Terrestrial Mobility Research Articles

Small terrestrial mammals living along streams acting as natural landscape barriers

Abstract Riparian stands along streams are important landscape elements – biocorridors, allowing the dispersal of many small terrestrial mammals. Streams are, however, also barriers limiting dispersal, which leads to isolation and population-genetic changes. Communities of small terrestrial mammals (Eulipotyphla, Rodentia) were studied in 2004 to 2006 on five watercourses of varying widths in Central European cultural landscape situated in South Bohemia (Czech Republic). In total, 547 individuals from 10 species were captured by the Capture-Mark-Recapture method (CMR). Yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) and bank voles (Myodes glareolus) were eu-dominant species at all locations. Species diversity and equitability rose with the degree of the barrier – proportional to the width of the stream. The terrestrial mobility of selected species was also assessed. Apodemus flavicollis indicated overall highest values of mobility, and Myodes glareolus males also scored higher values, however, the width of the stream did not correlate with mobility in these species. The animals crossed water-courses on the order of tens of meters wide in the period of 3 months. The frequency of crossing of Apodemus flavicollis decreased exponentially with the width of the stream and was dependent on population density.

Late Stone Age human remains from Ishango (Democratic Republic of Congo): New insights on Late Pleistocene modern human diversity in Africa

Although questions of modern human origins and dispersal are subject to intense research within and outside Africa, the processes of modern human diversification during the Late Pleistocene are most often discussed within the context of recent human genetic data. This situation is due largely to the dearth of human fossil remains dating to the final Pleistocene in Africa and their almost total absence from West and Central Africa, thus limiting our perception of modern human diversification within Africa before the Holocene.Here, we present a morphometric comparative analysis of the earliest Late Pleistocene modern human remains from the Central African site of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The early Late Stone Age layer (eLSA) of this site, dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (25–20 Ky), contains more than one hundred fragmentary human remains. The exceptional associated archaeological context suggests these remains derived from a community of hunter-fisher-gatherers exhibiting complex social and cognitive behaviors including substantial reliance on aquatic resources, development of fishing technology, possible mathematical notations and repetitive use of space, likely on a seasonal basis.Comparisons with large samples of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene modern human fossils from Africa and Eurasia show that the Ishango human remains exhibit distinctive characteristics and a higher phenotypic diversity in contrast to recent African populations. In many aspects, as is true for the inner ear conformation, these eLSA human remains have more affinities with Middle to early Late Pleistocene fossils worldwide than with extant local African populations. In addition, cross-sectional geometric properties of the long bones are consistent with archaeological evidence suggesting reduced terrestrial mobility resulting from greater investment in and use of aquatic resources.Our results on the Ishango human remains provide insights into past African modern human diversity and adaptation that are consistent with genetic theories about the deep sub-structure of Late Pleistocene African populations and their complex evolutionary history of isolation and diversification.

Evidence for genetic and behavioral adaptations in the ontogeny of prehistoric hunter-gatherer limb robusticity

Biomechanical analyses of past populations have primarily focused on adults and interpreted variation in limb bone robusticity as indicative of differences in behavior. However, prior to skeletal maturity large changes occur in limb bone robusticity and shape. During ontogeny, the accrual of bone is regulated by differences in genetics and nutrition as well as mechanical loading. We consider how long bone robusticity changes from birth to young adulthood in order to understand when population differences appear during development and why this occurs.We analyzed the femoral and humeral midshafts of four prehistoric hunter-gatherer skeletal samples from four regions: Cis-Baikal, Siberia, Point Hope, Alaska, the central Japanese coast, and the South African Cape. Some statistically significant differences between populations manifest at birth or soon after. Some of this systemic patterning likely reflects adaptation of body shape to climate. Later Stone Age South Africans also appear to demonstrate low limb rigidity residuals as a result of growth towards a unique body type. Differentiation between populations also increases with age, pointing to functional adaptation as a result of behavioral differences. This proves largely concordant with other lines of evidence for differing levels of terrestrial and aquatic mobility in these populations.

Alterações entésicas e mobilidade terrestre em grupos pré-coloniais litorâneos do sul do Brasil.

Foram investigadas as alterações entésicas nos membros inferiores em dois grupos pré-coloniais litorâneos provenientes de Santa Catarina, Armação do Sul e Praia da Tapera. Foram examinadas nove áreas de fixação tendíneo-ligamentar em 101 indivíduos adultos de ambos os sexos, divididos em três intervalos etários, com atribuição de escores crescentes para definição do grau de robusticidade. As enteses foram analisadas em conjunto, face às funções gerais dos músculos na mobilidade terrestre, usando o teste do Qui-quadrado de Pearson (p<0,05) e a Análise de Agrupamentos, para comparações inter e intragrupos. Os dados indicaram um padrão de intensa mobilidade terrestre em terrenos acidentados entre os homens da série Tapera. Na série Armação do Sul foi observado um padrão menos intenso entre os homens, associado a deslocamentos por extensões menores e/ou em terreno plano. Em ambas as séries as mulheres apresentaram demandas musculares menos acentuadas do que os homens. A discussão biocultural dos resultados integrou os dados bioarqueológicos,arqueológicos e ambientais de cada sítio.

“Turban-clad” British Subjects

The late nineteenth century saw a wave of Indian migrants arrive in Victoria, many of whom took up the occupation of hawking. These often-described “turban-clad hawkers” regularly became visible to settlers as they moved through public space en route to the properties of their rural customers. This article explores how the turban became a symbol of the masculine threat Indians posed to the settler order of late nineteenth-century Victoria, Australia. This symbolism was tied up with the two-fold terrestrial and oceanic mobility of 'turban-clad' men; mobilities that took on particular meanings in a settler-colonial context where sedentarism was privileged over movement, and in a decade when legislators in Victoria and across the Australian colonies were working out ways to exclude Indian British subjects from the imagined Australian nation. I argue that European settlers' anxieties about the movements of Indian British subjects over sea and over land became metonymically conflated in ways that expressed and informed the late nineteenth-century project to create a settled and purely white nation. These findings have repercussions for understandings of the contemporaneous emergence of nationalisms in other British settler colonies.

Lower limb biomechanics and habitual mobility among mid-Holocene populations of the Cis-Baikal

The mid-Holocene hunter–gatherer populations of the Cis-Baikal represent long-term occupation by the Early Neolithic Kitoi Culture (6800–4900 B.C.) and the Middle Neolithic and Bronze Age Isakovo, Serovo and Glazkovo (ISG) cultures (4200–1000 B.C.). While there is considerable evidence for cultural and genetic discontinuity between these populations, differences in habitual activity between these periods remain poorly understood. The current study uses cross sectional geometric (CSG) properties of the femur and tibia in the lower limb, to investigate variation in mechanical loading and terrestrial locomotion between the Kitoi and ISG cultural groups. The results demonstrate a significant decrease in femoral rigidity and a trend towards more circular femoral diaphyses among the later ISG groups which suggests that there was a significant decrease in terrestrial mobility across this transition. This trend is accompanied by significant declines in tibial rigidity among females, resulting in greater sexual dimorphism among the ISG than the Kitoi. This indicates a shift towards a sexual division of labour which involved greater sedentism of the ISG than Kitoi women. Overall, the results suggest that shifts in habitual activity throughout the mid-Holocene of the Cis-Baikal involved both increased sedentism, and an increase in sexual differences in logistical mobility.

1P2-A02 Experimental Verification of Terrestrial Mobility of an Actively Lugged Wheel Mechanism

1P2-A02 Experimental Verification of Terrestrial Mobility of an Actively Lugged Wheel Mechanism

Early urbanization and mobility at Tell Brak, NE Syria: the evidence from femoral and tibial external shaft shape

Urbanization at Tell Brak began in the late 5th millennium BCE and the site reached its maximum size in the Late Chalcolithic (LC) 3, ca. 3900–3600 BCE. During that time, a large midden was formed at the edge of the early city, now known as Tell Majnuna. Rescue excavations at Tell Majnuna revealed several clusters of commingled human remains and a cemetery on the top. Several human skeletons dated to the LC 3 and Early Bronze Age (EBA) were found also at Tell Brak itself and it was possible to investigate differences in cross-sectional femoral and tibial shaft shapes between LC 3 and EBA to test the hypothesis that rapid and extensive urbanization in the LC 3 induced increase in mobility. External midshaft and subtrochanteric measurements of at least 152 femora and measurements of 55 tibiae at the nutrient foramen were taken to investigate the differences in the level of terrestrial mobility between four LC 3 and one EBA chronological subsets. Also the correlation was examined between shaft cross-sectional shapes and frequency of linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) in canines, as a proxy indicator of population stress. Due to post-mortem damage, sex assessment was based only on the size of measured bones. In spite of the limited quality of the gathered data, significant differences in femoral midshaft shape in males were observed between the LC 3 and EBA subsets and the average shape index scores appeared to be correlated with the LEH frequencies. No such result was obtained for females, suggesting that only males were more mobile in the LC 3 and their mobility level was associated with general population stress. In contrast, in females the average shape of subtrochanteric femoral cross-section was more variable between temporal subsets. The patterns of temporal differences in tibial cross-section at the nutrient foramen were not conclusive due to the small sample size. Obtained results suggest that males in the LC 3, the period of rapid urbanization, were more mobile than in the EBA, when the population size was considerably smaller. This mobility may have been related to need of searching for alternative resources for the overpopulated early city.

Lower limb skeletal biomechanics track long-term decline in mobility across ∼6150 years of agriculture in Central Europe

Central Europe is a region with a rich agricultural history that dates back to the emergence of the first Neolithic cultures here during the second part of the 6th millennium BC. The effects of prolonged cultural change on the skeletal morphology of agricultural populations in this region have not yet been fully reported. This study investigates diachronic trends in lower limb cross-sectional geometry among preindustrial Central Europeans spanning over 6000 years from the initial spread of agriculture in the region (∼5300 cal BC) to the Early Medieval (∼850 AD). Midshaft diaphyseal cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties were derived from 443 three-dimensional laser scans of femora and tibiae. Results documented temporal change that was particularly pronounced in the tibia relative to the femur, indicative of declining compressional strength (males), bending and torsional rigidity (males), and increasingly more circular cross-sections (both sexes). When examined chronologically by cemetery, a major shift towards lower tibial rigidity was identified in the Late Bronze Age among males, after which time sexual dimorphism also declined. Regional variation in tibial rigidity was identified among males, being consistently low in males from modern-day Vojvodina (Serbia) relative to contemporaneous males elsewhere in Central Europe. In contrast, female temporal trends by cemetery were indicative of progressive but gradual declines in tibial loading. Results report systematic change in lower limb cross-sectional geometry among preindustrial Central European agriculturalists that are likely indicative of declining terrestrial mobility through 6000+ years of cultural change in the region.

Terramechanics and its applications to the evaluation of terrestrial and extraterrestrial vehicle mobility: theory into practice

This paper traces the development of terramechanics – the study of the mechanics of vehicle-terrain interaction that provides the foundation for a comprehensive understanding of the behaviour of a vehicle operating on unprepared terrain. It highlights the development of computer-aided methods for performance and design evaluation of tracked and off-road wheeled vehicles, based on the principles of terramechanics. Examples of the applications of these computer-aided methods to guiding the development and design of off-road vehicles on earth, as well as the evaluation of the performance of rovers for exploration of the Moon, Mars and beyond, are presented. These signify that results of research on terramechanics have been put into engineering practice in enhancing the development of terrestrial and extraterrestrial vehicles. Prospects for further development of terramechanics, as well as challenges and opportunities in the field, are reviewed.

Long bone cross-sectional geometric properties of Later Stone Age foragers and herder–foragers

Diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry can be used to infer activity patterns in archaeological populations. We examined the cross-sectional geometric (CSG) properties of adult Later Stone Age (LSA) herder–forager long bones from the inland lower Orange River Valley of South Africa (n=5 m, 13 f). We then compared their CSG properties to LSA forager adults from the coastal fynbos (n=23 m, 14 f) and forest (n=17 m, 19 f) regions, building on a previous report (Stock and Pfeiffer, 2004). The periosteal mould method was used to quantify total subperiosteal area, torsional strength, bilateral asymmetry and diaphyseal circularity (Imax/Imin) at the mid-distal (35%) location of upper arms (humeri) and the mid-shaft (50%) location of upper legs (femora). Maximum humerus and femur lengths were similar among the three samples, suggesting that adult stature was similar in all three regions. When compared to the previous study, CSG property values obtained using the periosteal mould method correlated well, and there were no significant differences between data collected using the different methods. No statistically significant differences were found among the humerus or femur CSG properties from the different regions. This finding suggests that all individuals undertook similar volitional habitual activities in regard to their upper limbs, and also had similar degrees of terrestrial mobility. These results indicate relative behavioural homogeneity among LSA foragers and herder– foragers from South Africa. The small degree of regional variation apparent among the three samples may reflect local ecology and the subsistence demands affecting populations in these different regions.

Vascular Grooves on Human Femora and Tibiae as a Potential Activity-related Trait

The presence of vascular grooves on the shafts of femora and tibiae was scored for a sample of human remains from a mass burial at Tell Majnuna, Syria, dated to the early fourth millennium bce. In the sample of 140 femora and 64 tibiae, many of which were damaged or fragmented, the grooves were most common on the femoral midshaft (31/108 = 28.7%) and on the proximal and middle shaft of the tibia (10/45 = 22.2 and 14/54 = 26.0%, respectively). For femoral midshafts, the difference in mean cross-sectional size and shape indices between bones with and without vascular grooves was checked with multivariate analysis of variance for a sample of 51 bones. The presence of grooves appeared to correspond significantly with higher mean values of both indices. As the shape index is interpreted as an indicator of the level of terrestrial mobility and the size index may be used for sex assessment, it is possible that vascular grooves occur more frequently at the femoral midshafts of men and more active individuals, and thus they may be cautiously interpreted as another activity-related trait. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The influence of body proportions on femoral and tibial midshaft shape in hunter‐gatherers

Variation in femoral and tibial diaphyseal shape is used as an indicator of adaptation to patterns of terrestrial mobility. Recent experimentation has implied that lower limb diaphyseal shape may be primarily influenced by lower limb length, and less so by mobility patterns. If valid, this would, at most, render previous interpretations of mobility patterns based on analyses of diaphyseal shape questionable, and, at least, require additional standardization that considers the influence of limb length. Although the consequences could be profound, this implication has yet to be directly tested. Additionally, the influence of body breadth on tibial shape (and to a lesser extent femoral shape) remains uncertain. Tibial and femoral cross-sectional midshaft shape measurements, taken from nine Pleistocene and Holocene skeletal populations, were compared against lower limb length, limb segment length, and bi-iliac breadth. Generally, limb length and limb segment length do not significantly influence femoral or tibial midshaft shape. After controlling for body mass greater bi-iliac breadth is associated with a relative mediolateral strengthening of the femoral midshaft, while the influence of a wider body shape (BIB/length) is associated with a relative M-L strengthening of the tibia and femur of males, and the tibia of females. We conclude that; (1) mechanical interpretations of lower limb diaphyseal shape are most parsimonious due to the lack of evidence for a consistent relationship between segment length and shape; however, (2) further work is required to investigate the influence of bi-iliac breadth on both femoral and tibial midshaft shape.

Mobility and subsistence economy: A diachronic comparison between two groups settled in the same geographical area (Liguria, Italy)

The purpose of this article is to investigate temporal shifts in skeletal robusticity to infer behavioral changes in two populations (Neolithic, NEOL and Medieval, MED) settled in the same geographic area but involved in different subsistence economies (pastoralism and coastal resources exploitation). This comparison allows us to test the hypothesis that occupational stress and mobility in the same environment produce predictable changes in the robusticity of both upper and lower limbs. Results show a lower degree of humeral robusticity and a similar degree of humeral asymmetry in the two sexes in the MED population. These results are consistent with the relatively less stressful subsistence economy documented in the MED population relative to that of the NEOL. Lower limb results suggest that femoral robusticity does not correlate directly with the level of logistical mobility, but is instead due to the summation of several diverse factors that place biomechanical loads on the hindlimb, particularly unevenness of the terrain. However, female femoral gracility seems to indicate that below a certain "threshold" of mobility, i.e., movement over the natural terrain, terrain conformation is no longer the main contributing factor to femoral robusticity. The femoral shape index I(x)/I(y) declines through time, particularly in males. This agrees with the expected mobility of the samples based on archaeological and historical data, providing further evidence on the reliability of this index in inferring terrestrial mobility.

Mobility management protocols for next-generation all-IP satellite networks

To provide ubiquitous terrestrial Internet coverage mobility and Internet-based access to data generated by satellites, there is a strong desire to integrate the terrestrial Internet and satellite networks. This requires satellites that are based on IP for communications. Rotation of low Earth orbit satellites around the Earth results in communicating with different ground stations over time, and requires mobility management protocols for seamless communication between the Internet and satellite networks. In this article we provide a comprehensive summary and comparison of state-of-the-art research on mobility management schemes for satellite networks. The schemes are based on network and transport layers for managing host and network mobility. This article clearly indicates the aspects that need further research and which mobility management schemes are the best candidates for satellite networks.

Differences in metabolic costs of terrestrial mobility in two closely related species of albatross

Black-browed albatrosses Thalassarche melanophrys typically colonise steeper habitats than grey-headed albatrosses T. chrysostoma. The present study investigated the effect of colony philopatry on terrestrial locomotory ability in these two species, to determine: (1) if there is a difference in terrestrial locomotory ability between these two closely related species, and (2) what physiological or behavioural adaptations may account for any differences identified. We examined the metabolic cost, mechanical efficiency on an incline, and gait characteristics of terrestrial locomotion of these two species on both level and inclined planes. T. chrysostoma were able to perform at a significantly greater speed than T. melanophrys without reaching a significantly different maximal rate of oxygen consumption (V(O(2))). Conversely, T. melanophrys were able to move up a significantly steeper incline than T. chrysostoma while maintaining a similar maximal V(O(2)). Each species demonstrates stride length, force production (behavioural) and leg length (morphological) adaptations that minimise the cost of traversing their chosen colonies, indicating a clear relationship between terrestrial performance and local topography. However, it is not possible to determine if the difference in locomotory ability results from differences in colony topography, or if choice of colony site is dictated by the ability of the species to traverse different terrain.

29.P1. Metabolic costs and biomechanical adaptation of terrestrial mobility in two closely related species of albatross in response to colony topography

29.P1. Metabolic costs and biomechanical adaptation of terrestrial mobility in two closely related species of albatross in response to colony topography

Hunter-gatherer postcranial robusticity relative to patterns of mobility, climatic adaptation, and selection for tissue economy

Human skeletal robusticity is influenced by a number of factors, including habitual behavior, climate, and physique. Conflicting evidence as to the relative importance of these factors complicates our ability to interpret variation in robusticity in the past. It remains unclear how the pattern of robusticity in the skeleton relates to adaptive constraints on skeletal morphology. This study investigates variation in robusticity in claviculae, humeri, ulnae, femora, and tibiae among human foragers, relative to climate and habitual behavior. Cross-sectional geometric properties of the diaphyses are compared among hunter-gatherers from southern Africa (n = 83), the Andaman Islands (n = 32), Tierra del Fuego (n = 34), and the Great Lakes region (n = 15). The robusticity of both proximal and distal limb segments correlates negatively with climate and positively with patterns of terrestrial and marine mobility among these groups. However, the relative correspondence between robusticity and these factors varies throughout the body. In the lower limb, partial correlations between polar second moment of area (J(0.73)) and climate decrease from proximal to distal section locations, while this relationship increases from proximal to distal in the upper limb. Patterns of correlation between robusticity and mobility, either terrestrial or marine, generally increase from proximal to distal in the lower and upper limbs, respectively. This suggests that there may be a stronger relationship between observed patterns of diaphyseal hypertrophy and behavioral differences between populations in distal elements. Despite this trend, strength circularity indices at the femoral midshaft show the strongest correspondence with terrestrial mobility, particularly among males.

F-81 skeleton from Wadi Mataha, Jordan, and its bearing on human variability in the Epipaleolithic of the Levant

The discovery of a Middle Epipaleolithic adult skeleton (F-81) at the site of Wadi Mataha in southern Jordan provides new insights into human variability in the Epipaleolithic of the Levant. This paper analyzes the skeletal morphology of Wadi Mataha F-81 in the context of other Epipaleolithic remains from Jordan and Israel to assess the current evidence for morphological variability throughout this period. The F-81 skeleton shares morphological features with earlier Epipaleolithic skeletons from Ohalo and Nahal Ein Gev, and later Natufian populations. Despite the morphological similarities, F-81 extends the range of known variability prior to the Natufian with its unusually small stature and unique combination of morphological characteristics. High levels of cranial and postcranial robusticity suggest that the F-81 individual was physically active and terrestrially mobile. Pronounced bilateral asymmetry in the upper limb suggests significant lateralization of habitual activity. In the context of Epipaleolithic remains, the F-81 skeleton provides preliminary evidence for greater morphological variability, terrestrial mobility, and lateralized habitual behavior prior to the Natufian, and skeletal gracilization between the Middle and Late Epipaleolithic in the Levant.

Long bone robusticity and subsistence behaviour among Later Stone Age foragers of the forest and fynbos biomes of South Africa

The robusticity of human long bone diaphyses can provide information about habitual behaviour among humans in the past. Mechanically relevant morphological variables include the strength of the diaphysis relative to body size, asymmetry between antimeres, diaphyseal shape, and sexual dimorphism in mechanical properties. This study compares the long bone robusticity of humeri, ulnae, femora and tibiae of Later Stone Age foragers from the forest and fynbos biomes of the southern African Cape region ( n=65:32m,33f), dated primarily to between 8000 and 2000 BP. Ecological differences between these biomes dictate variation in the terrestrial resource base, although marine contributions to diet are significant throughout the Cape. Female robusticity remains relatively homogenous between the forest and fynbos biomes, and is characterized by relative symmetry in strength characteristics between paired upper limb elements with antero-posteriorly strengthened diaphyses. This morphology is consistent with shellfish harvesting and the use of digging sticks throughout the Later Stone Age in these regions. Male lower limb robusticity is consistently high in both biomes, suggesting that high levels of terrestrial mobility were characteristic of male subsistence strategies. The forest biome males have higher levels of bilateral asymmetry in upper-limb robusticity than males of the fynbos biome. This morphology may correspond with increased unilateral loading resulting from a higher frequency of use of spear projectiles relative to bows and arrows, and greater exploitation of medium to large sized bovids.