Neanderthal axial and appendicular remains from Moula-Guercy, Ardèche, France.
Excavations carried out during the 1990s at Moula-Guercy cave Ardèche, France, yielded 108 hominid specimens dating to 100-120 Ka. In this paper, we describe and compare the 39 axial and appendicular specimens not including hand and foot bones. Among these remains are a large adult femur, several clavicles, a likely antimeric pair of radial heads, and a nearly complete superior pubic ramus. Analyses of this material indicate a clear affinity with Neanderthals by the presence of large and robust muscle attachments, thick long bone cortices, a long pubic ramus, and a superoinferiorly flattened clavicle shaft. The recovered remains reveal the presence of a mature male, a smaller mature individual, possibly a reproductive age female, an immature individual of age 10-12, and a second immature individual of age 4. Future analyses on the Moula-Guercy remains will illuminate ties to other known Neanderthal populations and contribute to the ongoing debate over the relative rate of Neanderthal metric growth.
Human Evolution Research Center, University of California Berkeley, 3101 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3160; Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Building, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140.
Ben
B
Mersey
Kyle
K
Brudvik
Michael T
MT
Black
Alban
A
Defleur
D000818:Animals; D001842:Bone and Bones / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D005260:Female; D005580:Fossils; D005602:France; D008297:Male; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000033:anatomy & histology*
hominid; pleistocene; postcrania