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Neanderthal thorax (blue) compared with modern human thorax (gray)Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387 (2018)
Neanderthals were a species of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia sometime between 450,000 years ago and 45,000 years ago. We are only a common ancestor with Neanderthals, but around 2% of the genome of modern Eurasian humans is Neanderthal DNA.
Neanderthal remains uncovered 150 years ago in the Neander Valley in what is now Germany. Although more remains to be discovered, then our understanding of the full skeletal morphology of Neanderthals has remained incomplete. In particular, for the last century and a half, there has been much debate about the exact shape and dimensions of a typical Neanderthal thorax (rib cage, sternum and upper spine).
The structure of the Neanderthal is important because it can be said to be relatively old.
"Asea Gómez-Olivencia, a paleontologist at the University of the Basque Country in Spain." The shape of the chest is key to understanding how Neanderthals moved in their environment because of their breathing and balance.
Patricia Kramer, an anthropologist at the University of Washington in the US adds that the way Neanderthals moved would have directly impacted their ability to access resources, and therefore survive.
So far, researchers have only been able to make educated guesses based on available remains. Some researchers have proposed that Neanderthal torsos were identical to that of others when they proposed a more pronounced barrel chested shape.
Two years ago, Gómez-Olivencia and Kramer, along with an international team of researchers, used the remains of a 60,000 year old Neanderthal male to create a virtual 3D reconstruction of a Neanderthal spine. Neanderthals possessed an upright posture, and even suggested that Neanderthals had a straighter spine than modern humans.
Now, using medical computerized tomography (CT) scans of vertebrae, ribs and pelvic bones of the same skeleton, the team has expanded their work into a 3D virtual reconstruction of a Neanderthal thorax.
Reconstructed Neanderthal thorax. The blue color highlights the ribs and the sternum.Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387
"This was meticulous work," says Alon Barash at Ilan University Bar in Israel, who collaborated on the project. "We had to scan each vertebra and all of the ribs fragments individually and then reassemble them in 3D."
They also compared the results with CT scans of modern human males of similar stature to the fossil Neanderthal.
They discovered that the Neanderthal thorax did not have a larger volume than that of modern humans, but did not have significant differences in structure. For one thing, it was better than the modern human thorax. This suggests a slightly different breathing mechanism compared to our own, as it would have provided greater respiratory capacity during inspiration (breathing in).
Comparison of the Neanderthal thorax (left column) and the modern human sample (in gray, middle column) and superposition of the two (right column)Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387 (2018)
Senior author Ella Been at Ono Academic College in Israel explains, "The wide lower thorax of Neanderthals and the horizontal guidance of the ribs suggest that Neanderthals relied more on their diaphragm for breathing."
"Modern humans, on the other hand, rely both on the diaphragm and on the expansion of the cage for breathing." Here we see how new technologies in the study of fossil remains.
The researchers also found that the Neanderthal's ribs connected with the spine in an inward direction, meaning that the spine was slightly more important than the bear.
"The Neanderthal spine is located more inside the thorax, which provides more stability," says Gómez-Olivencia.
This would have forced the chest cavity to a more outward direction, spine to tilt. The result was a straighter spine. Neanderthals, it seems, did not have much of a lumbar curve as modern humans have.
Taken together, the findings provide a new perspective on the evolutionary history of Neanderthals, and provide more insight into our own past.
"Neanderthals are closely related to complex cultural adaptations, but they are very important," says Patricia Kramer.
"Understanding their adaptations allows us to understand our own evolutionary path better."
The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Original Research:
Gómez-Olivencia, A (2018) 3D virtual reconstruction of the Kebara 2 Neandertal thorax. Nature Communications 9
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Neanderthal thorax (blue) compared with modern human thorax (gray)Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387 (2018)
Neanderthals were a species of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia sometime between 450,000 years ago and 45,000 years ago. We are only a common ancestor with Neanderthals, but around 2% of the genome of modern Eurasian humans is Neanderthal DNA.
Neanderthal remains uncovered 150 years ago in the Neander Valley in what is now Germany. Although more remains to be discovered, then our understanding of the full skeletal morphology of Neanderthals has remained incomplete. In particular, for the last century and a half, there has been much debate about the exact shape and dimensions of a typical Neanderthal thorax (rib cage, sternum and upper spine).
The structure of the Neanderthal is important because it can be said to be relatively old.
"Asea Gómez-Olivencia, a paleontologist at the University of the Basque Country in Spain." The shape of the chest is key to understanding how Neanderthals moved in their environment because of their breathing and balance.
Patricia Kramer, an anthropologist at the University of Washington in the US adds that the way Neanderthals moved would have directly impacted their ability to access resources, and therefore survive.
So far, researchers have only been able to make educated guesses based on available remains. Some researchers have proposed that Neanderthal torsos were identical to that of others when they proposed a more pronounced barrel chested shape.
Two years ago, Gómez-Olivencia and Kramer, along with an international team of researchers, used the remains of a 60,000 year old Neanderthal male to create a virtual 3D reconstruction of a Neanderthal spine. Neanderthals possessed an upright posture, and even suggested that Neanderthals had a straighter spine than modern humans.
Now, using medical computerized tomography (CT) scans of vertebrae, ribs and pelvic bones of the same skeleton, the team has expanded their work into a 3D virtual reconstruction of a Neanderthal thorax.
Reconstructed Neanderthal thorax. The blue color highlights the ribs and the sternum.Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387
"This was meticulous work," says Alon Barash at Ilan University Bar in Israel, who collaborated on the project. "We had to scan each vertebra and all of the ribs fragments individually and then reassemble them in 3D."
They also compared the results with CT scans of modern human males of similar stature to the fossil Neanderthal.
They discovered that the Neanderthal thorax did not have a larger volume than that of modern humans, but did not have significant differences in structure. For one thing, it was better than the modern human thorax. This suggests a slightly different breathing mechanism compared to our own, as it would have provided greater respiratory capacity during inspiration (breathing in).
Comparison of the Neanderthal thorax (left column) and the modern human sample (in gray, middle column) and superposition of the two (right column)Gomez-Olivencia, A et al (2018) Nature Communications 9, Article number: 4387 (2018)
Senior author Ella Been at Ono Academic College in Israel explains, "The wide lower thorax of Neanderthals and the horizontal guidance of the ribs suggest that Neanderthals relied more on their diaphragm for breathing."
"Modern humans, on the other hand, rely both on the diaphragm and on the expansion of the cage for breathing." Here we see how new technologies in the study of fossil remains.
The researchers also found that the Neanderthal's ribs connected with the spine in an inward direction, meaning that the spine was slightly more important than the bear.
"The Neanderthal spine is located more inside the thorax, which provides more stability," says Gómez-Olivencia.
This would have forced the chest cavity to a more outward direction, spine to tilt. The result was a straighter spine. Neanderthals, it seems, did not have much of a lumbar curve as modern humans have.
Taken together, the findings provide a new perspective on the evolutionary history of Neanderthals, and provide more insight into our own past.
"Neanderthals are closely related to complex cultural adaptations, but they are very important," says Patricia Kramer.
"Understanding their adaptations allows us to understand our own evolutionary path better."
The findings have been published in the journal Nature Communications.
Original Research:
Gómez-Olivencia, A (2018) 3D virtual reconstruction of the Kebara 2 Neandertal thorax. Nature Communications 9
