Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d’Anthropologie de Paris ()
Bone mineral density in human femurs of documented age-at-death in a comparative context
Abstract
This contribution aims at answering the question of the how and the why of invasive, micro-invasive and non-invasive analysis of anthropobiological remains, through the study of a collection comprising 51 skeletons of known age and sex (27 males and 24 females born between 1837 and 1916) stored in the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. We have attempted to identify possible age-related trends in femoral bone mineral content in the context of modern clinical references and archaeological skeletal series. Finally, we placed the data in a broad comparative context by comparing human bone mineral content values with those obtained from chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). Results indicate a degradation of bone mineral density during aging that is comparable to that of current Western reference populations. Females’ bone health appears to be above the current average up until the age of 50 years. Bone mineral density values for humans are significantly lower than for chimpanzees, both in males and females. These results illustrate certain aspects of bone mineral density variability among different populations and within human populations over time, as well as the gracility of the human skeleton as compared to that of great apes.
