Abstract
Asymmetry, the abnormality of an organism or a part of it from its perfect symmetry, is represented by three different categories: fluctuating asymmetry, directional asymmetry, and antisymmetry. Fluctuating asymmetry attributes to random developmental variation of a morphological character, whereas directional asymmetry attributes one of the body sides to be more prominent than the other. Antisymmetry appears whenever one body side of a biological body shows greater morphological appearance than the other. Since more environmental stress often produces greater effect of fluctuating asymmetry, it can be a good indicator of physiological stress in the morphological characteristic of a biological being. Applying, so far, the first geometric morphometric methods on any Byzantine fauna, this study aimed to determine the kind and direction of skull asymmetry occurred in Byzantine dog skulls. Aiming this, asymmetries in 16 adult Byzantine dog skulls unearthed form Yenikapi-Marmaray excavation (ancient Theodosius Harbor) in Istanbul, were compared with 39 adult skulls of modern pet dog breeds. Seventeen landmarks (3 midline and 14 bilateral) were selected on the digital pictures of the ventral aspect of each skull, and used for detailed analysis. The results showed a greater percentage of fluctuating asymmetry in the Byzantine dog skulls, suggesting them not to be the remains of pets or housed dogs but perhaps the labor or stray dogs in the Byzantine capital Constantinople.
Highlights
Geometric morphometric methods improve the morphometrics since they have unique abilities for measuring displacements, deformations, and rotations of objects [1], which enables researchers to quantify the qualitatively described morphological traits
With the application of geometric morphometric techniques [1,6,16,17], this study primarily aimed to determine the type/s and directions of skull asymmetry in a group of well-preserved Byzantine dog skulls unearthed from the Yenikapı-Marmaray rescue excavations in İstanbul [18]
Sample A sample of 55 complete canine crania was examined in this study. 16 of these specimens were selected from zooarchaeological assemblage of the Yenikapı-Marmaray excavation, unearthed between 2004 and 2013 [18]
Summary
Geometric morphometric methods improve the morphometrics since they have unique abilities for measuring displacements, deformations, and rotations of objects [1], which enables researchers to quantify the qualitatively described morphological traits. There are a rich number of zoological and archaeological studies carried out with the applications of geometric morphometrics methods [1,2,3,4,5,6]. In addition to their applications on various research questions, geometric morphometrics have been applied to study the symmetry and asymmetry of shape [6]. Asymmetry is defined as a deviation of a whole organism or a part of it from its perfect symmetry It is composed of two different categories.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
