Palancar Carlos A, García-Martínez Daniel, Cáceres-Monllor David, Perea-Pérez Bernardo, Ferreira Maria Teresa, Bastir Markus
Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), Department of Paleobiology, Paleoanthropology Group, Madrid, Spain; Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Faculty of Sciences, Department of Biology. Madrid, Spain,
Universidad Complutense de Madrid,Faculty of Biological Sciences,Department of Biodiversity,Ecology, and Evolution,Physical Anthropology Unit.Madrid, Spain; Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana. Burgos, Spain; University of Coimbra, Centre for Functional Ecology, Laboratory of Forensic Anthropology, Department of Life Sciences. Coimbra, Portugal.
J Anthropol Sci. 2021 Dec 17;99:97-116. doi: 10.4436/JASS.99015.
This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape of the full series of cervical vertebrae delving into variability related to sex and population background. For this reason, we analyzed the cervical vertebrae of both males and females belonging to Europeans, Africans, and Greenland Inuit. We 3D-scanned a total of 219 cervical vertebrae of males and females of three different modern human populations (European, African, and Inuit). A minimum of 72 landmarks and curve semilandmarks were positioned in each of the 3D vertebral models. Landmark configurations were analyzed following the standards of 3D Geometric Morphometrics to test for size and shape differences related to sex or population variation. Results show that male cervical vertebrae are consistently larger than in females while no regular shape differences are observed between males and females in any of the populations. Sex differences in cervical lordosis are thus not supported at the skeletal level of the 3D shape. On the other hand, there is no evidence for population-specific differences in size while shape does vary considerably, possibly also in relation to eco-geographic factors of overall trunk shape. Cervical vertebrae in cold-adapted Inuit were consistently shorter than in Europeans and Africans. The cervical spine may show a different pattern than the thoracic and lumbar spine, which might be related to stronger integration with the cranium, head mobility, and soft-tissue dependence. Our findings suggest that morpho-functional interpretations of the cervical spine based on vertebral skeletal morphology requires caution.
本研究旨在对全系列颈椎的三维尺寸和形状进行首次几何形态测量分析，深入探究与性别和人群背景相关的变异性。因此，我们分析了欧洲人、非洲人和格陵兰因纽特人的男性和女性的颈椎。我们对三个不同现代人类群体（欧洲人、非洲人和因纽特人）的男性和女性的219节颈椎进行了三维扫描。在每个三维椎体模型中至少定位了72个地标点和曲线半地标点。按照三维几何形态测量学的标准分析地标点配置，以测试与性别或人群变异相关的尺寸和形状差异。结果表明，男性颈椎始终比女性的大，而在任何群体中，男性和女性之间均未观察到规则的形状差异。因此，在三维形状的骨骼层面上，颈椎前凸的性别差异得不到支持。另一方面，没有证据表明存在群体特异性的尺寸差异，而形状确实有很大差异，这可能也与整体躯干形状的生态地理因素有关。适应寒冷环境的因纽特人的颈椎始终比欧洲人和非洲人的短。颈椎可能呈现出与胸椎和腰椎不同的模式，这可能与与颅骨的更强整合、头部活动能力和软组织依赖性有关。我们的研究结果表明，基于椎体骨骼形态对颈椎进行形态功能解读时需要谨慎。
