L’analyse biomécanique peut être utilisée pour comprendre et interpréter l’impact de la mobilité et du climat sur la morphologie squelettique des populations humaines préhistoriques en mesurant les propriétés mécaniques des os longs. Le comportement et le climat font parties de plusieurs facteurs non-génétiques qui peuvent avoir un impact sur l’adaptation fonctionnelle osseuse en influençant les charges mécaniques sur le squelette et déclenchant le processus de modelage osseux. Cette étude se concentre sur les changements au niveau macrostructural des os longs : les propriétés mécaniques sont ainsi calculées sur plusieurs sections en coupe afin de mesurer la robustesse et la géométrie diaphysaire. Mon projet consiste à développer une collection de référence incluant quatre populations holocènes du Nord du Canada dont les Inuit Sadlermiut et trois échantillons d’Euro-Canadiens venant de Notre-Dame, Pointe-aux-Trembles et Sainte-Marie. L’objectif est de contrôler pour différents facteurs environnementaux afin de mieux comprendre l’effet de la mobilité et le climat sur la morphologie squelettique humaine. Les propriétés mécaniques d’os longs incluant l’humérus, le fémur et le tibia sont mesurées par tomodensitométrie quantitative périphérique (pQCT). Ces données sont ensuite incluses dans une méta-analyse dont les données sont tirées de la littérature scientifique, comparant d’autres populations archéologiques qui avaient différents modes de subsistance et habitaient diverses zones climatiques. Les données démontrent que les Inuit Sadlermiut ont des membres supérieurs et inférieurs plus robustes que trois échantillons de populations d’Euro-Canadiens qui ne diffèrent pas l’un de l’autre. La robustesse squelettique chez les Sadlermiut proviendrait de leur haut niveau d’activité physique nécessité par leur mode de vie de chasseur-cueilleur dans un climat rude et froid. De plus, la méta-analyse portant sur la mobilité a déterminé que le type et l’intensité des charges mécaniques habituelles ont une influence importante sur la morphologie des membres supérieurs et inférieurs tandis que celle portant sur le climat démontre qu’une relation est significative avec l’humérus. Ainsi, ce projet atteste que le processus de modelage osseux est multifactoriel et que le degré d’influence des facteurs comportementaux et environnementaux n’est pas uniforme sur le squelette. / Biomechanical analyses have been used to study the impact of mobility and climate on the skeletal morphology of past human populations through the measure of the cross-sectional geometry of long bones. Behavior and climate are one of the many non-genetic factors that can impact bone functional adaptation by influencing mechanical loads on the skeleton and triggering the bone modeling process. The present study focuses on the structural changes occurring at the macrolevel of long bones, more specifically robusticity and shape, by calculating mechanical properties at several cross-sectional locations. This project consists of creating a reference collection using four Holocene populations from northern Canada including Sadlermiut Inuit and three Euro-Canadian samples from Notre-Dame, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Sainte-Marie. The objective is to control for different environmental factors to better understand the impact of mobility and climate on human postcranial morphology. Cross-sectional properties were measured in the humerus, femur and tibia using a portable peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). These data were then input into a meta-analysis that included data, drawn from the scientific literature, from other archaeological populations with different modes of subsistence and inhabiting various climate types. The results showed that Sadlermiut Inuit had more robust upper and lower limbs than all three samples of Euro-Canadians who did not differ significantly from one another. The high measures of robusticity among Sadlermiut were attributed to the strenuous physical activity demanded by their hunting and gathering mode of subsistence in cold and harsh environmental conditions. Furthermore, the meta-analysis on mobility demonstrated that the type and intensity of habitual mechanical loading on the skeleton has a significant influence on the upper and lower limbs whereas the meta-analysis pertaining to climate only had a significant relationship with the humerus. Essentially, this project highlights the multifactorial nature of the bone modeling process and that the level of influence of behavioral versus climatic factors is not uniform throughout the skeleton.

In the case of time-consuming or arduous activity the individual bone, modifications of the individual skeleton may occur. Specific activities or movements are predominantly responsible for these modifications and are likely to be carried out for long periods from a young age of the individual. One of these modifications is considered to be some of the so- called non-metric traits on the postcranial skeleton. Special attention is being paid to changes of the articulation facets and changes in some muscular or ligaments' binding areas which are considered to be possibly related to excessive physical stress, occurring through the lifetime (squatting position). With respect to the frequency of 30 postcranial non-metric traits 293 skeletal remains in the Great Moravian population from the settlement agglomeration Mikulčice-Valy (9th - 10th century) have been compared. The primary goal of this research was to determine the frequency of non-metric traits and to verify the relationship with sex - age or the potential laterality differences in the case of bilateral traits. Then, based on the variability of non-metric traits, two different socio-economic groups were compared - the castle (burial site III. church) and the hinterland (burial sites Prušánky and Josefov). The highest incidence of traits was...

The non-metric postcranial traits characterize biological variability of human skeletal morphology. Special attention is beeing paid to changes in some muscular or ligaments' binding areas and to changes of the articulation facets which are considered to be possibly retaled to excessive physical stress, occuring through the lifetime. The osteological material belonging to the populations of the Corded Ware culture and the Bell Beaker culture in the area of Bohemia has been surveyed with respect to non-metric trait occurence. The origin of both of these culture bearers is still a discused issue. There is a hypothesis saying that bearers of both Late Eneotithic cultures might represent actually one population and the differency of cultural patterns were due only to life-style changes, not to large-area migration. With respect to the frequency of 94 postcranial non-metric traits both samples have been compared to each other on a basis of measure of divergence and mean measure of divergence. The samples of Late Eneolithic populations showed significant difference only in frequencies of two non- metric traits and along with the values of mean measure of divergence they seem to show rather homogeneity. Afterwards both samples were compared with a sample from Great Moravian burial site Mikulčice - Kostelisko and...