American Journal of Biological Anthropology最新文献

{"title":"Reframing Mother–Child Closeness and Cooperative Caregiving: A Comparative Study of Two Hunter-Gatherer Populations","authors":"Ayana Tanaka,&nbsp;Haneul Jang,&nbsp;Shun Hongo,&nbsp;Akira Takada","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70345","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70345","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Caregiving during early childhood emerges from a dynamic interplay between maternal and allomaternal contributions. This study aimed to challenge polarized portrayals of hunter-gatherer childcare as either “mother-centered” or “cooperative” and provide empirical evidence for an integrative cross-cultural approach.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We compared caregiving structures in two hunter-gatherer populations positioned at contrasting ends of a continuum of child-rearing strategies: the !Xun in southern Africa, portrayed as emphasizing mother–child closeness, and the Baka in central Africa, described as exemplifying cooperative caregiving. Over 500 h of caregiving interactions involving 40 children (1–59 months) were recorded using a standardized focal-follow protocol with 30-s interval coding. Rates of maternal, allomaternal, and peer-based caregiving behaviors were analyzed using generalized additive mixed models.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Maternal holding did not differ between the !Xun and the Baka, underscoring the central role of mothers during infancy. However, breastfeeding was less frequent among the !Xun than among the Baka. Allomaternal holding was less frequent among the !Xun than among the Baka. When focusing on child and adolescent allomaternal caregivers, child-holding was more frequent among the !Xun than among the Baka during a period that included the likely !Xun weaning period. Care by young allomaternal caregivers may have played a supportive role during the earlier weaning period associated with sedentarization.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Human caregiving systems should not be understood as either “mother-centered” or “cooperative”. Rather, they should be understood as flexible combinations of interrelated components—including maternal, allomaternal, and peer-based care—shaped by ecological, social, and developmental factors.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ajpa.70345","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148754160","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Energetic Contribution of the Human Plantar Aponeurosis to Locomotor Economy During Bipedal Walking and Running","authors":"Yuka Matsumoto,&nbsp;Naohiko Kanemura,&nbsp;Naomichi Ogihara","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70347","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70347","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The human plantar aponeurosis (PA) is a unique structure that spans the longitudinal arch of the foot, contributing to locomotor efficiency by storing and releasing elastic energy. It is traditionally believed that the PA primarily enhances running economy by reducing muscular effort and metabolic cost. However, the extent to which the PA contributes to walking versus running has not been quantitatively assessed. This study aims to quantitatively compare the mechanical contribution of the PA during walking and running, and to evaluate its relative contribution to whole-body metabolic energy expenditure per unit distance in each gait.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study investigated the role of the PA in human locomotion by comparing its mechanical contribution during walking and running in 10 healthy adults. Using a detailed foot model and motion capture technology, we quantified PA strain, force, power, and energy release during gait cycles.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Peak power and shortening velocity were higher in running, resulting in a significantly larger total energy released by the PA per gait cycle. However, the relative contribution of PA energy to overall metabolic energy expenditure per distance was significantly greater during walking (1.8%) compared to running (1.1%), despite the greater absolute energy output during running.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>These findings challenge the prevailing view that the PA evolved primarily to enhance running efficiency. Instead, the results suggest that the PA plays a relatively larger role in reducing energy consumption during walking, shedding light on the evolutionary adaptation of the human foot for bipedal locomotion.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148702493","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Comparing the Accuracy of Osteological Sex Estimation Against Genetic Sex Obtained From Human Dental Calculus in 12th–19th C. British Individuals\u0000 Accuratezza della stima osteologica del sesso confrontata con la determinazione del sesso genetico ottenuta dal tartaro dentale in individui britannici tra XII e XIX secolo","authors":"Sarah Alice Inskip,&nbsp;Biancamaria Bonucci,&nbsp;Christiana Lyn Scheib,&nbsp;Anna Myfanwy Davies-Barrett","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70328","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70328","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>For anthropologists and forensic scientists, sex estimation using skeletally dimorphic traits is fundamental in biological profile reconstruction. Archaeogenetic research on past populations allows us to identify genetic sex generating opportunities to validate the accuracy of commonly used skeletal traits. We compare genetic sex estimates, derived from aDNA analysis of dental calculus, with macroscopic skeletal observations to ascertain the accuracy of trait-based estimates on British skeletons.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Dental calculus was sampled from 146 individuals from two British sites (Barton-upon-Humber and St James's Gardens [London]), and genetic sex was obtained. A combination of frequently analyzed skull and os coxae traits was assessed to determine overall osteological sex; individual skeletal traits were also evaluated separately. These were then compared to genetic sex. A regression analysis of trait scores was used to identify the best trait combination for sex estimation.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We found high agreement between overall osteological sex and genetic sex (97.9%); the os coxa estimate demonstrated almost perfect agreement (97.8%). Skull-based estimates were less accurate (79.0%). Individual Phenice traits demonstrated the greatest accuracy (80.2%–97.5%), whilst multiple skull traits performed poorly (58.9%–68.8%).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Overall, application of osteological sex estimation techniques to British remains was highly accurate, especially using combined traits of the os coxa. However, we identified multiple skeletal features that are not reliable in isolation, but provide new sectioning points and regression equations to improve skull estimate accuracy. We emphasize the need for further work on factors affecting pelvic morphology, and the benefits of dental calculus as aDNA source.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13449166/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148686285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Does Platycnemia Develop in Squatting Populations as a Response to Torsional Rotation Across the Subadult Growth Plate?","authors":"Samantha H. Magrini,&nbsp;Scott R. McKinny,&nbsp;Emilee N. Hart,&nbsp;Jesse W. Young,&nbsp;Masato Nakatsukasa,&nbsp;C. Owen Lovejoy","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70336","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70336","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Platycnemia, a mediolateral flattening of the tibial shaft, has been argued to be an adult phenomenon caused by mechanical forces shaping bone. Here we investigate the possibility that this condition develops prior to growth plate closure, at a time when the epiphyseal cartilage is responsive to torsional loading.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>We analyze the degree of torsion along the tibial shaft and compare that to the cnemic index (a measure of platycnemia) in two populations: ancient Jomon and modern Japanese. Through linear mixed-effects modeling, we aimed to determine whether platycnemia, as measured by the cnemic index, is correlated with the magnitude of torsion that the tibia undergoes during development, prior to growth plate closure.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our results show that cnemic index significantly decreases as individuals age and the tibia lengthens, resulting in increasing mediolateral flattening and greater instances of platycnemia. However, we found no significant relationship between tibial torsion and the cnemic index.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Our findings suggest that a broader range of genetic, biomechanical, and environmental properties needs to be considered when hypothesizing how skeletal modeling might be related to the development of platycnemia.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13440325/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148680317","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Meat Acquisition Skill and Male Reproductive Success in Guinea Baboons","authors":"William J O'Hearn,&nbsp;Federica Dal Pesco,&nbsp;Roger Mundry,&nbsp;Julia Fischer","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70327","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70327","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In human foraging societies, hunting skill is often interpreted as a signal of male quality linked to reproductive success through his ability to provision his family and community. Similarly, in some bird and insect species, males offer mates food to indicate their quality as a provider. Among nonhuman primates, however, the relationship between meat sharing and reproductive success is underexplored, leaving the evolutionary origins of this phenomenon unresolved.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Guinea baboons (<i>Papio papio</i>) are a promising model to investigate whether meat sharing signals male quality, since females choose their mates, have been shown to rely on males to catch and transfer prey, and respond to male foraging skill. We combined records of 109 meat-eating events with 9 years of behavioral data to test whether males who more frequently acquired and transferred meat to females had more females in their social units for longer.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Contrary to our predictions, we found no evidence that females preferred males who acquired or transferred meat more frequently, suggesting that meat acquisition is not a signal of male quality in Guinea baboons.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>One explanation may be the relatively low frequency of meat-eating events. Another is that females are less dependent on males for meat than previously reported. Our results revealed that nearly half (41%) of female meat intake originated from sources besides her unit male, including the first documented cases of female prey capture (11% of events) in this species. Thus, females likely apply other, more pertinent criteria in mate choice.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13443398/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148680277","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"For Goodness' Sake: The Coloniality of Research Ethics in Biological Anthropology","authors":"Rick W. A. Smith,&nbsp;Jessica Kolopenuk","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70325","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70325","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Modern science has emerged in relation with European colonization whereby virtuous logics have often animated dis/possessions and governing authorities over Indigenous Peoples and their territories. Indigenous Peoples have long resisted extractive and exploitative scientific practices. So too have we/they invested in governing scientific knowledge production and the ethical conditions regulating it. Research ethics are suffused with questions of governance, including how we regulate knowledge production and how we might analyze and disrupt their coloniality. In the case of science, the advancement of ethics governing research practice has been closely linked with notions of goodness. While this discourse is evident across multiple fields, here we engage with the ramifications of goodness in biological anthropology and genetics research in relation to Indigenous Peoples. We evaluate the ways that research ethics operate through possessive and virtuous logics as regulatory mechanisms in the production of scientific knowledge about Indigenous Peoples. When research with, about, and affecting Indigenous Peoples is approached through frameworks of goodness, inclusion, representation, and reconciliation, research ethics can obscure the colonial power dynamics shaping knowledge production. We argue that research ethics alone cannot account for or upend the coloniality of research even as adherence to institutional research ethics facilitates the appearance of <i>good</i> research praxis. Instead, the coloniality of research ethics operates precisely through benevolence and good intentions.</p>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13435238/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148670638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ancient Foodways: Integrative Approaches to Understanding Subsistence and Society By C. Margaret Scarry, Dale L. Hutchinson and Benjamin S. Arbuckle, Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida, 2023. 372 pp. $35.00/$90.00 (ebook/hardback). ISBN: 978-0-8130-6949-4","authors":"Michael C. Atogu","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70337","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.70337","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752894","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interindividual Variation in Chronic Inflammation in Northern Lao People's Democratic Republic","authors":"Zhuren Zhang,&nbsp;Mihoko Kibe,&nbsp;Yuki Mizuno,&nbsp;Kazumi Natsuhara,&nbsp;Satoko Kosaka,&nbsp;Hiroaki Masuoka,&nbsp;Kazuhiro Hirayama,&nbsp;Nouhak Inthavong,&nbsp;Sengchanh Kounnavong,&nbsp;Shinsuke Tomita,&nbsp;Masahiro Umezaki","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70333","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70333","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>In many rural regions of developing countries, increasing market access is reshaping local food systems. Traditional diets rooted in local agriculture are being replaced by market-driven alternatives. It is suspected that this dietary transition will contribute to rising risks of non-communicable diseases through increased chronic inflammation. This study, conducted in northern Lao People's Democratic Republic, investigated the association between dietary transition and concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) as a biomarker of chronic inflammation in three villages with varying levels of market exposure.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Data were collected from 380 adults in three villages with different degrees of market integration. Questionnaires recorded individual characteristics and weekly intake frequency of 28 food groups. Dried blood spots were analyzed for CRP using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Dietary patterns were identified using principal component analysis, and scores were compared among villages. Associations between dietary patterns and CRP were examined using multivariable logistic regression. To account for seasonality, analyses were conducted within same-season subgroups: rainy (Na Lae, Na Savang) and dry (Na Savang, Nam Nyon).</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>CRP concentrations were higher in villages with a higher degree of market integration. A dietary pattern was identified, characterized by high consumption of foraged wild plants and a low intake of market-related foods. This pattern was negatively associated with elevated CRP in the dry season subsample.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Conclusions</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Higher CRP concentrations were found in residents of villages with a higher degree of market integration. This trend may partly be explained by a dietary transition from a foraging-based to a market-dependent diet.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13438680/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148674201","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Dietary Adaptation in Paranthropus robustus Postcanine Teeth","authors":"M. C. O'Hara,&nbsp;S. Chapple,&nbsp;P. Mahoney,&nbsp;W. S. McGraw,&nbsp;Gary T. Schwartz,&nbsp;M. M. Skinner,&nbsp;D. Guatelli-Steinberg","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70332","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70332","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Objectives</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Recent studies of <i>Paranthropus robustus</i> crania identified temporal trends in features associated with increased bite force production, coinciding with environmental shifts toward more arid conditions. To test whether the evolution of postcanine teeth also reflects increasing mechanical demands associated with hard food consumption, we analyzed trends in the architecture of <i>P. robustus</i> postcanine teeth, including crown area, tooth shape, and average (AET) and relative (RET) enamel thickness.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Materials and Methods</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>2D mesial sections were created from microCT scans of upper premolars (<i>n</i> = 24), upper molars (<i>n</i> = 14), and lower molars (<i>n</i> = 16) from multiple South African sites. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Jonckheere-Terpstra tests were used to identify significant differences over time, with Holm-Bonferroni corrections applied for multiple comparisons.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Results</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Significant temporal trends existed in premolar morphology with increased crown area (CA), absolute crown strength (ACS), overall enamel thickness (AET and RET), and increased enamel thickness over the occlusal half of the tooth. Upper molars increased in CA but no other measured variable. Lower molars showed no significant temporal trends in any measured variable.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 \u0000 <section>\u0000 \u0000 <h3> Discussion</h3>\u0000 \u0000 <p>These results suggest rapid dental evolution in response to dietary pressures, with varying and independent rates of change between different tooth types. These findings support the hypothesis that selection resulted in shifts to <i>P. robustus</i> dental morphology to increase mechanical resistance, consistent with an expanding dietary niche that incorporated increasingly challenging foods.</p>\u0000 </section>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13434185/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148670724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Missing Landmark Estimation Using Reverse Engineering: Challenges and Potential Solutions for the Study of Hominin Long Bones","authors":"Lloyd A. Courtenay,&nbsp;Julia Aramendi","doi":"10.1002/ajpa.70334","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ajpa.70334","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Fragmentary preservation represents a fundamental limitation in palaeoanthropological research, particularly for postcranial elements where symmetry cannot be exploited and large portions of bone are frequently missing. Although a wide range of virtual reconstruction methods exist, many rely on strong anatomical priors, localized interpolation, or reference specimens that risk biasing reconstructions toward predefined morphologies. The present study introduces a new approach for estimating the coordinates of missing landmarks, termed the Reverse Engineering (RE) approach. This method establishes mathematical relationships between morphological patterns observed in complete reference specimens and those preserved in reduced portions of each bone, allowing missing regions to be inferred from patterns of covariation rather than local geometric proximity. We demonstrate that the RE approach performs consistently across a range of reconstruction scenarios, including cases where substantial portions of bone are missing, and in empirical applications to Neanderthal femoral and humeral specimens. Importantly, reconstructed specimens retain morphological signal in subsequent morphometric analyses, regardless of the extent of missing data. While limitations remain, as is the case for all reconstruction methods applied to fragmentary fossil material, the RE approach offers a robust and flexible alternative that does not depend on symmetry or a single reference specimen. As such, it represents a valuable addition to the methodological repertoire available to palaeoanthropologists working with incomplete postcranial remains.</p>","PeriodicalId":29759,"journal":{"name":"American Journal of Biological Anthropology","volume":"190 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2026-08-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13430587/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148664718","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}