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Brief communication: Investigation of the semicircular canal variation in the Krapina Neandertals
Author(s) -
Hill Cheryl A.,
Radovčić Jakov,
Frayer David W.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.22506
Subject(s) - homo sapiens , biology , semicircular canal , endocast , anatomy , archaeology , geography , skull , vestibular system , neuroscience
Previous studies comparing bony labyrinth morphology in geographically‐dispersed samples of Neandertals and modern Homo sapiens ( H. sapiens ) showed that Neandertals generally have smaller semicircular canals than modern H. sapiens (Hublin et al., [Hublin JJ, 1996]; Spoor et al., [Spoor F, 2003]; Glantz et al., [Glantz M, 2008]). Here we analyze the morphology of a single group of Neandertal specimens from one locale, the Krapina site, to determine the intraspecific variation in Neandertal semicircular canal sizes. Dimensions of the semicircular canals were collected from computed tomography scans of nine temporal bones. With the rare exception, the dimensions of the semicircular canals in the Krapina sample are similar to those previously reported across a geographically‐dispersed sample of Neandertals, further supporting previous studies that suggest low levels of variation in the semicircular canals for Neandertals. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:302–306, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.