Abstract
We describe and analyze a Neandertal postcranial skeleton and dentition, which together show unambiguous signs of right-handedness. Asymmetries between the left and right upper arm in Regourdou 1 were identified nearly 20 years ago, then confirmed by more detailed analyses of the inner bone structure for the clavicle, humerus, radius and ulna. The total pattern of all bones in the shoulder and arm reveals that Regourdou 1 was a right-hander. Confirmatory evidence comes from the mandibular incisors, which display a distinct pattern of right oblique scratches, typical of right-handed manipulations performed at the front of the mouth. Regourdou's right handedness is consistent with the strong pattern of manual lateralization in Neandertals and further confirms a modern pattern of left brain dominance, presumably signally linguistic competence. These observations along with cultural, genetic and morphological evidence indicate language competence in Neandertals and their European precursors.
Highlights
Various studies have identified striations on the labial face of Neandertal anterior teeth, beginning with Henri-Martin’s initial observations on the upper incisors from La Quina 5 [1]
Vandermeersch and Trinkaus [19] were the first to document left/right asymmetry in the upper limb skeleton. They found that the right side was metrically larger and showed overall greater cross-sectional diameters than the left, which they attributed to right-handedness
Variation in cortical area (CA), which relates to the resistance of the shaft to compressive/tensional axial loads, and polar second moment of area (J), reflecting the torsional and average bending rigidity [31], shows an ipslateral asymmetry for all four bones
Summary
Various studies have identified striations on the labial (lip) face of Neandertal anterior teeth, beginning with Henri-Martin’s initial observations on the upper incisors from La Quina 5 [1] These scratches are commonly found in Neandertals from Europe [2,3,4,5,6] and in their likely ancestors from Sima de los Huesos at Atapuerca [7,8,9] and Mauer [10]. Following a preliminary biomechanical analysis of the humeri [29], synchrotron radiation microtomographic images were used to further document right/left endostructural and volumetric (cortical thickness-related) differences for the clavicle, humerus, radius and ulna This represents the first integrated analysis concerning the entire upper limb skeletal chain (excluding bones of the hand) of a Neandertal Froehle and Churchill [28], we suspect Regourdou 1 was a male but this is irrelevant to our analysis
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