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Variation of the mandibular angle in Middle Pleistocene Homo, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens

Variation de l’angle mandibulaire chez Homo du Pléistocène moyen, Homo neanderthalensis et Homo sapiens
Larissa Spina, Julie Arnaud et Amélie Vialet

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1The goniac region is one of the mandibular features that displays a particular configuration in Homo neanderthalensis, including traits which are apomorphies also observed in several Middle Pleistocene (MP) fossils, such as a truncated shape and an inverted orientation. At the same time, H. sapiens shows another direction of intra-specific variability, from the typical regular and straight gonion to the expanded and everted configuration in the Upper Paleolithic Iberomaurusians. This study investigates variation in the morphology of the goniac area with reference to the outline of posterior and inferior mandibular borders, considering possible factors influencing morphological configurations: bone remodeling, cranial-mandibular integration and biomechanical strains.

2For this purpose, 165 specimens were observed, a sample comprising 6 Middle Pleistocene Homo, 12 H. neanderthalensis and 147 H. sapiens, divided into 107 Holocene individuals, 4 Upper Pleistocene and 36 Iberomaurusians. Firstly, a classification of the observed specimens was done, categorizing them by shape (regular, truncated or expanded) and orientation (straight, inverted or everted) of the goniac area. Secondly, the outlines drawn by 70 semi-landmarks were studied by landmark-based Principal Component Analysis and Elliptical Fourier coefficients.

3The results distinguish H. sapiens from H. neanderthalensis, with Middle Pleistocene Homo specimens being close to the latter. An association between the morphology of the goniac area, the ramus posterior border height and incurvation is also indicated, although pattern and causes of variation are yet unclear. H. neanderthalensis and MP Homo are characterized by shorter, straight posterior ramus border and truncated goniac area, while H. sapiens has longer, curved ramus posterior border with regularly curved goniac region. The H. sapiens intra-specific variability is indicated by the inclination of the ramus and the eversion of the gonion, seen more emphatically in Iberomaurusians. These conclusions confirm previous observations and advance the debate on the goniac morphology and its phylogenetic significance.

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Larissa Spina, Julie Arnaud et Amélie Vialet, « Variation of the mandibular angle in Middle Pleistocene Homo, Homo neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens »Bulletins et mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris [En ligne], 38(S) | 2026, mis en ligne le 16 décembre 2025, consulté le 08 mars 2026. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/bmsap/17600 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/15hj2

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Auteurs

Larissa Spina

International Master Quaternary and Prehistory, Università di Ferrara, MNHN, Ferrara, Italy ; larissa.docal.spina[at]gmail.com

Julie Arnaud

Sezione di Scienze Preistoriche e Antropologiche, Università di Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

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Amélie Vialet

HNHP UMR 7194, CNRS, MNHN, UPVD, Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France

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Le texte seul est utilisable sous licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Les autres éléments (illustrations, fichiers annexes importés) sont susceptibles d’être soumis à des autorisations d’usage spécifiques.

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