(Collaborative proposal) On the Verge of Modernity: Post-Pleistocene Evolution of the European Skeleton

University Of Massachusetts Amherst, Amherst MA

Investigators

Abstract

This study will provide information on temporal and geographic variation in skeletal robusticity and body size in a large sample (n=3700 individuals) from across Europe during the Holocene (10,000 years ago to the present). This is the first such study to systematically investigate these patterns over such a broad temporal and geographic range, and will allow us to test a number of hypotheses related to the impact of environmental (physical and cultural) change on the human body. The data collected, on museum specimens, will include traditional metric measurements, used to reconstruct body size and shape, as well as cross-sectional measurements of long bones, used to reconstruct the mechanical loadings (forces) on the bones during life. Samples are distributed among six geographic regions within Europe and six time periods from the Mesolithic (late hunter-gatherers) through to the recent industrial period. This extends a database for earlier European populations stretching back to more than 30,000 years ago. The bone structural data will be combined with archaeological data to trace in detail the changes that have occurred in relation to environmental influences over this time period. Understanding the recent evolution and adaptation of the human skeleton is important for a number of reasons. Osteoporosis (age-related bone loss leading to an increased risk of fracture) is a modern problem with significant medical and social implications. There is evidence that at least part of the recent increase in osteoporosis in Western societies may be attributable to decreased physical activity leading to the development of less robust bones and accelerated bone loss with aging. However, there is very little historical context within which to evaluate this hypothesis. Analysis of earlier, but genetically related populations with more physically active lifestyles will help to determine when and why this modern condition arose. In addition, more recent trends in physical size (stature and body weight) in relation to diet, disease, or climate, can be more accurately interpreted with longer-term historic and prehistoric data. Finally, analysis of archaeological skeletal remains is an important element in reconstructing past behavior and biology, for example, the impact of the agricultural revolution or increasing urbanization on human health and behavior. The study involves close collaboration between two US investigators and two European investigators from Finland and the Czech Republic. In addition, a number of other investigators throughout Europe will be involved in the project on a more local basis. The project will build upon these relationships to strengthen international ties and collaborative networks, both for the investigators themselves as well as future researchers. The project will also involve the training of graduate students at each of the four main institutions, including international travel by students to collect data. The large data base generated by the study will be made freely available at the end of the project, which should stimulate further research and serve as a template for future projects.