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Dissection, MicroCT Scanning and Morphometric Analyses of the Baculum

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Morphometric variation and ray allocation of human proximal hand phalanges.

Fotios Alexandros Karakostis¹, Carlos Lorenzo^2,3, Konstantinos Moraitis⁴

¹Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironments, Eberhard Karls University at Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.

Anthropologischer Anzeiger; Bericht Uber Die Biologisch-Anthropologische Literatur

|August 12, 2017

Summary

This study introduces a new metric method for allocating hand rays from proximal phalanges, improving accuracy in bioarchaeological contexts. Combining morphological and metric approaches enhances anatomical identification of hand bones.

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Area of Science:

Bioarchaeology
Forensic Anthropology
Anatomy

Background:

Previous anatomical studies of proximal hand phalanges lack multivariate analysis of morphological variation.
Existing methods for anatomical allocation are often unclear in bioarchaeological contexts, necessitating supplementary techniques.

Purpose of the Study:

To conduct a multivariate analysis of proximal phalanges to assess population, sex, and ray-specific variations.
To introduce and evaluate a new metric methodology for the ray allocation of isolated proximal phalanges.

Main Methods:

Multivariate analyses of variation were performed on proximal phalanges from Greek, African-American, and European-American individuals.
A novel metric method for ray identification was developed and validated using a blind test.
Analyses assessed differences across three population samples, sexes, and the five hand rays.

Main Results:

Extensive overlapping was observed among population samples, with substantial sexual dimorphism present.
Three distinct morphological groups were identified across the hand rays.
High classification accuracy was achieved for the 1st (100%), 5th (93.0%), and 2nd (91.0%) rays; moderate accuracy (77.2-83.3%) was found for the 3rd and 4th rays using sex-specific functions.

Conclusions:

The developed metric method, especially when combined with morphological analysis, offers a more reliable approach for anatomical allocation of proximal hand phalanges.
This new methodology is particularly valuable for identifying isolated phalangeal specimens in bioarchaeological and forensic contexts.