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Dear Colleagues,
On Wednesday night here in NYC the
PBS program Infinate Voyage presented UNM
anthropologist Eric Trinkaus' work on
neandertals. He claims his diagrams of
the shaft and medullary cavity of Neander-
tal femora which are "rounded" rather
than the modern "tear drop" shape (linea
aspera is apex of tear) show that modern
humans are adapted to running whereas
neandertals were adapted to side-to-side
movements on rough (highly uneven glacial)
terrain. How does this square with the
biomechanical community's take on femoral
midshaft outlines? A large portion of his
sample is from the Zagros Mt.s of Iraq but
there are many specimens from flatter areas
of Europe. I would like to repost all re-
sponses on ANTH-L if nobody minds. Many
thanks.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| David Dean (dean@karron.med.nyu.edu) ********************************* |
| Inst. of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery * FAX: 263-5400 * |
| NYU Med Ctr, Tisch Hospital, Room TH566 * Cover Sheet Instructions: * |
| 560 First Avenue * "Attn. Mr. Kim: tel 263-8745" * |
| New York, New York 10016-6402 * Alternate FAX: 769-5842 * |
| Voice: (212) 263-5158 ********************************* |
On Wednesday night here in NYC the
PBS program Infinate Voyage presented UNM
anthropologist Eric Trinkaus' work on
neandertals. He claims his diagrams of
the shaft and medullary cavity of Neander-
tal femora which are "rounded" rather
than the modern "tear drop" shape (linea
aspera is apex of tear) show that modern
humans are adapted to running whereas
neandertals were adapted to side-to-side
movements on rough (highly uneven glacial)
terrain. How does this square with the
biomechanical community's take on femoral
midshaft outlines? A large portion of his
sample is from the Zagros Mt.s of Iraq but
there are many specimens from flatter areas
of Europe. I would like to repost all re-
sponses on ANTH-L if nobody minds. Many
thanks.
+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| David Dean (dean@karron.med.nyu.edu) ********************************* |
| Inst. of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery * FAX: 263-5400 * |
| NYU Med Ctr, Tisch Hospital, Room TH566 * Cover Sheet Instructions: * |
| 560 First Avenue * "Attn. Mr. Kim: tel 263-8745" * |
| New York, New York 10016-6402 * Alternate FAX: 769-5842 * |
| Voice: (212) 263-5158 ********************************* |