Exploring the relationship between entheseal changes and physical activity: A multivariate study.
ABSTRACT Analyses of entheseal changes (EC) in identified skeletal samples employ a common research strategy based on the comparison between occupations grouped on the basis of shared biomechanical and/or social characteristics. Results from this approach are often ambiguous, with some studies that...
| Published in: | American Journal of Physical Anthropology Vol. 156; no. 2; pp. 215 - 224 |
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
| Format: | Article |
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Wiley-Blackwell
Feb2015
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=100399099&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 100399099 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 00029483 APX jtl: American Journal of Physical Anthropology issn: 00029483 maglogo: Y pubinfo: dt: Feb2015 vid: 156 iid: 2 pid: 480 pub: Wiley-Blackwell artinfo: ui: 100399099 10.1002/ajpa.22640 ppf: 215 ppct: 9 formats: tig: atl: Exploring the relationship between entheseal changes and physical activity: A multivariate study. aug: au: Milella, Marco Cardoso, Francisca Alves Assis, Sandra Lopreno, Geneviève Perréard Speith, Nivien affil: Anthropological Institute and Museum, University Zürich‐Irchel, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland CRIA—Centro em Rede de Investigação em Antropologia, Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. Berna, 26‐C, 1069‐061, Lisboa Portugal CIAS ‐ Centro de Investigação em Antropologia e Saúde, Department of Life Sciences, Calçada Martins de Freitas, University of Coimbra, 3000‐456, Coimbra Portugal Laboratory of prehistoric archaeology and anthropology, F.A. Forel Institut – Earth Sciences and Environment, University of Geneva, 18, route des Acacias, CH‐1211, Genéve 4 Switzerland Faculty of Science and Technology, Department of Archaeology, Anthropology and Forensic Science, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole BH12 5BB, Dorset UK su: Gender differences (Psychology) Occupations Skeleton Multivariate analysis Hierarchical clustering (Cluster analysis) Hypothesis Ligaments Agriculture sug: subj: Gender differences (Psychology) Occupations Skeleton Multivariate analysis Hierarchical clustering (Cluster analysis) Hypothesis Ligaments Agriculture keyword: entheseal robusticity multivariate study occupations entheseal robusticity multivariate study occupations ab: ABSTRACT Analyses of entheseal changes (EC) in identified skeletal samples employ a common research strategy based on the comparison between occupations grouped on the basis of shared biomechanical and/or social characteristics. Results from this approach are often ambiguous, with some studies that point to differences in EC between occupational samples and others failing to provide evidence of behavioral effects on EC. Here we investigate patterns of EC among documented occupations by means of a multivariate analysis of robusticity scores in nine postcranial entheses from a large ( N = 372) contemporary skeletal sample including specimens from one Italian and two Portuguese identified collections. Data on entheseal robusticity, analyzed by pooled sides as well by separated sides and levels of asymmetry, are converted in binary scores and then analyzed through nonlinear principal component analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Results of these analyses are then used for the classification of occupations. Differences between occupational classes are tested by MANOVA and pairwise Hotelling's test. Results evidence three classes which separate occupations related to farming, physically demanding but generalized occupation, and physically undemanding occupations, with the more consistent differences between the first and the last classes. Our results are consistent with differences in biomechanical behavior between the occupations included in each class, and point to the physical and social specificity of farming activities. On the other hand, our study exemplifies the usefulness of alternative analytical protocols for the investigation of EC, and the value of research designs devoid of a priori assumptions for the test of biocultural hypotheses. Am J Phys Anthropol 156:215-223, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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