Abstract
Morphological and paleobiological assessments of the Neandertals are improved by appropriate sexual attributions of fossil remains. The La Quina 5 partial Neandertal skeleton has usually been considered as female, despite the absence of its pelvis and recognition of its large and robust facial skeleton. Its sexual affinities were therefore reassessed relative to pelvically sexed and unsexable Neandertal remains, using its neurocranial, facial, and appendicular dimensions. Its endocranial capacity and parietal thickness, although small, appear undiagnostic with regard to sex. Its radial length, femoral diaphyseal size, mandibular corpus dimensions, and supraorbital torus thickness are intermediate between those of males and females. Its mandible length and mastoid process projection and its humeral length, articular size, and diaphyseal hypertrophy align it with male Neandertals. On the basis of these comparisons, La Quina 5 appears to be either male or indeterminate with regard to its sex, the latter conclusion being the more cautious one. It is unlikely to have been a female.
Résumé
Les évaluations morphologiques et paléobiologiques des Néandertaliens sont améliorées par des indications sexuelles fiables pour les restes fossiles. Le squelette partiel du Néandertalien de La Quina, La Quina 5, a le plus souvent été considéré comme femelle, malgré l’absence du coxal et les remarques de Martin, Hrdlička et Smith sur la robustesse et la grandeur de son squelette facial. Étant donné l’importance des identifications sexuelles pour certaines analyses paléoanthropologiques, la diagnose sexuelle de La Quina 5 a été reprise, par comparaison avec des Néandertaliens avec ou sans indications sexuelles coxales. Ses dimensions neurocrâniennes, faciales et des os des membres ont été utilisées. Sa capacité crânienne est petite mais pas diagnostique pour le sexe, puisqu’il y a des Néandertaliens mâle (Feldhofer 1) et femelle (Tabun 1) avec des crânes aussi petits. Son épaisseur pariétale, avec celle de Tabun 1, est exceptionnellement petite par rapport aux autres Néandertaliens. La longueur du radius, la grandeur de la diaphyse fémorale et l’épaisseur du torus supraorbitaire se placent entre les mâles et femelles néandertaliens. En revanche, la longueur de la mandibule, la projection du processus mastoïde et les dimensions de l’humérus (longueur, hypertrophie diaphysaire et largueur articulaire) le rangent parmi les Néandertaliens mâles. À la suite de ces comparaisons, La Quina 5 doit être considéré comme mâle ou de sexe inconnu, la seconde interprétation étant la plus prudente. Il est difficile de le considérer comme femelle.
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Trinkaus, E. The sexual attribution of the La Quina 5 Neandertal. BMSAP 28, 111–117 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-016-0159-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13219-016-0159-4