Resumen de The human biodiversity in the middle of the mediterranean. Study of native and settlers populations on the sicilian context
Gabriele Lauria
During the last 200,000 years, human species has spread throughout Earth, adapting their morphology and physiology to a wide range of habitats. The human skeleton has therefore, recorded the main environmental effects.
Nowadays modern quantitative investigations of the main morphological features permit us to relate them with the genetic variability.
The Sicilian geographic position, isolation and its long and dynamic history of colonization) made a peculiar context that allows a unique anthropological study, useful to sign-out important information about the "Migratory Flow" and the consequent "Populations Influx".
This project is based on the Anthropological Analysis of the human bones coming from different populations distributed from Paleolithic to the Contemporary Age.
The techniques of Morphometric Geometric analysis and Multivariate Statistic Analysis were applied over three different catchers (Teeth, Skulls and Stature).
The project aim is to perform a wide analysis of the Sicilian Human Biodiversity in order to: - Analyze 2D odontometrics data with multivariate techniques to explore the relationships between the peoples over the centuries.
- Use 3D models and skull-facial morphometry to study the complex morphological variability concerning the "Populations".
- Evaluate the "Stature's Secular Trend".
- Use these three characters to provide a general overview of the human biodiversity in Sicily.
Our work denotes the reliable of the methods employed underlying as in a study of biodiversity several characters are indispensable to understand the evolutionary process. Data also provided to demonstrate the correlation between the morphological characters and the influence carried (not only by the environmental factors) by the human flow on the phenotype.
Results clearly shows as all the characters evaluated are at the same time involved in the same process of diversification.
Morphological variations show a general decrease of Maxilla Prognathism and a soft Mesocephalization with the skull that becomes tighter and slightly and less elongated and the face that become wider and shorter.
Always considering simple size/composition both Canonical and Multivariate Statistics Analysis display, as the Upper-Paleolithic Würm-Settlers of San Teodoro could reasonably be the first evidence of human colonization in Sicily (this theory is supported by the Mesoltitch Hunter-Gatherers specimens clustered separated from the first one).
Meaningful is the periods of Bronze/Iron transition in we assist to the prime plainness of morphological changes (teeth, skulls and statures) due to the constant and numerically significative "Migratory Flows". This variation exactly coincides with the first "Population Influx" consequent of the human migrations from the continent.
Instead, Prehistorical samples of some populations, keep some archaic characters after Iron Age (Historical Era) the "Population Continuity" (consequent of the cohabitation and alternations of the several Mediterranean populations) from Antiquity to Middle Ages produced a progressive increase of variability without big variation among Eigenvalue and Principal Component.
The absence of internal relationship caused by the intricate colonization period is on the contrary present on Prehistorichal sample on which we can find a clear variation between the PC.
Correlations between "Population Influx" and Variability are also observable on the influence of Islamic settlers on the Indigenous during the Middle Ages. However, the wide variability and the homogenous morphospace showed by these groups and the Contemporary resulted in no well-defined populations.
