Human skeletal morphology is a dynamic system affected by both physiological and environmental factors,due to the functional adaptation and remodeling responses of bones. To further explore the adaptation ofbone to the environment and the consequent subsistence strategies determined by the diverse naturalcontexts in the Anthropocene, this study presents a comparative study on the tibiae of seven ancientpopulations located in different regions of East Asia. Through the analysis of the tibial shaft morphology,a comparative analysis between the populations and genders was conducted to evaluate the differences inexternal morphology and sexual division of labor. The cnemic indices of the tibial shaft were selected toquantify the external shape. Results showed that different populations had different tibial morphology.Among males, those of Jinggouzi had the flattest tibia while those of Changle had the widest tibia. Amongthe females, females of Hanben had the flattest tibia, whereas tibia from females of Shiqiao, Changle, andYinxu were among the widest.The sexual dimorphism was relatively larger in Shiqiao and Jinggouzi and smallerin Tuchengzi and Changle. Through a combination of previous archaeological findings, historical records, andethnography of the aboriginal Taiwanese, it is concluded that the terrain and ecological environments laidbasis for varied subsistence strategies. In addition, the mobility and social labor division under a particularsubsistence strategy further contributed to the adaptation of the lower limb morphology to its context.Thecomparative analysis provides further insight on habitual activities, terrestrial mobility patterns, andsubsistence strategies of the populations, which lived in different environmental contexts during theBronze Age and early Iron Age, thus demonstrating the diverse interactions between human populationsand natural environment in the Anthropocene.
展开▼
