A method was introduced to estimate the age of puberty in prehistoric skeletal collections using stages of fusion of the epiphyses of the distal humerus, proximal radius and proximal ulna, as well as fusion of the ilium, ischium and pubis. Fusion of these bones is associated with the hormonal release coincident with the onset of puberty. Dental age-at-death and stage of fusion of these bones were compared in 22 sub-adult individuals from the Moundville (1TU500) site in Alabama, USA. The age for the onset of puberty in this skeletal sample from Moundville, including both males and females, was estimated to be 14.95 +/- 2.53 years. These results represent an initial application of this methodology to a small data set. The application of this method on a larger scale may provide a better understanding of reproductive lifespans in earlier populations, as well as insight into possible effects of nutritional or socio-economic differences on the sexual development of children within those populations.
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An assessment of puberty status in adolescents from the European Upper Paleolithic.
J Hum Evol
January 2025
Department of Anthropology, University of Victoria, Cornett Building Room B228, 3800 Finnerty Road, Victoria, BC, V8P 5C2, Canada. Electronic address:
Childhood and adolescence are two life-history stages that are either unique to humans, or significantly expanded in the human life course relative to other primates. While recent studies have deepened our knowledge of childhood in the Upper Paleolithic, adolescence in this period remains understudied. Here, we use bioarchaeological maturational markers to estimate puberty status of 13 Upper Paleolithic adolescents from sites in Russia, Czechia, and Italy to 1) evaluate the feasibility of the application of bioarchaeological puberty assessment methods to Upper Paleolithic (Homo sapiens) skeletal individuals, 2) estimate the timing and tempo of puberty in Upper Paleolithic adolescents compared to other archaeological populations analyzed using the same method, and 3) characterize adolescence in the Upper Paleolithic by contextualizing the results of this puberty assessment with data on individual and population-level health, morbidity and burial practices.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTibial cortical and trabecular variables together can pinpoint the timing of impact loading relative to menarche in premenopausal females.
Am J Hum Biol
August 2022
College of Kinesiology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada.
Objectives: Though relationships between limb bone structure and mechanical loading have provided fantastic opportunities for understanding the lives of prehistoric adults, the lives of children remain poorly understood. Our aim was to determine whether or not adult tibial skeletal variables retain information about childhood/adolescent loading, through assessing relationships between cortical and trabecular bone variables and the timing of impact loading relative to menarche in premenopausal adult females.
Methods: Peripheral quantitative computed tomography was used to quantify geometric and densitometric variables from the proximal tibial diaphysis (66% location) and distal epiphysis (4% location) among 81 nulliparous young adult female controls and athletes aged 19-33 years grouped according to intensity of impact loading both pre- and post-menarche: (1) Low:Low (Controls); (2) High:Low; (3) High:High; (4) Moderate:Moderate; (5) Low:Moderate.
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Third Department of Pediatrics, University of Athens, "Attikon" University Hospital, Athens, Greece. Electronic address:
Menarche denotes the onset of the female reproductive capacity. The age that menarche occurs is mostly attributed to the interaction of genetics and various environmental factors. Herein, the author describes the evolution of the age at menarche from prehistoric to the present times.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEstimating puberty in a prehistoric skeletal collection.
Ann Hum Biol
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Department of Anthropology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK.
A method was introduced to estimate the age of puberty in prehistoric skeletal collections using stages of fusion of the epiphyses of the distal humerus, proximal radius and proximal ulna, as well as fusion of the ilium, ischium and pubis. Fusion of these bones is associated with the hormonal release coincident with the onset of puberty. Dental age-at-death and stage of fusion of these bones were compared in 22 sub-adult individuals from the Moundville (1TU500) site in Alabama, USA.
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Med Hypotheses
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Stanford University, 470 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94301, USA.
Cognitive plasticity, a developmental trait that promotes acquisition of complex skills such as language or playing musical instruments, diminishes substantially during puberty. The loss of plasticity has been attributed to surge of sex steroids during adolescence, but the phenomenon remains poorly understood. We hypothesize that pineal involution during puberty may contribute to plasticity decay.
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