Anatomical Form and Biomechanical Function Inferred from the Upper Limb Remains from Liang Bua Cave, Flores Indonesia
Open Access
Author:
Weller, Alex
Graduate Program:
Kinesiology
Degree:
Master of Science
Document Type:
Master Thesis
Date of Defense:
March 27, 2013
Committee Members:
Robert Barry Eckhardt, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Keywords:
physical anthropology biomechanics evolution homo floresiensis dysmorphology
Abstract:
The evolutionary status of human remains recovered from the Liang Bua cave on the tropical Indonesian island of Flores is disputed. While some posit that the remains represent a novel hominid species that descended in situ in isolation from Homo erectus, alternative explanations propose that the remains from the only relatively complete specimen, LB1, dated to approximately 18,000 years ago represent pathological modern Homo sapiens. This thesis presents new evidence from the reconstruction of upper limb phenotype of an extant female exhibiting an unknown pervasive developmental disorder, with comparisons to the recovered remains. There is significant correspondence between the extant human and the recovered remains in terms of clavicle and other upper limb bone morphology. Thus, it is suggested that the classification of species is inclusive of individuals outside a non-pathological range of variation in both phenotype and endophenotype.