Can Handedness be Determined from Skeletal Remains? A Chronological Review of the Literature

Ubelaker, Douglas H.; Zarenko, M B A Kristina

doi:10.1111/j.1556-4029.2012.02173.x

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…Directional asymmetry may be easier to detect in the upper limb of modern humans because the limb has been decoupled from load bearing during habitual locomotion (Sylvester, 2006), allowing non-locomotor behaviors to become the dominant loading regime. An important caveat to this observation, however, is that not all lateralized behaviors will be reflected by skeletal asymmetry, as variation in the developmental stage and the duration, frequency, and magnitude of loads associated with specific lateralized tasks will have unequal effects on bone asymmetry Ubelaker and Zarenko, 2012).…”

Section: Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 98%

Fluctuating and directional asymmetry in the long bones of captive cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Reeves

Auerbach

Sylvester

2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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This first study of DA and FA among multiple dimensions throughout the limbs of a non-hominoid primate suggests that previously-reported patterns of human bilateral asymmetry are not exclusive to humans. The results further indicate potential underlying differences in constraints on variation within limb bones. While processes shaping variation await further study, our results argue that different long bone dimensions may reflect dissimilar evolutionary processes.

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Section: Asymmetrymentioning

confidence: 98%

Fluctuating and directional asymmetry in the long bones of captive cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Reeves

Auerbach

Sylvester

2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…In response to these observations, many have proposed that the species‐level right directional asymmetry in humans coevolved with (1) an intensified reliance upon increasingly complex stone tool manufacture/use from at least ∼2.6 Ma (Semaw et al, ; Steele, ; Steele & Uomini, ) to possibly ∼3.3 Ma (Harmand et al, ), and with (2) selection for a highly dexterous hand working in conjunction with an augmented suite of visuo‐cognitive functional asymmetries (Cantalupo, Freeman, Rodes, & Hopkins, ; Fitch & Braccini, ; Hopkins, ; Meguerditchian, Vauclair, & Hopkins, ; Steele & Uomini, ; Stout & Chaminade, ; Stout, Toth, Schick, & Chaminade, ). Testing these proposed cause and effect relationships in this coevolution model hinges largely on the timing of when hand preference became fixed in past populations (Steele, ; Ubelaker & Zarenko, ; Uomini, ). Archaeological techniques for addressing this question rely on right/left directional asymmetries in the production of rock‐art stencils of the hand (Faurie & Raymond, ), or signs of striking preference during stone flake tool production (Rugg & Mullane, ; Toth, ; but see Ruck, Broadfield, & Brown, ) and use (Phillipson, ).…”

Section: The Evolution Of Hand Preference and Handednessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Trabecular architecture in the thumb of Pan and Homo: implications for investigating hand use, loading, and hand preference in the fossil record

Stephens

Kivell

Groß

et al. 2016

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives Humans display an 85–95% cross‐cultural right‐hand bias in skilled tasks, which is considered a derived behavior because such a high frequency is not reported in wild non‐human primates. Handedness is generally considered to be an evolutionary byproduct of selection for manual dexterity and augmented visuo‐cognitive capabilities within the context of complex stone tool manufacture/use. Testing this hypothesis requires an understanding of when appreciable levels of right dominant behavior entered the fossil record. Because bone remodels in vivo, skeletal asymmetries are thought to reflect greater mechanical loading on the dominant side, but incomplete preservation of external morphology and ambiguities about past loading environments complicate interpretations. We test if internal trabecular bone is capable of providing additional information by analyzing the thumb of Homo sapiens and Pan. Materials and methods We assess trabecular structure at the distal head and proximal base of paired (left/right) first metacarpals using micro‐CT scans of Homo sapiens (n = 14) and Pan (n = 9). Throughout each epiphysis we quantify average and local bone volume fraction (BV/TV), degree of anisotropy (DA), and elastic modulus (E) to address bone volume patterning and directional asymmetry. Results We find a right directional asymmetry in H. sapiens consistent with population‐level handedness, but also report a left directional asymmetry in Pan that may be the result of postural and/or locomotor loading. Conclusion We conclude that trabecular bone is capable of detecting right/left directional asymmetry, but suggest coupling studies of internal structure with analyses of other skeletal elements and cortical bone prior to applications in the fossil record.

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“…In this context, we deal with different aspects of asymmetry, looking at potential variations and correlations in directional asymmetries (DA) as indicators of brain/manual in which differences in robusticity are related to hand/arm preference. Previous studies have focused on gross external anatomy (see review [40]) or on analyses of single CT slices [1]. A recent in vivo study shows the limitations of earlier methodologies [41] and suggests that 'hand preference' can be successfully inferred from measures of upper limb geometric asymmetry [42].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation and Correlations in Departures from Symmetry of Brain Torque, Humeral Morphology and Handedness in an Archaeological Sample of Homo sapiens

2020

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The anatomical asymmetries of the human brain are the subject of a great deal of scientific interest because of their links with handedness and lateralized cognitive functions. Information about lateralization in humans is also available from the post-cranial skeleton, particularly the arm bones, in which differences in size and shape are related to hand/arm preference. Our objective here is to characterize the possible correlations between the endocranial and post-cranial asymmetries of an archaeological sample. This, in turn, will allow us to try to identify and interpret prospective functional traits in the archaeological and fossil records. We observe that directional asymmetry (DA) is present both for some endocranial and humeral traits because of brain lateralization and lateralized behaviors, while patterns of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) vary. The combined study of these anatomical elements and of their asymmetries can shed light on the ways in which the body responds to dependent asymmetrical stimuli across biologically independent anatomical areas. Variations in FA are, in this context, indicators of differences in answers to lateralized factors. Humeri tend to show a much larger range of variation than the endocast. We show that important but complex information may be extracted from the combined study of the endocast and the arms in an archaeological sample of Homo sapiens.

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Can Handedness be Determined from Skeletal Remains? A Chronological Review of the Literature

Cited by 15 publications

References 60 publications

Fluctuating and directional asymmetry in the long bones of captive cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Fluctuating and directional asymmetry in the long bones of captive cotton‐top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Trabecular architecture in the thumb of Pan and Homo: implications for investigating hand use, loading, and hand preference in the fossil record

Variation and Correlations in Departures from Symmetry of Brain Torque, Humeral Morphology and Handedness in an Archaeological Sample of Homo sapiens

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