Exploring the relationship between entheseal changes and physical activity: A multivariate study.
Authors
Milella, MarcoCardoso, Francisca Alves
Assis, Sandra
Lopreno, Geneviève Perréard
Speith, Nivien

Affiliation
University Zürich-IrchelNova University
University of Coimbra
University of Geneva
Bournemouth University
Issue Date
2014-10-20
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
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.Citation
Milella, M. et al (2015) 'Exploring the relationship between entheseal changes and physical activity: A multivariate study', American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 156 (2):215 .Publisher
WileyJournal
American Journal of Physical AnthropologyDOI
10.1002/ajpa.22640Additional Links
http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/ajpa.22640Type
ArticleLanguage
enISSN
00029483ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1002/ajpa.22640