Papers by Sotiris Manolis
Greece/ΕΛΛΑΔΑ
Routledge eBooks, Feb 17, 2015
Middle Palaeolithic Footprints from Theopetra Cave (Thessaly, Greece)
Palaeobiology of two Gravettian Skeleton from Veneri Cave (Parabita, Puglia, Italy)
Homo-journal of Comparative Human Biology, 1999
Forensic Sciences Research
Identification of unknown remains recovered from marine and terrestrial locations is a significan... more Identification of unknown remains recovered from marine and terrestrial locations is a significant humanitarian problem. This investigation proposes a simple method applicable to fragmentary femora for a more refined level of ancestry and/or sex estimation. To that end, we re-examined Purkait’s triangle which involves three inter-landmark distances between the traction epiphyses and the articular rim of femoral head. A large sample (n = 584) from geographically diverse (Egyptian, Indian and Greek) populations was compiled. Additionally, shape (n = 3) and trigonometrically derived variables and ratios (n = 9 variables) were employed to detect any geographically-clustered morphological differences between these populations. Random forest modelling (RFM) and linear discriminant function analysis (LDA) were employed to create classification models in instances where sex was known or unknown. The sample was apportioned into training and test sets with a ratio 70/30. The classification ac...
Sexdeterminationfromthecalcaneusina20thcenturyGreekpopulation using discriminant function analysis
article Theskullandpost-craniumhavebeenusedforthedeterminationofsexforunknownhumanremains.However... more article Theskullandpost-craniumhavebeenusedforthedeterminationofsexforunknownhumanremains.However,in forensic cases where skeletal remains often exhibit postmortem damage and taphonomic changes the calcaneus may be used for the determination of sex as it is a preservationally favored bone. The goal of the present research was to derive discriminant function equations from the calcaneus for estimation of sex from a contemporary Greek population. Nine parameters were measured on 198 individuals (103 males and 95 females), ranging in age from 20 to 99 years old, from the University of Athens Human Skeletal Reference Collection. The statistical analyses showed that all variables were sexually dimorphic. Discriminant function score equations were generated for use insexdetermination.The average accuracyof sexclassification ranged from 70% to 90% for the univariate anal- ysis, 82.9% to 87.5% for the direct method, and 86.2% for the stepwise method. Comparisons to other populations were ma...
Using spinal activity-related osseous change in order to explore patterns of occupational stress in a Greek Contemporary Skeletal Collection
HOMO, 2020
Even though the relationship between occupational stress and entheseal changes has been extensive... more Even though the relationship between occupational stress and entheseal changes has been extensively examined in modern skeletal series, less attention has been given in examining degenerative and plastic osseous change along the spine in relation to different professions. This paper attempts this investigation and is the first that explores the level of physical activity in female housekeepers of The Athens Collection. A sample of 65 adult skeletons up to 50 years old and 1653 vertebrae are examined for Degenerative Joint Diseases (including Schmorl's nodes) and spinal facet remodeling. The above sample is divided in three occupational groups: male laborers, male non-laborers and female housekeepers, based on biomechanical and socio-cultural criteria. Males in the labor group present the highest percentage in Schmorl's nodes (13.1%) and osteophytes, whilst housekeepers exhibit the highest rate in spinal facet remodeling (45.8%). As expected, male laborers actually do present a more intense physical activity than those of the non-labor one, while this study confirmed that housekeepers do comprise a physically stressed occupational group. Spinal facet remodeling and Schmorl's nodes seem to be the least affected indicators by the factor of age, and thus are cautiously proposed as markers of physical activity in modern reference collections. Our study supports the significance of examining the current markers and especially spinal facet remodeling, in a modern skeletal collection with documented occupations and hopes to encourage more researchers to further explore the potential merit of exploring occupational stress through spinal plastic and degenerative change in identified skeletal collections.
Das mittelbronzezeitliche Schachtgrab von Ägina
Biometric sex assessment from the femur and tibia in a modern Greek population
Legal Medicine
Reading Prehistoric Human Tracks, 2021
During the 1996 field season, four footprints were found in undisturbed deposits at the borders o... more During the 1996 field season, four footprints were found in undisturbed deposits at the borders of squares Θ10-I10 at a depth of 3.5 m at the Theopetra Cave excavation site. The footprints lie adjacent to an ash horizon that has been dated to ca ~135 ka. Two footprints in the trail are complete and measure 150.4 mm and 138.96 mm in length. Based on modern European standards, these lengths would be consistent with young children aged between 2 and 4 years old and 90–100 cm in stature. The two complete footprints, which follow each other in the trail, appear both to have been left feet. The partial print, which immediately precedes the two complete prints in the series, also appears to have been by a left foot. This suggests that what initially seems to be a single trail is actually a composite of two or more trails of prints. This hypothesis is supported by the different characteristics of the two complete prints. One is consistent with a bare foot and clearly shows the impressions o...
The skeletal study of archaeological material is the only detailed source of demographic informat... more The skeletal study of archaeological material is the only detailed source of demographic information on ancient populations and investigating sex differences is crucial for the reconstruction of the social structure of past societies. Determination of skeletal sex can be achieved using visual (non-metric) or metric methods. Metric methods are considered more appropriate for assessing sex in archaeological skeletal remains since the accuracy of non-metric methods decreases in cases of fragmented bones. Additionally, it is well established that the expression of sexual dimorphism is population specific. Therefore, sex prediction equations should be used only when the sample is known to come from the same population from which the functions were derived. The aim of this study is to test the application of sex prediction equations, which were produced using measurements from the arm bones of a modern Greek population, in ancient Greek skeletal remains. For the purpose of this research f...
The estimation of sex is a fundamental step for physical anthropologists. The present study confi... more The estimation of sex is a fundamental step for physical anthropologists. The present study confirms the presence of sexual dimorphism in cranial traits of a modern Greek population and produces sex predicting logistic regression equations, which are subsequently applied on the crania of archaeological Greek populations. This study uses 24 landmarks and 25 traits based on distance and angle measurements. Equations, were formulated for the cranium in whole, as well as, isolated cranial regions and single traits. The application of these equations on the archaeological Greek populations yielded an accuracy of classification over 70% in the sphenoid region, the maxilla and the cranium in whole and for three single traits. Hence, the results suggest that our equations based on the modern Greek population can successfully be used in sex prediction of archaeological Greek populations.
The Hellenic late pleistocene fossils
Anthropologie, 1996
The Pleistocene human remains in the Hellenic peninsula are sparse. Although archaeological and p... more The Pleistocene human remains in the Hellenic peninsula are sparse. Although archaeological and palaeoanthropological research has been developed during the recent decades, the results from several caves and open-air sites are not satisfying. The Middle Pleistocene is represented by the famous Petralona skull. The Late Pleistocene has demonstrated several uncertain [for their absolute dating] specimens. These are: the Apidima specimens (I, II & III) and the Crete Homo s. sapiens human remains. In this paper an attempt to summarize the available information about these fossils and to discuss several problems about their dating and their phylogenetic position has been made.
Entheseal changes are potentially useful tools through which the daily activity patterns of indiv... more Entheseal changes are potentially useful tools through which the daily activity patterns of individuals within a population may be interpreted through the perspective of a biocultural framework. Studying these patterns in Mycenaean Athens may assist in comprehending intensity of daily behavior of males and females. The upper limb bones of thirty four individuals from the skeletal collection of the Athenian Agora were studied in order to ascertain sex- and age-based differences in entheseal change patterns. The methodological approach implemented in this study differs from most previous studies in its analysis, as entheseal change scores were aggregated in groups that correspond to muscle movements. The results indicate that there is little significant overall sexual dimorphism of musculoskeletal entheseal change for this population sample when entheseal change is observed in individual muscle attachment sites. However, when the results are aggregated into groups that correspond to u...
The Gravettian fossil hominids of Italy
Anthropologie, 1996
This paper gives an outline of the Gravettian Italian population and the results of the statistic... more This paper gives an outline of the Gravettian Italian population and the results of the statistical analysis of the whole Gravettian European population. It is worth mentioning that there are great similarities in the burial customs (primary burials, ritual customs i.e. covering the head, pelvis and the feet with red ochre, putting ornaments - diadems on the dead's head constructed namely by several hundreds of perforated marine or land shells and sometimes by canines of the common hunted wild animals as reindeer, mammoth etc.) between the two European Gravettian centres (Italy and Moravia). The anthropological analysis showed that there is a homogeneous population with a certain individual variability. This can also be confirmed theoretically by the hypothesis of Bocquet-Appel (1985) about the genetic exchange between small UPL populations in order to avoid extinction. From a phylogenetic point of view we can infer that the Gravettian population definitely belongs to the descen...
Anthropological Review, 2017
Assessing the subsistence strategies of past populations; through their dietary and occupational ... more Assessing the subsistence strategies of past populations; through their dietary and occupational patterns; could provide important information regarding social status and possible gender differences, especially in turbulent historical periods, as the one of the Crusader’s occupation in Greece (1204-1460 AD). Therefore, the human sample from Aghia Triada in Thebes (13th-14thc. AD) serves as the ideal skeletal material. Diet was explored through two dental indicators; dental caries and tooth wear, while occupational stress was explored through three activity markers; osteoarthritis (OA), spinal facet remodeling and Schmorl’s nodes. The aims of the present study are to assess the dietary and activity patterns of the stated population and explore possible sex differentiations. A total of 126 teeth and 350 vertebrae have been examined. The entire population presents a caries rate of 16.7%, and males present a much higher caries frequency than females (25.5% males vs. 9.9% females). Furth...
Geographical differentiation of cephalometric data of a nomadic isolated Hellenic population (Sarakatsani)
International Journal of Anthropology, 1994
The scientific value of isolated human populations is important for the understanding of ethnic f... more The scientific value of isolated human populations is important for the understanding of ethnic formation, or for micro-evolution. The population of Sarakatsani in HELLAS was nomadic up to 10–15 years ago. It may still be considered as nomadic since it migrates during winter and summer. We studied three Sarakatsanic groups, geographically isolated in Epirus, Central Macedonia and Peloponessos. Nine cephalometric
International Journal of Anthropology, 2002
Paleobiology of two Gravettian skeletons from Veneri Cave, Parabita, Puglia, Italy
Homo, 2000
Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2010
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Papers by Sotiris Manolis