肱骨骨干骨密质厚度的二维可视化及其定量分析

形态示量图是一种展示三维形态测量信息的二维可视化手段,能有效地反应骨密质厚度的分布特点。虽然现代人、更新世古老型人类和大猿的骨密质厚度分布存在差别,但全新世现代人内部是否有变异存在尚未被充分研究。本文选择全新世华中、华北地区的6个农业人群的34例右侧肱骨标本（23例男性、11例女性）,使用形态示量图对其骨干骨密质厚度的分布特征进行了全面分析。在方法上,本文比较了通过厚度最大值和生物力学长度对骨密质厚度进行标准化后分析结果的差别,并验证了主成分分析在形态示量图上的适用性。结果显示,在全新世华中、华北地区的农业人群中,男、女的厚度分布模式存在一定差异,而不同人群男性的差别并不明显。本文虽通过全新世华中、华北地区的农业人群揭示出全新世现代人在肱骨骨干骨密质厚度分布上存在一定程度的变异,但仍需在未来工作中依托本文方法,选择人群种类更丰富、标本量更大、个体变量控制更严格的材料,进一步验证或扩展本文所得结论。

2D visualization and quantitative analysis of the humeral diaphysis cortical thickness

Morphometric mapping is a 2D visualization method that displays 3D morphometric information, which can effectively reflect the distribution characteristics of cortical thickness. Despite there exist differences in the distribution pattern of cortical thickness between modern humans and Pleistocene archaic humans and great apes, more explorations are needed to test whether there are variations within Holocene modern humans. In present study, 34 right humeral specimens (23 males and 11 females) from 6 Holocene central and north China agricultural populations were selected to analyze the distribution characteristics of the humeral diaphysis cortical thickness by morphometric mapping comprehensively. This work compared the differences between the analysis results obtained after standardizing the cortical thickness by maximum thickness and biomechanical length, and verified the applicability of principal component analysis on morphometric mapping. The results reveal that within the Holocene central and north China agricultural populations, there exists some variances between males and females, but males of different populations show no obvious distinction. Though this work to some extent reveals the variations in the distribution of humeral diaphysis cortical thickness of Holocene modern humans by analyzing the agricultural populations from Holocene central and northern China, it’s still necessary to carry out works on new specimens which contain diverse populations, large sample size and strict variable control by method used in the present study, so as to verify or expand the conclusions obtained here in the future.