Premium
Several Infra‐cranial Non‐metric Variations in a Single Neolithic individual: A Common Genetic Underlying Predisposition?
Author(s) -
Verna E.,
Villotte S.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
international journal of osteoarchaeology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.738
H-Index - 60
eISSN - 1099-1212
pISSN - 1047-482X
DOI - 10.1002/oa.2522
Subject(s) - metric (unit) , evolutionary biology , biology , economics , operations management
Non‐metric variations have been the subject of anatomical and anthropological studies for more than a century. In this study, we present an individual from Sion (Canton of Valais, Southern Switzerland) dated from the Middle Neolithic who shows evidence for four non‐metric variations. This young adult male presents an os acromiale , spondylolysis, a bipartite patella, and bilateral calcaneus secundarius . These non‐metric variations have a low frequency in most populations (less than 10%), and for each of them the origin is usually considered to be genetic, environmental, or a combination of both. This case is of interest for understanding the potential genetic origin of these non‐metric variations as well as for demonstrating their usefulness in bioarcheological analysis. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.