Human biomechanical adaptation: Cross-sectional geometric analyses of long bones in Resuloğlu population

Reconstructing human life and behaviour patterns from skeletal samples which unearthed from archaeological sites has been one of the main research topics of anthropology since 1980s. Researchers who work in this field try to reach as much information as they can about past human life history and behaviour pattern by analyzing biomechanical approaches, by looking at the osteoarthritis and trauma agent or looking for the traces of stress in the muscle-bone connections and calculating several pathological factors. Estimating cross-sectional characters of a bone diaphysis has been associated with differences in body size, bilateral asymmetry in limb use, sexual division of labour in archaeological skeletal samples, physical activity-related to subsistence strategy. Unfortunately these studies are clearly inadequate for ancient Anatolian populations. This study examines the cross-sectional geometric properties of long bones in Resuloğlu Early Bronze Age people and aimed to reach habitual behaviour, sexual division of labour and bilateral asymmetry. On the other hand, comparisons with other archaeological skeletal samples will reveal Resuloğlu people's detailed physical activity pattern. Cross-sectional analysis method was applied to 13 femora, 19 humeri and 4 tibiae selected among Early Bronze Age human skeletons unearthed from Resuloğlu, Çorum, Turkey. Cross-sectional CT images were taken from selected among long bone diaphyses. From images, cross-sectional ability to resist compression-tension and bending-torsion loading strain was calculated. The data obtained from the selected bones were separated according to the gender for questioning differences in the relative mobility of males and females. Furthermore, we examined the data in terms of specific behavioural characteristics like left/right usage of Resuloğlu people. The results of this study emphasize that mechanical loading mostly located in sections in mid-femur and mid-tibia in Resuloğlu people. Lower limb bone ratios are consistent with the predicted mechanical consequences of travelling through rugged terrain and subsistence strategy. Distribution of the division of labour between gender and the use of right/left arm-leg show no significant difference in Resuloğlu people. The comparisons of Resuloğlu people's cross-sectional geometric properties of humeri comparison with other relevant studies indicated a significant reduction in diaphyseal robusticity and strength. Femur and tibia values suggested that Resuloğlu people had high levels of mechanical stress, probably reflecting the effects of travelling, walking. This study was supported by Scientific Research Project Coordination Unit of Istanbul University. Project number: 29130.