Neanderthal hand and foot remains from Moula‐Guercy, Ardèche, France

Bibliographic Data

ID8317586
AuthorsBen Mersey (Human Evolution Research Center University of California Berkeley 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley CA 94720‐3160, corresponding author), Rebecca S Jabbour (0000-0001-7996-8230, Department of Biology Saint Mary's College of California Moraga CA 94575), Kyle Brudvik (Human Evolution Research Center University of California Berkeley 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building Berkeley CA 94720‐3160), Alban Defleur (CNRS UMR 5276, Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon, Ecole Normale Supérieur de Lyon Allée d'Italie 69364 Lyon Cedex 07 France)
Year2013
Volume152
Issue4
Pages516-529
Publication date2013-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Physical Anthropology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-9483 • E-ISSN: 1096-8644
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/ajpa.22389
PMID24214384
OpenAlexW1955177155
LanguageEN
Citations received17
References cited38

The hand and foot remains from Moula‐Guercy cave (Ardèche, France) comprise 24 specimens of Eemian age (ca. 120 ka). The specimens include primarily complete elements, which are rare among the Moula‐Guercy postcrania. The hand remains have several characteristic Neanderthal traits including a laterally facing (parasagittally oriented) second metacarpal‐capitate articulation, a short styloid process, a wide proximal articular surface on the third metacarpal, and absolutely expanded apical tuberosities on the distal hand phalanges relative to modern humans. The foot remains include several incomplete elements along with an antimeric pair of naviculars, a medial cuneiform and cuboid, and a single complete element from each of the distal segments (one each: metatarsal, proximal foot phalanx, intermediate foot phalanx, distal foot phalanx). Consistent among the specimens are relatively wide diaphyses for length in the metatarsals and phalanges and large and prominent muscle attachments, both consistent with previously published Neanderthal morphology. The hand and foot collection from Moula‐Guercy is an important dataset for future studies of Neanderthal functional morphology, dexterity, and behavior as it represents a previously undersampled time period for European Neanderthals. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:516–529, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc

Archaeology · Art · Articular surface · Biology · Foot (prosody) · Geography · Metacarpal bones · Neanderthal · Phalanx · Proximal phalanx · Anatomy · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Primate Behavior and Ecology

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