Impact of grinding technology on bilateral asymmetry in muscle activity of the upper limb

Sládek, Vladimı́r; Hora, Martin; Farkašová, Kristýna; Rocek, Thomas R.

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2016.07.001

Cited by 20 publications

(55 citation statements)

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“…Among modern subsistence agriculturalists, food processing tends to be a predominantly female activity ( 38 ), and ethnographic observations note that grinding using a saddle quern can burden women with an average of approximately 5 hours a day of manual labor ( 39 ). The processing of cereals with a saddle quern, the technology available in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, is also relatively inefficient: Sládek and colleagues ( 40 ) found that grinding grain with a saddle quern required four times more time and two times more muscle activity per kilogram of grain than did grinding with the rotary quern, which was introduced in the Iron Age. Among the LBK, saddle querns were the main tool used for cereal processing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric women’s manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe

2017

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prehistoric women’s manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe

2017

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“…Moreover, the first grinding technology is associated with a two-handed saddle quern (i.e., using a ground stone and hand stone; see Fig. 7A), which is expected to produce a highly symmetrical pattern of loading on the upper limbs (Watts, 2014;Sládek et al, unpublished results). It is likely that this technological transition and reliance on grinding is also reflected in a decrease in directional asymmetry.…”

Section: Our Observed Decrease Of Directional Asymmetry Between the Umentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of subsistence changes on humeral bilateral asymmetry in Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene Europe

Sládek

Ruff

Berner

et al. 2016

Journal of Human Evolution

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Analyses of upper limb bone bilateral asymmetry can shed light on manipulative behavior, sexual division of labor, and the effects of economic transitions on skeletal morphology. We compared the maximum (absolute) and directional asymmetry in humeral length, articular breadth, and cross-sectional diaphyseal geometry (CSG) in a large (n > 1200) European sample distributed among 11 archaeological periods from the Early Upper Paleolithic through the 20(th) century. Asymmetry in length and articular breadth is right-biased, but relatively small and fairly constant between temporal periods. Females show more asymmetry in length than males. This suggests a low impact of behavioral changes on asymmetry in length and breadth, but strong genetic control with probable sex linkage of asymmetry in length. Asymmetry in CSG properties is much more marked than in length and articular breadth, with sex-specific variation. In males, a major decline in asymmetry occurs between the Upper Paleolithic and Mesolithic. There is no further decline in asymmetry between the Mesolithic and Neolithic in males and only limited variation during the Holocene. In females, a major decline occurs between the Mesolithic and Neolithic, with resulting average directional asymmetry close to zero. Asymmetry among females continues to be very low in the subsequent Copper and Bronze Ages, but increases again in the Iron Age. Changes in female asymmetry result in an increase of sexual dimorphism during the early agricultural periods, followed by a decrease in the Iron Age. Sexual dimorphism again slightly declines after the Late Medieval. Our results indicate that changes in manipulative behavior were sex-specific with a probable higher impact of changes in hunting behavior on male asymmetry (e.g., shift from unimanual throwing to use of the bow-and-arrow) and food grain processing in females, specifically, use of two-handed saddle querns in the early agricultural periods and one-handed rotary querns in later agricultural periods.

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“…Together with traces of use, the distribution of the remains suggests the usage motions of the grinder and, consequently, may also provide valuable information for studies on the human anatomy. Indeed, asymmetrical developments of the arms are detectable in females from the Mesolithic to the Iron Age and may be the direct consequence of the change in the grinding methods (Sladek & al. 2016).…”

Section: Plant Remains On Tool Surfacesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of starch grain and phytolith analyses in reconstructing ancient diets

2019

Bocconea

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online. Starch grains and phytoliths are often found trapped in dental calculus or on the surface of lithic grinding tools. In the last decades, their analysis provided new information about the dietary habits of ancient populations, a topic that has recently become the object of numerous researches by archaeobotanists, archaeozoologists and anthropologists. The study of these micro-remains not only indicates which plants were used for feeding purposes but may also highlight our ancestors' ability to manipulate food.

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Impact of grinding technology on bilateral asymmetry in muscle activity of the upper limb

Cited by 20 publications

References 64 publications

Prehistoric women’s manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe

Prehistoric women’s manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe

The impact of subsistence changes on humeral bilateral asymmetry in Terminal Pleistocene and Holocene Europe

The contribution of starch grain and phytolith analyses in reconstructing ancient diets

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