ± 10 years. Her skull has a gracile to moderate construction, with moderately marked muscle relief. The Moča find adds to the small collection of directly dated Late Upper Palaeolithic humans in Central Europe. Measurements of the Moča skull and most of its morphology are mainly within the recent human remains variability; however, it does not basically differ from the Late Upper Palaeolithic sample. Conversely, some of its measurements, e.g. great basion-prosthion length, individualize it

Variability of the Upper Palaeolithic skulls from Predmostí near Prerov (Czech Republic): craniometric comparison with recent human standards

One of the largest skeletal series of the Upper Palaeolithic period from Predmosti was destroyed during the Second World War, but the study of this material continues up to the present. The discovery of Matiegka’s original photographic documentation on glass plates [Velemınska et al., 2004. The use of recently re-discovered glass plate photo-documentation of those human fossil finds from Predmosti u Prerova destroyed during World War II. J. Nat. Mus. Nat. Hist. Ser. 173, 129–132] gives an opportunity to perform a new and detailed craniometric analysis of five adult skulls in their lateral projection. The craniometric data were analysed using specialised Craniometrics software, and the analysis included morphological and dimensional comparisons with current Central European norms. The aim of the study was not only to monitor the skull shape as a whole, but predominantly, to evaluate the size and shape of various parts of the splanchnocranium. The Upper Palaeolithic skulls are significantly longer, and male skulls are also higher than the current norms. The crania of anatomically modern humans are characterised by two general structural features: mid-lower facial retraction and neurocranial globularity. The height of the face of the Palaeolithic skulls corresponds to that of the current Central European population. The face has a markedly longer mandibular body (3–4 SD), while female mandibular rami are shorter. The skulls are further characterised by a smaller gonial angle, the increased steepness of the mandibular ramus, and the greater angle of the chin. These changes in the size and shape associated with anterior rotation of the face produce a strong protrusion of both jaws, but the sagittal inter-maxillary relationships remain unchanged. The observed facial morphology is similar to the Czech Upper Palaeolithic skulls from Dolni Vestonice. This study confirms the main diachronic changes between skulls of Upper Palaeolithic and present-day human populations

Human auditory ossicles as an alternative optimal source of ancient DNA

DNA recovery from ancient human remains has revolutionized our ability to reconstruct the genetic landscape of the past. Ancient DNA research has benefited from the identification of skeletal elements, such as the cochlear part of the osseous inner ear, that provides optimal contexts for DNA preservation; however, the rich genetic information obtained from the cochlea must be counterbalanced against the loss of morphological information caused by its sampling. Motivated by similarities in developmental processes and histological properties between the cochlea and auditory ossicles, we evaluate the ossicles as an alternative source of ancient DNA. We show that ossicles perform comparably to the cochlea in terms of DNA recovery, finding no substantial reduction in data quantity and minimal differences in data quality across preservation conditions. Ossicles can be sampled from intact skulls or disarticulated petrous bones without damage to surrounding bone, and we argue that they should be used when available to reduce damage to human remains. Our results identify another optimal skeletal element for ancient DNA analysis and add to a growing toolkit of sampling methods that help to better preserve skeletal remains for future research while maximizing the likelihood that ancient DNA analysis will produce useable results