Topography of the infraorbital foramen in human skulls originating from different time periods.

BACKGROUND: The infraorbital foramen (IOF) is present on the maxilla under the infraorbital margin. Its identification is essential in various surgical procedures. The main aim of this study was the morphometric assessment of the position of the right and left infraorbital foramina in relation to specific structural elements of the facial skeleton, their width and direction, and also the determination of the location of these foramina above maxillary teeth in examined male skulls (belonging to European populations) dated to the beginning of the 20th century and the medieval and post-medieval period. This aim concerned also the assessment of the symmetry of the examined foramina (their location and size). An additional goal was to determine differences between the cranial samples concerning the analysed traits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The six metric and two non-metric traits concerning the IOF were collected from the male cranial samples including modern skulls (n = 87), the medieval and post-medieval skulls (from 13th centuries and 15-17th centuries, respectively; n = 47) obtained from archaeological excavations in Wroclaw, and the sample of the medieval skulls (11-13th centuries, n = 100) from Sypniewo. The sex and age of the specimens were determined using the standard methodology. The appropriate statistical analysis was performed. RESULTS: Significant differences were established for three traits (taken from the left and right side) in the case of modern skulls (diameter of IOF, its distance to the midline, and zygomaticomaxillary suture) and one in the case of medieval skulls from Sypniewo (distance to the midline). In all of the cranial samples IOF most frequently occurred above the first upper molar. The greater diameter of IOF and its shorter distance to the alveolar crest and nasal notch were observed in non-modern skulls compared to modern skulls. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study provide new additional data on the topography of IOF and its asymmetry, confirm the presence of both geographical and chronological differences between populations, and can be used in dental practice, and forensic odontology in the analysis of archaeological bone materials.

Goth migration induced changes in the matrilineal genetic structure of the central-east European population.

For years, the issues related to the origin of the Goths and their early migrations in the Iron Age have been a matter of hot debate among archaeologists. Unfortunately, the lack of new independent data has precluded the evaluation of the existing hypothesis. To overcome this problem, we initiated systematic studies of the populations inhabiting the contemporary territory of Poland during the Iron Age. Here, we present an analysis of mitochondrial DNA isolated from 27 individuals (collectively called the Mas-VBIA group) excavated from an Iron Age cemetery (dated to the 2nd-4th century A.D.) attributed to Goths and located near Maslomecz, eastern Poland. We found that Mas-VBIA has similar genetic diversity to present-day Asian populations and higher diversity than that of contemporary Europeans. Our studies revealed close genetic links between the Mas-VBIA and two other Iron Age populations from the Jutland peninsula and from Kowalewko, located in western Poland. We disclosed the genetic connection between the Mas-VBIA and ancient Pontic-Caspian steppe groups. Similar connections were absent in the chronologically earlier Kowalewko and Jutland peninsula populations. The collected results seem to be consistent with the historical narrative that assumed that the Goths originated in southern Scandinavia; then, at least part of the Goth population moved south through the territory of contemporary Poland towards the Black Sea region, where they mixed with local populations and formed the Chernyakhov culture. Finally, a fraction of the Chernyakhov population returned to the southeast region of present-day Poland and established the archaeological formation called the "Maslomecz group".

Internal morphology of the nonsyndromic prematurely fused sagittal suture in the human skull--A preliminary micro-CT study.

Although nonsyndromic craniosynostosis (NSC) of the sagittal suture is a well-known type of craniosynostosis, little is currently known about the internal morphology of this prematurely fused suture in modern humans. Recently, micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) has been applied as a new tool for the quantitative evaluation of cranial suture morphology. However, so far there are only a small number of reports concerning studies of the internal morphology of prematurely fused sagittal suture in humans using micro-CT. The primary aim of this study was to examine the internal morphology of a completely obliterated sagittal suture in NSC. Two modern human skulls were used in this study: a skull of a child (aged 10 ± 2.5 years) displaying NSC of the sagittal suture and a skull of an adult showing non-prematurely completely obliterated sagittal suture. Quantitative variables of the sagittal sutures were assessed using method proposed by the authors. Porosity, and relative thickness of three bone layers in two examined skulls (inner cortical, diploë and outer cortical) were analysed using micro-CT in three equal sections of the sagittal suture. In the case of the prematurely fused suture, there were statistically significant differences mainly in the mean values of the porosity, thickness and relative thickness of the diploë between the anterior part and the two other parts (central and posterior) of this suture. Significant differences were also observed in some of the analysed variables between the sections of the sagittal suture of the skull with NSC and the normal skull.

A Neanderthal lower molar from Stajnia Cave, Poland.

The primary aim of this study was to conduct a taxonomic assessment of the second of three isolated human teeth found in the Stajnia Cave (north of the Carpathians, Poland) in 2008. The specimen was located near a human tooth (S5000), which was identified by Urbanowski et al. (2010) as a Neanderthal permanent upper molar. Both of these teeth were excavated from the D2 layer, which belongs to the D stratigraphic complex comprising the archaeological assemblage associated with the Micoquian tradition. An Ursus spelaeus bone and Mammuthus primigenius tooth that were also excavated from the D2 layer were dated to >49,000 years BP (by AMS (14)C) and 52.9 ka BP (by U-Th), respectively. The sediment overlying stratigraphic complex D was dated to 45.9 ka BP by the OSL method. The S4300 tooth is a lower first or second permanent molar belonging to an individual other than that who once possessed the S5000 tooth. The S4300 tooth exhibits a combination of traits typical of Neanderthal lower molars, including a mid-trigonid crest, large anterior fovea, taurodontism and subvertical grooves on the interproximal face, indicating that this tooth belonged to a Neanderthal individual. The S4300 tooth from Stajnia Cave is one of the oldest human remains found in Poland.

The Homo sapiens 'hemibun': its developmental pattern and the problem of homology.

The occipital bun is widely considered a Neanderthal feature. Its homology to the 'hemibun' observed in some European Upper Palaeolithic anatomically modern humans is a current problem. This study quantitatively evaluates the degree of occipital plane convexity in African and Australian modern human crania to analyse a relationship between this feature and some neurocranial variables. Neanderthal and European Upper Palaeolithic Homo sapiens crania were included in the analysis as well. The results of this study indicated that there is a significant relationship between the degree of occipital plane convexity and the following two features in the examined crania of modern humans: the ratio of the maximum neurocranial height to the maximum width of the vault and the ratio of bregma-lambda chord to bregma-lambda arc. The results also revealed that some H. sapiens crania (modern and fossil) show the Neanderthal shape of the occipital plane and that the neurocranial height and shape of parietal midsagittal profile has an influence on occipital plane convexity in the hominins included in this study. This study suggests that the occurrence of the great convexity of the occipital plane in the Neanderthals and H. sapiens is a "by-product" of the relationship between the same neurocranial features and there is no convincing evidence that the Neanderthal occipital bun and the similar structure in H. sapiens develop during ontogeny in the same way.