A morphological and histological study of the human humerus from Border Cave

Abstract

The fragmentary hominid humerus shaft discovered at Border Cave in 1987 can be studied from several perspectives. A small flake of cortical bone yields histological evidence for an age at death late in the fifth decade, plus relatively small osteons (total osteon area). Shaft dimensions, cross-sectional characteristics at midshaft and estimated length are compared with values from Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens and to humeri from the Later Stone Age in South Africa (C14 dated 2090–9750 BP). The Border Cave humerus is platybrachic, has a %CA (cortical area/total area×100) of 82·7 at midshaft, and is estimated to have been about 330 mm in length, or less. It is morphologically most similar to Neanderthal humeri, suggesting that it is “archaic”. Its robustness and its small osteons are consistent with Middle Stone Age antiquity. Some features suggest that it may represent a larger, more robust version of the Later Stone Age population. This in turn suggests possible continuity from archaic to modern infracranial anatomy in southern Africa.