Analytical morphies on mid-sagittal craniograms glabella-opisthocranion of Homo erectus and Homo sapiens neanderthalensis: Fourier parameters and multivariate discriminant analysis.

The analytical description of complicated morphologies offers the possibility to define patterns of parameters characterizing the investigated groups. These patterns must be considered as morphies useful in performing classification and comparison. Fourier parameters are extremely effective in describing and comparing complex irregular forms and since they are statistically independent we can use them in performing multivariate discriminant analysis. Two groups of mid-sagittal craniograms glabella-opisthocranion of asiatic samples of Homo erectus and of Homo sapiens neanderthalensis were described by means of Fourier harmonic analysis. The discriminatory power of all the obtained parameters (coefficients, amplitudes and phases) was tested. A discriminant function (error % = 0) was obtained using as parameters the first 4 sine/cosine coefficients, the 5th sine, the 6th and the 7th cosine components (11 parameters in all). When the information contained in the coefficient values is being subdivided into the two components of amplitude and phase, the amplitude component is not able to discriminate between the two groups (error % = 25), while the phase values of the first 7 harmonics are able to discriminate them (error % = 0 and distance between centroids = 47).