| Publications [#69334] of Damiano Marchi
search PubMed.Journal Articles
- Marchi D, Sparacello VS, Holt BM, Formicola V, Biomechanical approach to the reconstruction of activity patterns in Neolithic Western Liguria, Italy,
American Journal of Physical Anthropology no. 131
(2006),
pp. 447-456
(last updated on 2009/09/23)
Abstract: This paper investigates the changes in upper and lower limb robusticity and activity
patterns that accompanied the transition to a Neolithic subsistence in Western Liguria (Italy).
Diaphyseal robusticity measures are obtained from cross-sectional geometric properties of the humerus and femur in a sample of 16 individuals (eight males and eight females) dated to
about 6,000-5,500 BP. Comparisons with European Late Upper Paleolithics (LUP) indicate
increased humeral robusticity in Neolithic Ligurian (NEOL) males, but not in females, with
significant reduction in right-left differences in both sexes. Sexual dimorphism in robusticity
increases in upper and lower limb bones. Regarding the femur, while all female indicators of
bending strength decrease steadily through time, values for NEOL males approach those of
LUP. This suggests high, and unexpected, levels of mechanical stress for NEOL males,
probably reflecting the effects of the mountainous terrain in lower limb remodeling.
Comparisons between NEOL males and a small sample of LUP hunter-gatherers from the
same area support this interpretation. In conclusion, cross-sectional geometry data indicate
that the transition to Neolithic economies in Western Liguria did not reduce functional
requirements in males and suggest a marked sexual division of labor involving a more
symmetric use of the upper limb and different male-female levels of locomotory stress. When
articulated with archeological, faunal, paleopathological and ethnographic evidence, these
results support the hypothesis of repetitive, bimanual use of axes tied to pastoral activities in
males and of more sedentary tasks linked to agriculture in females.
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