The supracondylar process in the skeletal remains of a full-term fetus from Central Spain (V–VII century BC)

Abstract

A rare case in the remains of a full-term fetus was recovered from the archaeological site 'Arriaca-Zaide' (Guadalajara, Spain) that dates to the century V-VII BC. The right humerus presents an osseous tubercle, fractured at its end that extends obliquely forward and medially, from the anteromedial aspect of the lower third of the humerus. It is a supracondylar process, a rare osseous anatomic variation. The presence of the supracondylar process in the fetal period allowed us to propose its congenital nature. Furthermore, its disposition and state of ossification allowed us to suggest that it was formed from the ossification center of the humeral diaphysis and not from a secondary ossification center. This case represents the first time that the supracondylar process during the fetal period has been described in the anthropological physical literature.