Moscow University
Anthropology
Bulletin
Anthropology
Bulletin
Research Institute and Museum of Anthropology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Kharitonov Vitaliy, e-mail: 1605vit@rambler.ru.
This study aims to integrate the child craniofacial morphology of Staroselie into the developmental context of Neanderthals and modern humans. The fossil remains of the child are from the archaeological site of Staroselie, which is not far from town Bakhchisarai (Crimea). The site was excavated by A.A. Formozov in 1952–1956 with the burial exhumed in 1953. The biological age of a child is 1–2 year old. The craniology of the child appeared to show mixed Neanderthal and modern characteristics, and since it was considered to be in situ in a Middle Paleolithic context, the site has attracted considerable international interest since its discovery (Roginskiy, 1954). New excavations were conducted by a joint American-Ukrainian team in 1993–1995. The team was highly critical of Formozov’s inexact recording methods. Thus, they stressed that the burial of child is unquestionably modern dating to the 18th century AD (Alexeeva, 1996). The authors ignored that the radiocarbon dates for cultural levels upper and lower of the burial gave the interval 35,510±1170 – 36,160±1250 BP, because of absent of direct radiocarbon (AMS) dates from the human remains (Gvozdover et al., 1986)]. Morphologically the skull cap is large, there is an absence of a thick brow, and the projection of the head is modern. There is no doubt that the burial of Staroselie is Homo sapiens. The child of Pech de l’Azé is the same biological age as Staroselie one, thus we used both of them to study craniofacial morphology into the context of Neanderthals and modern humans developmental trajectories. The Pech de l’Azé child was first described by Patte and then by Ferembach et al. The geological age of the specimen is 51–41 cal kya BP (Soressi et al., 2006). The individual is similar to other Neanderthals by it craniofacial morphology. Craniofacial morphology analysis is considered as a complex of three anatomically separated modules of neurocranium, face and mandible [Kondo et al., 2005]. We compare growth profiles (changes in size) and allometric relationship of each module for 28 nonadult Neanderthals, 21 nonadult Paleolithic AMH and 470 modern children. Comparative data show the close allometric relationship of Neanderthals and Staroselie child only in neurocranium/face developmental trend. Investigation was done in frame of the grant RFBR 13-06-12035.
Paleolithic, Neanderthals, Modern Humans, ontogenesis
Цит.: Lepeshkin Artem, Kharitonov Vitaliy, Buzhilova Alexandra CRANIOFACIAL MORPHOLOGY OF THE CHILD OF STAROSELIE INTO THE POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENTAL CONTEXT OF NEANDERTHALS AND MODERN HUMANS // Moscow University Anthropology Bulletin (Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seria XXIII. Antropologia), 2014; 3/2014; с. 92-93
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