Department of Anthropology, Wrocław University of Environmental and Life Sciences, Wrocław, Poland.
PLoS One. 2018 Apr 23;13(4):e0196342. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0196342. eCollection 2018.
Transverse lines, called Harris Lines (HL), osteological markers of recovery from growth arrest episodes, are visible in radiograms of recent and Pleistocene fossil bones. Since on the one hand they mark stressful episodes in life, and on the other are mainly used to trace health fluctuations in prehistoric human communities, I used a cave bear population to check if the processes that could affect the specie' condition were in any way reflected in the bone structure. 392 bear bones from Bear Cave in Kletno (collection: Department of Palaeozoology, University of Wrocław), dated as 32 100 ±1300 to >49 000 years BP, were radiologically examined. The bones were found in a non-anatomical position; morphological analysis indicated that they belonged to different individuals. HL shadows were observed on 9 tibiae and 3 radii: 8.8% out of the 59 tibiae and 77 radii and 3.1% of all the bones. At least 3 transverse lines were recognised in those cases; the specimens were histologically examined. The bear individuals in question experienced regular malnutrition periods during their ontogeny. Starvation resulting in growth inhibition involved young individuals, aged 1 to 4 years. Juveniles aged 6 months, i.e. before weaning, or younger, showed no signs of nutritional stress. Starvation periods associated with seasonal food deficit were not long or common and had no significant effect on the development and welfare of the species. This is the first description of the occurrence of transverse lines in the Pleistocene bear.
横线，又称 Harris 线（HL），是生长停滞期恢复的骨骼标志，在近期和更新世化石骨骼的射线照片中可见。由于一方面它们标志着生活中的压力期，另一方面主要用于追踪史前人类社区的健康波动，因此我使用了洞穴熊种群来检查可能影响该物种状况的过程是否以任何方式反映在骨骼结构中。对来自 Kletno 洞穴的 392 头熊骨（收藏：弗罗茨瓦夫大学古动物学系）进行了放射性检查，这些熊骨的年代为 32100±1300 年至>49000 年 BP，这些骨骼以非解剖位置发现；形态分析表明它们属于不同的个体。在 9 根胫骨和 3 根桡骨上观察到 HL 阴影：59 根胫骨中有 8.8%，77 根桡骨中有 8.8%，所有骨骼中有 3.1%。在这些情况下，至少识别出了 3 条横向线；对标本进行了组织学检查。有问题的熊个体在其发育过程中经历了定期的营养不良期。导致生长抑制的饥饿涉及 1 至 4 岁的年轻个体。6 个月大的幼崽，即断奶前或更小，没有营养压力的迹象。与季节性食物短缺相关的饥饿期并不长或不常见，对物种的发育和福利没有重大影响。这是在更新世熊中首次描述横向线的发生。
