Gerhard Hotz
Biographic Data
| ID | 3837907 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gerhard Hotz |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gerhard |
| FAMILY NAME | Hotz |
| SIGNATURE | HOTZ G |
| AFFILIATIONS | Natural History Museum of Basel |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 94 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2003 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Les pouces des Néandertaliens de La Ferrassie
International audience
Humanlike manual activities in Australopithecus
The evolution of the human hand is a topic of great interest in paleoanthropology. As the hand can be involved in a vast array of activities, knowledge regarding how it was used by early hominins can yield crucial information on the factors driving biocultural evolution. Previous research on early hominin hands focused on the overall bone shape. However, while such approaches can inform on mechanical abilities and the evolved efficiency of manipu…
New insights into the manual activities of individuals from the Phaleron cemetery (Archaic Athens, Greece)
Biocultural evidence of precise manual activities in an Early Holocene individual of the high‐altitude Peruvian Andes
Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks
Measuring incremental line width and appearance in the tooth cementum of recent and archaeological human teeth to identify irregularities
A repeatable geometric morphometric approach to the analysis of hand entheseal three‐dimensional form
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to put forth a precise landmark-based technique for reconstructing the three-dimensional shape of human entheseal surfaces, to investigate whether the shape of human entheses is related to their size. The effects of age-at-death and bone length on entheseal shapes were also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised high-definition three-dimensional models of three right hand entheseal surfaces…
Occupational manual activity is reflected on the patterns among hand entheses
OBJECTIVES: In anthropological sciences, entheses are widely utilized as occupational stress markers. However, the reaction of entheseal surfaces to mechanical loading is not well understood. Furthermore, previous studies on entheses relied on the individuals' occupation-at-death. Past research by one of us has identified two patterns among hand entheses, proposing that they reflect two synergistic muscle groups. Here, we investigate the associat…
CT-Osteoabsorptiometry (CT-OAM) - a new investigation technique in the field of mummy research
With help of CT-OAM pathological load distributions can be visualized before macroscopical changes appear and the information obtained can be useful to solve paleopathological and paleoarchaeological questions.
A simple metric sexing method for unknown skeletal remains
Sex diagnosis on human skeletal remains from forensic or archaeological contexts is often hampered by poor preservation or completeness. The successful application of most identification methods demands the presence of skull or pelvis, since most reliable sex-determining features can be found here; unfortunately, because of their fragile anatomy, these bones are frequently damaged or destroyed. To compensate for this, we tested the effectiveness …
Basics in paleodemography
Recent advances in the methods of skeletal age estimation have rekindled interest in their applicability to paleodemography. The current study contributes to the discussion by applying several long established as well as recently developed or refined aging methods to a subsample of 121 adult skeletons from the early medieval cemetery of Lauchheim. The skeletal remains were analyzed by 13 independent observers using a variety of aging techniques (…
Bone Microstructure and Its Hidden Information
Human bone micromorphology gives clues to a variety of life history parameters, such as individual age, health status, and physical activity. In the course of an ongoing study, thin cross sections of femoral compact bone from three skeletal series are investigated for different purposes. The first series consists of 103 adult skeletons excavated from a 19th century hospital graveyard in Basel, Switzerland. Several disease- and stress-markers, lik…
Skeletal manifestations of hypothyroidism from Switzerland
Hypothyroidism is caused by a deficiency in the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Dwarfism is the most obvious skeletal manifestation, but most people with hypothyroidism do not have any skeletal evidence of the disease. When the skeleton is affected, the severity of this manifestation depends on the degree of the deficiency and age of onset. Endemic hypothyroidism typically is linked to specific ecological settings such as the high mountains where i…
Cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia and life expectancy of the 20 years old as stressors of the early medieval population
The aim of this study is based on the analysis of diachronically social and sexual specific considerations on the life situation of the early medieval population of Schleitheim, Kanton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Cribra orbitalia and the linear enamel hypoplasia of the teeth are considered as stressors. This study is based on the life expectancy of the 20 years old, as the life expectancy gives information on the health condition of a social group…
Brief communication
The aim of this article is to briefly present the Galler Collection, a little‐known historic Swiss bone reference series of high value for paleopathological research. The Galler Collection consists of approximately 600 mostly dry‐bone specimens of many major bone diseases dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Clinical information and autopsy reports are available for the majority of specimens. Rarely documented conditions represente…
Occupational manual activity is reflected on the patterns among hand entheses
OBJECTIVES: In anthropological sciences, entheses are widely utilized as occupational stress markers. However, the reaction of entheseal surfaces to mechanical loading is not well understood. Furthermore, previous studies on entheses relied on the individuals' occupation-at-death. Past research by one of us has identified two patterns among hand entheses, proposing that they reflect two synergistic muscle groups. Here, we investigate the associat…
Basics in paleodemography
Recent advances in the methods of skeletal age estimation have rekindled interest in their applicability to paleodemography. The current study contributes to the discussion by applying several long established as well as recently developed or refined aging methods to a subsample of 121 adult skeletons from the early medieval cemetery of Lauchheim. The skeletal remains were analyzed by 13 independent observers using a variety of aging techniques (…
A repeatable geometric morphometric approach to the analysis of hand entheseal three‐dimensional form
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to put forth a precise landmark-based technique for reconstructing the three-dimensional shape of human entheseal surfaces, to investigate whether the shape of human entheses is related to their size. The effects of age-at-death and bone length on entheseal shapes were also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised high-definition three-dimensional models of three right hand entheseal surfaces…
Biocultural evidence of precise manual activities in an Early Holocene individual of the high‐altitude Peruvian Andes
Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks
Humanlike manual activities in Australopithecus
The evolution of the human hand is a topic of great interest in paleoanthropology. As the hand can be involved in a vast array of activities, knowledge regarding how it was used by early hominins can yield crucial information on the factors driving biocultural evolution. Previous research on early hominin hands focused on the overall bone shape. However, while such approaches can inform on mechanical abilities and the evolved efficiency of manipu…
Brief communication
The aim of this article is to briefly present the Galler Collection, a little‐known historic Swiss bone reference series of high value for paleopathological research. The Galler Collection consists of approximately 600 mostly dry‐bone specimens of many major bone diseases dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Clinical information and autopsy reports are available for the majority of specimens. Rarely documented conditions represente…
New insights into the manual activities of individuals from the Phaleron cemetery (Archaic Athens, Greece)
Skeletal manifestations of hypothyroidism from Switzerland
Hypothyroidism is caused by a deficiency in the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Dwarfism is the most obvious skeletal manifestation, but most people with hypothyroidism do not have any skeletal evidence of the disease. When the skeleton is affected, the severity of this manifestation depends on the degree of the deficiency and age of onset. Endemic hypothyroidism typically is linked to specific ecological settings such as the high mountains where i…
Bone Microstructure and Its Hidden Information
Human bone micromorphology gives clues to a variety of life history parameters, such as individual age, health status, and physical activity. In the course of an ongoing study, thin cross sections of femoral compact bone from three skeletal series are investigated for different purposes. The first series consists of 103 adult skeletons excavated from a 19th century hospital graveyard in Basel, Switzerland. Several disease- and stress-markers, lik…
Brief communication
The aim of this article is to briefly present the Galler Collection, a little‐known historic Swiss bone reference series of high value for paleopathological research. The Galler Collection consists of approximately 600 mostly dry‐bone specimens of many major bone diseases dating from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Clinical information and autopsy reports are available for the majority of specimens. Rarely documented conditions represente…
Cribra orbitalia, linear enamel hypoplasia and life expectancy of the 20 years old as stressors of the early medieval population
The aim of this study is based on the analysis of diachronically social and sexual specific considerations on the life situation of the early medieval population of Schleitheim, Kanton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Cribra orbitalia and the linear enamel hypoplasia of the teeth are considered as stressors. This study is based on the life expectancy of the 20 years old, as the life expectancy gives information on the health condition of a social group…
Skeletal manifestations of hypothyroidism from Switzerland
Hypothyroidism is caused by a deficiency in the synthesis of thyroid hormone. Dwarfism is the most obvious skeletal manifestation, but most people with hypothyroidism do not have any skeletal evidence of the disease. When the skeleton is affected, the severity of this manifestation depends on the degree of the deficiency and age of onset. Endemic hypothyroidism typically is linked to specific ecological settings such as the high mountains where i…
Bone Microstructure and Its Hidden Information
Human bone micromorphology gives clues to a variety of life history parameters, such as individual age, health status, and physical activity. In the course of an ongoing study, thin cross sections of femoral compact bone from three skeletal series are investigated for different purposes. The first series consists of 103 adult skeletons excavated from a 19th century hospital graveyard in Basel, Switzerland. Several disease- and stress-markers, lik…
Basics in paleodemography
Recent advances in the methods of skeletal age estimation have rekindled interest in their applicability to paleodemography. The current study contributes to the discussion by applying several long established as well as recently developed or refined aging methods to a subsample of 121 adult skeletons from the early medieval cemetery of Lauchheim. The skeletal remains were analyzed by 13 independent observers using a variety of aging techniques (…
A simple metric sexing method for unknown skeletal remains
Sex diagnosis on human skeletal remains from forensic or archaeological contexts is often hampered by poor preservation or completeness. The successful application of most identification methods demands the presence of skull or pelvis, since most reliable sex-determining features can be found here; unfortunately, because of their fragile anatomy, these bones are frequently damaged or destroyed. To compensate for this, we tested the effectiveness …
Occupational manual activity is reflected on the patterns among hand entheses
OBJECTIVES: In anthropological sciences, entheses are widely utilized as occupational stress markers. However, the reaction of entheseal surfaces to mechanical loading is not well understood. Furthermore, previous studies on entheses relied on the individuals' occupation-at-death. Past research by one of us has identified two patterns among hand entheses, proposing that they reflect two synergistic muscle groups. Here, we investigate the associat…
CT-Osteoabsorptiometry (CT-OAM) - a new investigation technique in the field of mummy research
With help of CT-OAM pathological load distributions can be visualized before macroscopical changes appear and the information obtained can be useful to solve paleopathological and paleoarchaeological questions.
A repeatable geometric morphometric approach to the analysis of hand entheseal three‐dimensional form
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to put forth a precise landmark-based technique for reconstructing the three-dimensional shape of human entheseal surfaces, to investigate whether the shape of human entheses is related to their size. The effects of age-at-death and bone length on entheseal shapes were also assessed. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The sample comprised high-definition three-dimensional models of three right hand entheseal surfaces…
Measuring incremental line width and appearance in the tooth cementum of recent and archaeological human teeth to identify irregularities
New insights into the manual activities of individuals from the Phaleron cemetery (Archaic Athens, Greece)
Biocultural evidence of precise manual activities in an Early Holocene individual of the high‐altitude Peruvian Andes
Overall, our findings provide the first biocultural evidence to confirm that the lifestyle of some of the earliest Andean inhabitants relied on habitual and forceful precision grasping tasks
Humanlike manual activities in Australopithecus
The evolution of the human hand is a topic of great interest in paleoanthropology. As the hand can be involved in a vast array of activities, knowledge regarding how it was used by early hominins can yield crucial information on the factors driving biocultural evolution. Previous research on early hominin hands focused on the overall bone shape. However, while such approaches can inform on mechanical abilities and the evolved efficiency of manipu…
Les pouces des Néandertaliens de La Ferrassie
International audience
Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies (12 works) · Biology (6 works) · Medicine (6 works) · Paleopathology and ancient diseases (5 works) · Anatomy (4 works) · Demography (4 works) · Geography (4 works) · Pathology (4 works) · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology (4 works) · Anatomy (3 works)