The Sima de los Huesos Crania: Analysis of the cranial breakage patterns

Objectives: Kranioti, Grigorescu, and Harvati have recently described (PLoS One 2019, 14(7),e0216718) the breakage to the Cioclovina 1 earlier Upper Paleolithic cranium as indicating fatal interhuman blunt trauma. We have reassessed their analysis in terms of the specimen's condition at discovery, its current condition, and the postdiscovery history of the cranium. Materials and Methods:The original Cioclovina 1 neurocranium and currently associated pieces were visually assessed for the nature of the damage to them, and the records of its discovery, the original 1942 photographs, and their subsequent history in Bucharest were reviewed.

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Perimortem versus postmortem damage: The recent case of Cioclovina 1

Soficaru

Trinkaus

2020

“…To analyze the cranial breakage patterns of fossil specimens composed of cranial fragments that have been glued together, the use of 3D imaging is crucial for observing various aspects of the fracture properties (Sala et al, , ). The Aroeira 3 fossil was subjected to a high‐resolution CT scan using an industrial YXLON MU 2000‐CT scanner at the Universidad de Burgos (Spain).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The cranial breakage pattern of Aroeira 3 was analyzed following the criteria suggested by Sala et al () to assess the presence/absence of perimortem (fresh bone) and postmortem (dry bone) fractures and the possible causes of perimortem skull bone fractures. To interpret the breakage patterns, we focused on the cranial vault bones.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Specifically, cranial remains can provide valuable information about the pathologies, injuries, causes of death of individuals and about behavioral features, such as interpersonal violence, cannibalism, funerary behavior, etc. (Bello, Parfitt, & Stringer, ; Gómez‐Olivencia et al, ; Gracia et al, ; Gracia‐Téllez et al, ; Sala et al, ; Sala, Pantoja‐Pérez, Arsuaga, Pablos & Martínez, ; Wu, Schepartz, Liu, & Trinkaus, ; Zollikofer, Ponce de León, Vandermeersch, & Leveque, ). In this work, we present the first taphonomic analysis of the Middle Pleistocene individual (Aroeira 3) from Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conspecific care of infirm or cognitively impaired individuals has been documented in the SH hominins (Bonmatí et al, ; Gracia et al, ; Gracia‐Téllez et al, ), and evidence of the capacity for spoken language in the SH hominins (Martínez et al, , ) implies complex cognitive abilities, at least for the Middle Pleistocene populations. Although different scenarios have been proposed (Andrews & Fernández‐Jalvo, ; Zilhão, ), recent geological studies (Aranburu, Arsuaga, & Sala, ), taphonomic analyses of carnivore modification (Sala, Arsuaga, Martínez, & Gracia‐Téllez, ) and forensic studies of bone fractures (Sala, Arsuaga, Martínez, & Gracia‐Téllez, ; Sala et al, , ) have allowed geological agents, carnivores and accidental causes to be ruled out as having been responsible for the accumulation of hominin remains in the SH chamber. Several other inferences acquire a certain relevance in this regard.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Taphonomic inferences about Middle Pleistocene hominins: The human cranium of Gruta da Aroeira (Portugal)

Sanz

Sala

Daura

et al. 2018

Self Cite

The human remains from Axlor (Dima, Biscay, northern Iberian Peninsula)

Gómez‐Olivencia

López‐Onaindia

Sala

et al. 2019

Self Cite

Objectives: We provide the description and comparative analysis of all the human fossil remains found at Axlor during the excavations carried out by J.M. Barandiarán from to 1974: a cranial vault fragment and eight teeth, five of which likely belonged to the same individual, although two are currently lost. Our goal is to describe in detail all these human remains and discuss both their taxonomic attribution and their stratigraphic context. Materials and methods: We describe external and internal anatomy, and use classic and geometric morphometrics. The teeth from Axlor are compared to Neandertals, Upper Paleolithic and recent modern humans. Results: Three teeth (a left dm 2 , a left di 1 , and a right I 1) and the parietal fragment show morphological features consistent with a Neanderthal classification, and were found in an undisturbed Mousterian context. The remaining three teeth (plus the two lost ones), initially classified as Neandertals, show morphological features and a general size that are more compatible with their classification as modern humans. Discussion: The combined anatomical and stratigraphic study suggest that the remains of two different adult Neandertals have been recovered during the old excavations performed by Barandiarán: a left parietal fragment (level VIII) and a right I 1 (level V). Additionally, two different Neandertal children lost deciduous teeth during the formations of levels V (left di 1) and IV (right dm²). In addition, a modern human individual is represented by five remains (two currently lost) from a complex stratigraphic setting. Some of the morphological features of these remains suggest that they may represent one of the scarce examples of Upper Paleolithic modern human remains in the northern Iberian Peninsula, which should be confirmed by further testing.