Technical note: Capturing shape—Linear measurements and geometric morphometrics of the immature femora

Objectives

Growth and developmental studies have been a prominent theme in bioarchaeology. These works traditionally focus on metric measurements of long bone length and age-at-death or cross-sectional geometric studies with the use of computed tomography scans for questions on growth and mobility. However, teasing apart aspects of size and shape have been difficult due to the cylindrical nature of immature long bones. This research investigates the methodological use of surface geometries from linear measurements and geometric morphometric methods (GMM) to answer questions on mobility and allometry during childhood.

Materials and Methods

Left femora were selected from 42 individuals ranging from fetal to 12 years of age from medieval St Gregory's Priory, Canterbury, UK. Femora were digitized with structured-light-scanning for auto3dgm analysis and measurements were obtained from physical caliper measurements. Individuals were put into age groups based on biomechanical milestones during this age range.

Results

Ratio and GMM confirm hypotheses of allometry and biomechanical milestones. Geometric morphometrics, however, detects more subtle differences in mobility at each age group.

Discussion

The findings of this preliminary study support the potential use of GMM of immature femora, while indicating that the extent in range of mobility that can occur varies at different biological milestones.