Original paper
Qafzeh 9 Early Modern Human from Southwest Asia: age at death and sex estimation re-assessed
Coutinho-Nogueira, Dany; Coqueugniot, Hélène; Tillier, Anne-marie
HOMO Volume 72 No 4 (2021), p. 293 - 305
published: Dec 21, 2021
published online: Sep 10, 2021
manuscript accepted: Jul 9, 2021
manuscript revision received: Jul 7, 2021
manuscript revision requested: Jul 4, 2021
manuscript received: May 5, 2021
ArtNo. ESP139007204003, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Qafzeh 9 is an almost complete skeleton commonly employed as representative of the population of the eponymous site. However, its biological profile is still largely based on the age at death and sex estimation methods in use at the time of its discovery. Moreover, post-mortem damage to the skeleton has made difficult the observation of some morphoscopic features, particularly pelvic ones currently used in sex estimation. Here, we apply recent methods and paleoimaging to re-evaluate the biological profile of Qafzeh 9, taking into account post-mortem damage. The results suggest a young age at death, indicating that Qafzeh 9 died before reaching complete dental and bone maturity; they also support a male sex assignment.
Keywords
Early modern human • Southwestern Asia • sex estimation • age at death estimation • biological profile