Estimation of stature from the skeletal reconstruction of an immature Neandertal from Dederiyeh Cave, Syria
Abstract
Skeletal reconstruction of a child Neandertal unearthed at Dederiyeh Cave, Syria in 1993, is undertaken and the acquired stature discussed. Although the skeletal remains were well preserved, the reconstruction required several assumptions to be made because of the immature status of the specimen. The assumptions were mainly concerned with distances between bones in the inter-vertebral spaces and in the joints of the hip, knee, and ankle. These were estimated from X-ray films of modern children and data from previous studies. Stature was directly measured on the reconstruction, and found to be 79.2 cm. After corrections for soft tissue thickness and shrinkage of the casts, the stature became 81.7 cm. This estimate is consistent with estimates based on regression equations of long bone lengths, especially from those of the lower extremity. In comparison with longitudinal data for white American boys, the assessment of stature for Dederiyeh varied according to the estimated age. For a younger estimated age, the stature falls in the lower half of the white American range of variation, but with an older estimated age, it falls below the lower limit of the range of variation. Other immature Neandertals including two European specimens, Roc de Marsal and La Ferrassie 6, fall below the lower limit of the 5th to 95th percentile range based on the estimated statures from their long bone lengths. More comprehensive age assessment covering both fossil and modern humans is required before accurate conclusions in relation to Neandertal growth can be drawn.
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At 1.5-2 years old, the state of maturation of the complete spine of the Dederiyeh 1 child suggests that earlier in ontogeny, when the posterior synchondroses fuse, Neandertals followed a vertebral maturation schedule similar to modern humans.
“At 1.5-2 years old, the state of maturation of the complete spine of the Dederiyeh 1 child (34,35) suggests that, earlier in ontogeny, when the posterior synchondroses fuse, Neandertals followed a vertebral maturation schedule similar to modern humans.”
From The growth pattern of Neandertals, reconstructed from a juvenile skeleton from El Sidrón (Spain) (2017) · cites this paper as [34]
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- Authors
- Kondo, O., Dodo, Y., Akazawa, T., & Muhesen, S.
- Affiliations
- Tohoku University (JP)
- International Research Center for Japanese Studies (JP)
- Directorate-General of Antiquities and Museums (SY)
- Venue
- Journal of Human Evolution
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2000-04
- Volume
- 38
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 457-473
- ISSN
- 0047-2484 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W1995044639
- Cited by
- 32
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 21.13
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Human Evolution (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (07740673, 08041007, 08740676)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Archeology › Archaeological and Geological Studies
- Keywords
- Neanderthals, stature estimation, long bone length, age estimation, paleoanthropology
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Anthropology, Physical, Body Height, Bone and Bones, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Pelvic Bones, Sex Characteristics, Skull, Spine, Syria, Hominidae
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