Limb bones asymmetry and stress in medieval and recent populations of Central Europe

Bibliographic Data

ID7809700
AuthorsMartina Kujanová (Charles University, corresponding author), L Bigoni (Charles University), Jana Velemínská (0000-0002-5213-951X, Charles University, corresponding author), Petr Velemínský (0000-0003-3691-7817, National Museum)
Year2008
Volume18
Issue5
Pages476-491
Publication date2008-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.958
OpenAlexW2086532943
LanguageEN
Citations received30
References cited30

Monitoring the degree of asymmetry in different parts of the human body can contribute to population studies, as it may be connected indirectly with the social structure, living conditions, and also with biomechanical stress affecting the person. Analysis of asymmetry may also assess preferential use of the right or left of the body during specific activities. This study is based on the measurements of bones of the upper and lower limbs of skeletons derived from the remarkable medieval cemeteries of Mikulčice‐Kostelisko (78 male, 132 female) and Prušánky (66 male, 69 female) (9th–12th centuries AD), and a series of skeletons representing a recent population from Bohemia (143 male, 157 female). The objective was to assess directional asymmetry (DA), fluctuating asymmetry (FA) and antisymmetry (AS) of the dimensions of the evaluated bones, and to use these data to compare the characteristics of the medieval and recent populations. DA was recorded in most dimensions. In the upper limb, the humerus exhibited the greatest expression of asymmetry, and, with the exception of the clavicle, DA was always more pronounced on the right side. Conversely, DA was less prevalent in the lower limb bones. It was more pronounced on the transverse, sagittal and circumferential dimensions of the diaphyses and epiphyses than on the length, and in most cases it was on the left side. The FA values were very low, and almost negligible in relation to the size. Nevertheless, FA was markedly more frequent on the lower than on the upper limb. In contrast to the medieval population, the recent population had higher FA and DA values. Thus, we propose that people from this medieval population were subjected to lower developmental stress than the recent sample. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd

Antisymmetry · Asymmetry · Bilateral symmetry · Biology · Evolutionary biology · Fluctuating asymmetry · Humerus · Lower limb · Physics · Population · Sagittal plane · Stress fractures · Hemispheric Asymmetry in Neuroscience · Medical and Biological Sciences · Medicine · Morphological variations and asymmetry · Anatomy · Surgery

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub