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Using modern human cortical bone distribution to test the systemic robusticity hypothesis.

Karen L Baab1, Lynn E Copes2, Devin L Ward1

  • 1Department of Anatomy, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Ave., Glendale, AZ 85308, USA.

Journal of Human Evolution
|April 25, 2018
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The systemic robusticity hypothesis suggests bone thickness is linked between the cranium and limbs. This study found limited support, indicating cranial bone thickness is partly systemic but not directly tied to climate or activity.

Keywords:
Cortical boneEndocrineHuman skullRobusticity

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Area of Science:

  • Human skeletal biology
  • Paleoanthropology
  • Bioarchaeology

Background:

  • The systemic robusticity hypothesis proposes that cortical bone thickness in both the cranium and limb bones is influenced by systemic factors like hormones, physical activity, or climate.
  • This hypothesis has not been extensively tested by jointly analyzing cranial and postcranial skeletal robusticity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the systemic robusticity hypothesis by examining the relationship between cranial and limb bone cortical thickness in modern humans.
  • To determine if cranial and postcranial bone robusticity are correlated and influenced by systemic factors.

Main Methods:

  • Computed tomographic (CT) scans of associated crania, femora, and humeri from 228 individuals across 11 populations in Africa and North America were analyzed.
  • Cortical thickness of cranial bones and cortical bone area of limb bone diaphyses were measured.
  • Correlation, multiple regression, and general linear models were used to test the hypothesis, controlling for variables like sex, age, and body mass.

Main Results:

  • Absolute cranial cortical thickness was not correlated with limb bone cortical bone area, contradicting the systemic robusticity hypothesis.
  • However, relative measures of cortical bone thickness (scaled by total vault or limb cross-sectional area) showed positive correlations between the cranium and postcranium.
  • Relative postcranial cortical bone area explained approximately 20% of the variation in proportional cranial cortical bone thickness, suggesting some systemic influence.

Conclusions:

  • The study provides limited support for the systemic robusticity hypothesis, indicating that systemic factors contribute to cranial cortical bone thickness variation in modern humans.
  • Cranial cortical thickness did not correlate with climate or physical activity across populations, leaving the specific systemic drivers unclear.
  • The lack of correlation between absolute/proportional cranial measures and total cranial thickness complicates direct application to extinct hominins.