The Innominate Bone Sample from Krapina

Abstract

The Croatian site of Krapina has yielded a large collection of human fossils attributed to the archaic Neandertals. The sample includes fourteen innominate bone specimens, minimum number of seven individuals (MNI=7). Among them, it is possible to distinguish two fully adults (one female, one male), two late adolescent or young adults (both males) and three children of unknown sex. Metric analysis reveals the Krapina hip bones to be characterized by relatively small vertical acetabular diameter compared to the classic Neandertals, and a long and remarkably slender pubis relative to living humans. Morphologically, the Krapina specimens are included within the Neandertal variation, showing a narrow, rounded and/or tilted bone surface between the coronal portion of the greater sciatic notch, and a distinctive morphology of the superior pubic ramus, the latter agreeingwith the metric data. On the other hand, they can be distinguished from the modern human innominate bone in aspect related with the anterior inferior iliac spine, the topography of the posterior wall of the acetabulum, the supraacetabular sulcus and some traits of the superior pubic ramus.