Morphometric comparisons between Neanderthals and ‘anatomically modern' Homo sapiens from Europe and the Near East - HAL-SHS - Sciences de l'Homme et de la Société Access content directly
Journal Articles Annals of the Transvaal Museum Year : 2005

Morphometric comparisons between Neanderthals and ‘anatomically modern' Homo sapiens from Europe and the Near East

Abstract

Cranial measurements of specimens attributed to Eurasian Neanderthals and ‘anatomically modern Homo sapiens' are used to assess the degree to which they differ from those of two reference specimens, Qafzeh 9 from Israel, considered to be ‘anatomically modern' Homo sapiens (AMHS), and La Ferrassie 1, considered to be a ‘classic' Neanderthal.A morphometric method is used whereby a reference specimen is compared against other specimens, using log-transformed standard errors of the m-coefficient (sem) from least-square linear regression analyses. Results obtained from pairs of conspecific extant taxa provide a potential frame of reference for assessing whether particular specimens are different from others at species level.We find that late AMHS specimens (dated within the period between 40 000–15 000 B.P.) are associated with log-transformed sem values which generally distinguish them from Neanderthals.The log-transformed sem values for early AMHS (circa 100 000 B.P.) from the Near East show that Skhul specimens V and IX are within the upper 95% confidence limit of belonging to the species represented by Qafzeh 9, but Skhul IV is just outside that 95% limit. The log-transformed sem values from pair-wise comparisons of Late Quaternary Homo sapiens and Neanderthals, using Qafzeh 9 and La Ferrassie 1 as reference specimens, provide an opportunity to assess morphometric data in the context of spatial and temporal variability.
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Dates and versions

halshs-00432615 , version 1 (16-11-2009)

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  • HAL Id : halshs-00432615 , version 1

Cite

J.F. Thackeray, B. Maureille, B. Vandermeersch, José Braga, R. Chaix. Morphometric comparisons between Neanderthals and ‘anatomically modern' Homo sapiens from Europe and the Near East. Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 2005, 42, pp.47-51. ⟨halshs-00432615⟩
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