Anna Myszka, Elżbieta Popowska-Nowak, Jacek Tomczyk
{"title":"Osteoarthritis in past human populations from Radom (14<sup>th</sup>-17<sup>th</sup> and 18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup> century).","authors":"Anna Myszka, Elżbieta Popowska-Nowak, Jacek Tomczyk","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2022/1557","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2022/1557","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Osteoarthritis (OA) is a widespread skeletal condition in the historical population, but it still raises many methodological and interpretative problems. The present study aimed to examine the osteoarthritic changes (osteophytes, porosity, eburnation) in the skeletal material from Radom (14<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup> century) (Poland), enriching knowledge about osteoarthritis and its prevalence in the past. Additionally, a comparison of OA changes prevalence in two chronological periods (the population from Radom during the 14<sup>th</sup>-17<sup>th</sup> century versus the 18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup> century) was done. In the Late Medieval (14<sup>th</sup>-17<sup>th</sup> century) population from Radom, osteoarthritic changes were observed in 22% of individuals (males, 18%; females, 29%) and in the Modern Period Radom (18<sup>th</sup>-19<sup>th</sup> century) in 25% individuals (males, 25.7%; females, 26.5%). In both skeletal samples, the greatest number of OA changes was recorded in the hip and elbow. Knee and ankle were the least affected joints. Osteophytes were the most frequently observed type of lesions, while eburnation was the least frequent. Although the higher prevalence of osteoarthritis in the Modern Period in Radom is noted, the differences are not statistically significant. Taking the multifactorial etiology of osteoarthritic changes, and the fact that osteoarthritis, as a single indicator of health, could not tell much about the overall lifestyle of past human populations, one must be caution when drawing unambiguous conclusions according to the simple, linear effect of environmental changes on osteoarthritic changes formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 4","pages":"467-474"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39807439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Eduardo Saldías, Gabriela Valdebenito, Luis Zamora, Bruno Bastías, Cristian Flores, Bernardo Vila, Diana Vinueza, Carlos Tornero, Assumpció Malgosa, Eduardo Becker
{"title":"Multidisciplinary analysis of a mummy from the War of the Pacific.","authors":"Eduardo Saldías, Gabriela Valdebenito, Luis Zamora, Bruno Bastías, Cristian Flores, Bernardo Vila, Diana Vinueza, Carlos Tornero, Assumpció Malgosa, Eduardo Becker","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2022/1543","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2022/1543","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The War of the Pacific (1879-1884) was a big scale war between Chile against the alliance of Peru and Bolivia. One of the most important battles, the <i>\"Batalla del Campo de la Alianza\"</i> was situated in the desert near Tacna, Peru. The conditions of this environment favored the conservation of the dead soldiers after many years. Decades ago, the Natural History Museum of Concepción in Chile, received a naturally mummified individual of a probably Chilean soldier as a donation; its uncertain context was never studied nor confirmed. Considering this, our investigation analyzed this body under exploratory methods, ballistic analysis, archaeological contrast, <sup>14</sup>C radiocarbon dating, ancient DNA, and isotopic analysis to reconstruct the biological profile of this mummy. The results indicated that the mummy belongs to an adult man between 33-39 years of age (> 1.50 m) and has a perimortem wound in the left flank of the abdomen. CT scan and X-rays revealed the presence of a bullet (Comblain II or Gras) hosted near the L2 vertebra. It is possible that the individual died of bleeding from a gunshot wound done by a long-distance firearm projectile from an inferior level, whose trajectory was from left to right, with slight inclination towards the top, and without a projectile exit. Other analyses confirmed the historical context and suggests the Chilean origin of the mummy. Despite the passage of time and other factors, it was possible to reconstruct the death of this individual thanks to technology and approaches from different disciplines.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":" ","pages":"451-465"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-08-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40237118","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Barbara Maurer-Gesek, Doris Pany-Kucera, Michaela Spannagl-Steiner, Stanislaus Argeny, Julia Gruber, Catharina Mueller, Jakob Nedomansky, Stefan Meng, Andrea Maier, Wolfgang J Weninger
{"title":"Anatomic basics and technical approaches: sacral preauricular extensions, preauricular sulci and dorsal pubic pits in modern anatomical specimens.","authors":"Barbara Maurer-Gesek, Doris Pany-Kucera, Michaela Spannagl-Steiner, Stanislaus Argeny, Julia Gruber, Catharina Mueller, Jakob Nedomansky, Stefan Meng, Andrea Maier, Wolfgang J Weninger","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1407","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1407","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of this study is the evaluation of three selected osseous pelvic features in modern anatomical specimen - the sacral preauricular extension, the preauricular sulcus and pits on the dorsal side of the pubic bone laterally to the symphysis. The specificity and significance of these features are under debate and their genesis is largely unclear. Descriptive data of specific soft tissue structures surrounding the anterior sacroiliac joint gap and the pubic symphysis were generated by assessing 20 fresh pelves and 12 embalmed hemipelves from human body donors. Computed tomography (CT) was performed on all specimens and three-dimensional (3D) surface models were generated and analysed. Afterwards, all the specimens underwent anatomical dissection and finally maceration. During dissection, it became apparent that the anterior sacroiliac ligament, due to its position, shape and potential impact on the sacroiliac joint and adjacent osseous structures, requires a detailed analysis of its dimension. The most promising result, in terms of the sacral preauricular extension, was that the measurements of the triangular part of the anterior sacroiliac ligament were significantly longer in females than in males. Pelvic floor muscle fibres and fascial parts were directly connected to this ligament in some specimens, which is an important starting point for a larger in-depth study. The evaluation of the anatomic structures in connection to dorsal pitting refutes the assumption that the pelvic floor muscles or fasciae could exert influence on its formation. A histological evaluation of the ligaments of the pubic symphysis, especially the dorsal pubic ligament, would be expedient to clarify the etiology of this feature.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"199-209"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39529634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lukas Waltenberger, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Philipp Mitteroecker
{"title":"Age dependent changes in pelvic shape during adulthood.","authors":"Lukas Waltenberger, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury, Philipp Mitteroecker","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1463","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1463","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The human pelvis has been reported to change in shape throughout adult lifetime, and also the expression of parturition scars, or \"pelvic features\", increases with age. However, little is known about the causes and timing of these changes. Here we investigate changes in pelvic shape and the expression of pelvic features by applying a comprehensive geometric morphometric approach to a modern sample of 167 adult individuals with known age, parity, and cause of death. Our results confirm that the pelvis changes in shape during adult life, but to a larger magnitude in females compared to males. Moreover, females showed three different phases of pelvic shape change, coinciding with the main period of reproduction (from 17 to about 37-40 years), the period after that but before menopause, and the postmenopausal period (after 50 years of age). Males exhibited two phases with relatively similar shape changes. The expression of parturition scars increased in females until about 40 years of age and stayed relatively constant thereafter. Only a very weak increase of feature expression was found in males. We hypothesize that changes of adult pelvic shape and feature expression result from a combination of hormone-mediated and mechanically induced bone remodeling. Estrogen-induced and pregnancy-related bone remodeling dominates in premenopausal women, whereas bone remodeling in response to mechanical factors may underlie pelvic shape changes in men and postmenopausal women. The continual widening of the birth canal during the reproductive period eases childbirth in a population, but it is unlikely that this remodeling pattern specifically evolved as an obstetric adaptation in the human lineage. The highly conserved endocrine system and estrogen-induced pelvic bone remodeling were already in place when the neonatal brain increased in the human lineage. But the regularity control of this conserved pathway may have been \"fine-tuned\" by selective forces in the human lineage.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"143-156"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39529635","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Geneviève Perréard Lopreno, Frédéric Santos, Jaroslav Bruzek
{"title":"Is the preauricular groove, as defined by , an indicator of parity? A test using the SIMON identified skeletal collection (Vaud, Switzerland).","authors":"Geneviève Perréard Lopreno, Frédéric Santos, Jaroslav Bruzek","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1400","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1400","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aims of this study are first, to test the relevance of the three non-metric traits in the preauricular region established by Bruzek (2002) for identifying the female population, and second, to test the relationship between the morphology of the preauricular area and parity. Age and pelvic dimensions are also analysed as potential contributing factors. The group under study, derived from the SIMON identified skeletal collection (Vaud, Switzerland), comprises individuals living at the end of the 19<sup>th</sup> and in the first half of the 20<sup>th</sup> centuries. The sample consists of 504 coxal bones (including 236 pairs) from 268 individuals (133 females and 135 males), aged 16 to 81, with age classes equally represented. The obstetric history is known for a subgroup of 99 females. Using the three visual criteria employed together, the results of sex estimation indicate that both the indeterminate rate (11.3% for observer 1 and 7.7% for observer 2) and the classification error rate (2.2% and 9.2%, respectively) are low. The study then shows that the preauricular groove, as defined by Bruzek (2002), is present in significant proportions in both nulliparous females (73.8%) and females who have given birth (79.8%), and that therefore it cannot be considered an indicator of obstetric history. The number of children does not seem to be an explanatory factor, but age contributes to the shaping of these bony imprints. The preauricular groove is already recognizable in close to 60% of females aged 16 to 39 years, but the bony changes are more marked with increasing age, leading to a decrease in both sex diagnostic error and indeterminacy. Correlation between a hyperfeminine morphology of the pelvis and a highly feminine development of the preauricular area may indicate a biomechanical contribution.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"169-182"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39610460","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Chiara Tesi, Ilaria Gorini, Elisabetta Bariatti, Marta Licata
{"title":"Accessory sacroiliac joints and the iliosacral complex: two case studies from a medieval and post-medieval cemetery in northern Italy.","authors":"Chiara Tesi, Ilaria Gorini, Elisabetta Bariatti, Marta Licata","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1401","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1401","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The detection of parturition markers on archaeological pelvic bones is relevant for the reconstruction of the biological profiles of female individuals, in whose life history pregnancy represents a crucial biological event. During a preliminary study on a sample of 18 individuals from the medieval and post-medieval cemetery of San Biagio in Cittiglio (northern Italy), two skeletons exhibited evidence of noteworthy bony projections at the sacroiliac level. In clinical studies, these occurrences can be connected to several biological variables such as age, obesity, and multiple births, suggesting that they are a possible consequence of weight-bearing stresses. Here, we address two cases of accessory sacroiliac joints and the iliosacral complex found in two female individuals. The study is part of the anthropological analysis of the sample from the cemetery of Cittiglio (78 individuals have been investigated to date) and, in particular, of the examination of female and male pelves in order to highlight the expression and aspect of pelvic features in both sexes.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"221-228"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39529637","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jaroslav Bruzek, Fréderic Santos, Geneviève Perréard Lopreno
{"title":"Grooves in the preauricular area of the human ilium as indicator of sex or traces of parturition: historical background with a test of Novotný's method.","authors":"Jaroslav Bruzek, Fréderic Santos, Geneviève Perréard Lopreno","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1397","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1397","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>This paper summarizes the history of the study of bone surface depressions near the contact surfaces of the sacroiliac joint, or grooves located below the <i>linea terminalis</i>, known in the literature as \"scars of parturition\" or \"pelvic scars\". Since the beginning of the 20<sup>th</sup> century, the \"<i>sulcus praeauricularis\"</i> has been confused with the \"<i>sulcus paraglenoidalis\"</i> without a satisfactory explanation of their aetiology. Any groove in the preauricular area of the pelvic bone has been referred to as an indicator of female sex and used in sex estimation in a way that does not respect the nature of sex differences. Novotný (1979) included bone structures, which were described by various authors in both females and males, in his method of holistic evaluation. He proposed a three-step categorization for the evaluation of the bone surface of the pelvic preauricular area (three sub-characteristics scored independently) in order to distinguish the <i>sulcus praeauricularis</i> as a female trait from other structures that may occur in both sexes. However, Novotný's work did not become widely known. Testing of the Novotný method was performed in four groups of individuals of known sex without knowledge of the reproductive history of the females (Novotný 1981; Bruzek 2002; Mikešová 2008) and included a total of 852 pelvic bones (457 male and 395 female). The results showed that female morphology, which is characterized by the presence of various forms of <i>sulcus praeauricularis</i>, occurred in a total of 270 of 395 females (68.3%). Female morphology was found in only 5 of 457 males (1.1%). Male morphology was observed in 419 of 457 males (91.7%), but also in 11.1% of females (44 of 395). Indeterminate or ambiguous morphology was found in 33 of 457 males (7.2%) and 81 of 395 females (20.5%). The application of the Novotný method showed that of the total 275 specimens with female morphology, 98.2% were females and only 1.8% were males. It is therefore appropriate to use this reliable method to estimate the sex of skeletal samples. To test the relationship between morphology and obstetric history in females it is necessary to use a sample with known parity.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"1156-167"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39529638","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Viktoria A Krenn, Cinzia Fornai, Nicole M Webb, Martin Haeusler
{"title":"Sex determination accuracy using the human sacrum in a Central European sample.","authors":"Viktoria A Krenn, Cinzia Fornai, Nicole M Webb, Martin Haeusler","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1415","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1415","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The sacrum is often used for sex estimation of human remains. However, reported sexual classification accuracies based on the sacrum produce highly discrepant estimates ranging from 54% to 98% depending on the method and reference sample. Here, we therefore aim to evaluate the sacrum's efficacy in differentiating males from females by comparing three different approaches in a homogeneous Central European sample (n = 58, 27 males and 31 females) obtained from the 19th century Weisbach collection. Specifically, we investigated the sacrum by 1) a qualitative visual inspection, 2) traditional linear metrics, namely, sacral width, corpus width, and the associated corporo-basal index, and 3) geometric morphometrics (GM) using a 3D configuration of 100 landmarks and semilandmarks. Classification accuracies for the qualitative approach ranged from 69% to 81%. The investigated quantitative methods based on linear dimensions led to comparable classification accuracies of 62% for sacral width and 78% for the corporo-basal index. However, absolute corpus width had a stronger discriminative power (86%), similar to the PC scores from shape space (87%). Unexpectedly, the GM approach, which considered the shape of the entire sacrum, did not classify better than linear variables. This was exceeded only when sacrum shape was combined with corpus width or another measure of size, like the natural logarithm of the centroid size, yielding a classification accuracy of 95%. The male and female group means differed mainly in the general height-to-width relationship and corpus-to-alae proportions, corroborating patterns previously described in the literature. Our results suggest that the sacrum is markedly less effective than the hipbone for sex determination, which is at odds with its central position within the pelvic girdle and thus its supposed obstetric relevance.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"211-220"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39610463","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jennyfer A Mitterer, Gilbert M Schwarz, Alexander Aichmair, Jochen G Hofstaetter
{"title":"Multifactorial pathomechanism of hip dysplasia and femoroacetabular impingement in young adults: the diamond concept.","authors":"Jennyfer A Mitterer, Gilbert M Schwarz, Alexander Aichmair, Jochen G Hofstaetter","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1434","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1434","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Hip dysplasia (DDH) as well as femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) are common causes of hip pain in young adults and lead to premature osteoarthritis (OA). However, not all patients with radiographic features of DDH or FAI develop symptoms and degenerative changes, which indicates that various factors play a role in the disease process. Here we use a diamond concept to illustrate anatomical factors that play a role in the pathomechanism of symptomatic DDH and FAI. This concept may help clinicians in the diagnosis of hip pain in young adults. For DDH, the following factors are included: (1) acetabular and (2) femoral morphology, (3) pelvic shape and geometry, (4) spinopelvic alignment and (5) soft tissue properties. For FAI, the following factors are included: (1) intraarticular acetabular and (2) intraarticular femoral morphology, (3) extraarticular pelvic and (4) extraarticular femoral morphology, (5) spinopelvic alignment and (6) soft tissue properties. Knowledge of these factors can help to identify an adequate treatment. Surgical treatment options include (1) extraarticular acetabular, (2) extraarticular femoral, (3) intraarticular acetabular and (4) intraarticular femoral procedures. Further research is warranted on the specific role and the interaction of the parameters presented in the diamond concept in the disease process of hip joint degeneration.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"229-243"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39610462","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Doris Pany-Kucera, Michaela Spannagl-Steiner, Barbara Maurer-Gesek, Wolfgang J Weninger, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury
{"title":"Sacral preauricular extensions and notches as parts of a 'Pelvic Pattern' may provide information on past pregnancies and parturitions.","authors":"Doris Pany-Kucera, Michaela Spannagl-Steiner, Barbara Maurer-Gesek, Wolfgang J Weninger, Katharina Rebay-Salisbury","doi":"10.1127/anthranz/2021/1455","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2021/1455","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During the analyses of several hundred prehistoric individuals from Austria, we observed that some women display a \"Pelvic Pattern\" at the innominate bones and the sacrum, i.e. specific combinations of pronounced expressions of pelvic features. We recorded classic pelvic features (dorsal pubic pitting, preauricular sulcus, extended pubic tubercle) as well as new ones (SPE: sacral preauricular extension, a ventrally pointing flat bone formation at the ventrosuperior margin of the ala ossis sacri; SPN: sacral preauricular notch, a loss of convexity at the same location; CF: corresponding facets at the ilium), and some less well-known features, i.e. the margo auricularis groove, ventral pubic exostoses and lesions. To quantify the assessed features, we developed a specific formula to calculate the 'Pelvic Pattern Index' (PPI). As pregnancies and/or parturitions are suspected to contribute to or be at least partly causative of the occurrence of pelvic features, we analyzed 48 well-preserved female individuals and 15 males from identified skeletal collections with obstetric information in Geneva and London. In these collections, we found a pelvic pattern of at least four out of ten distinctly expressed pelvic features only in multiparous females, but not in nulli- or primiparous females or in males. This pattern was found in 40.6% of the multiparous females and 29.2% of all females from the identified collections, compared to 56.1% of well-preserved prehistoric females with unknown parity status from Austria (n = 41). The mean PPI of the multiparae from the identified collections is 0.25, compared to a mean PPI of 0.19 for all women from the identified collections, and 0.28 for the prehistoric female individuals. We conclude from this that a high PPI (≥ 0.30), especially in cases where SPE or SPN are present, can give insights into past motherhood.</p>","PeriodicalId":46008,"journal":{"name":"Anthropologischer Anzeiger","volume":"79 2","pages":"183-198"},"PeriodicalIF":0.5,"publicationDate":"2022-02-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39610880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}