Differences in the lifestyle of various populations may lead to changes in the shape of the long limb bones. This involves a reaction to the degree of mechanical and environmental stress acting upon these bones. Our work examined changes in the shape, proportions and size of the lower limb long bones (femur, tibia) over roughly the past five thousand years, or more precisely from the later phase of the Early Stone Age up to the 20th century. We studied the femurs and tibias of a total 520 adult individuals − 313 males and 207 females − from seven different periods or rather archaeological cultures. Our evaluation was based on the external, linear dimensions of the bones studied. Biological parameters were evaluated in relation to sexual dimorphism and lateral asymmetry. We paid special attention to the degree of flattening of the proximal third of the femoral and tibial shafts. Sexual dimorphism differed in individual populations. We found the least statistically significant parameters of sexual dimorphism in the oldest, Eneolithic, samples. In contrast, both sexes differed in the greatest number of parameters in the Early Middle Ages. Lateral asymmetry was most frequently demonstrated for the width dimensions in the case of the femoral and tibial diaphyses, which are in complete concurrence with...
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:297241 |
| Date | January 2011 |
| Creators | Šídová, Markéta |
| Contributors | Velemínský, Petr, Brůžek, Jaroslav |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/masterThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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