Markus Bastir

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Verified

Markus verified their affiliation via an institutional email.

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• MSc, MAS, PhD
• Professor at Spanish National Research Council

The tall and narrow body shape of anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) evolved via changes in the thorax, pelvis and limbs. It is debated, however, whether these modifications first evolved together in African Homo erectus, or whether H. erectus had a more primitive body shape that was distinct from both the more ape-like Australopithecus spec...

This paper presents an updated view on the morphological and functional significance of the human respiratory system in the context of human evolutionary anatomy. While usually the respiratory system is treated either from a craniofacial perspective, mostly in the context of nasal evolution and air-conditioning, or from a postcranial perspective fe...

This study aims to provide the first estimates of the upper diaphragmatic morphology of KNM-WT 15000 (H. erectus s.l.) and Kebara 2 (Homo neanderthalensis). We first compare their shapes and surface areas to those of modern humans and, eventually, propose functional interpretations of breathing kinematics in fossil hominins.

Breathing motion is based on the differential activity of the thoracic, diaphragmatic and abdominal muscles. Muscle contributions differ between rest and exercise conditions and depend on posture and other factors. Traditionally, these changes are investigated on volumetric data using optoelectronic plethysmography (OEP). OEP offers insight into si...

The Neanderthal pelvis exhibits distinctive features compared to modern humans, including wider and more flared iliac blades, a more anteriorly positioned sacrum, and a longer and thinner, outwardly oriented pubic bone. Each new addition to the pelvic fossil record is significant for enhancing our understanding of Neanderthal morphology and variati...

Serial morphology is the study of repeating, sequentially arranged structures in organisms, focusing on their development, organization, and evolutionary significance. Manual digits in primates, exhibiting proximodistal and radioulnar homology, can be analyzed using a serial morphological approach. This method offers a potential tool for reconstruc...

The present corrigendum corrects errors that occurred in Brecko J. et al. (2025). https://doi.org/10.5852/ejt.2025.976.2797

Natural History institutes hold an immense number of specimens and artefacts. For years these collections were not accessible online, remaining inaccessible to researchers from far away and hidden from the general public. Large digitisation projects and cross-institutional agreements aim to bring their collections into the digital era, such as the...

The study of the ribcage is fundamental to understanding hominin evolution. However, ribs and vertebrae are scarce in the fossil record. Although Neanderthals are one of the most represented and, therefore, one of the most studied fossil Homo species, it is controversial whether there is a standardized Neanderthal ribcage morphotype that could diff...

After a road construction in the 1960s, faunal fossils were surface collected by locals at the "Los Villares" house state (Ruidera, Ciudad Real). The study of the fossils showed the presence of cutmarks on some herbivore bones dated around 300-400 ka by a combined ESR-Uranium series approach [1]. A systematic excavation of 10 m 2 was carried out in...

The production of sharp-edged stone flakes pieces is our primary evidence for the emergence of technology in our lineage [1]. Nevertheless, recent discoveries have shown that bearded capuchins and long-tailed macaques (Sapajus libidinosus and Macaca fascicularis) can unintentionally produce high frequencies of sharp-edged flake assemblages as a by-...

Tras la construcción de una carretera en los años 60 en la finca “Los Villares” (Ruidera, Ciudad Real) se recogieron más de 50 fósiles de fauna en superficie. Su estudio mostró la presencia de marcas de corte en algunos huesos de herbívoros fechados alrededor de 300-400 Kya mediante un enfoque combinado de series ESR-Uranio (García-Martínez et al.,...

Se ha propuesto que la forma corporal alta y esbelta de los humanos modernos se originó con Homo erectus africano como carácter primitivo del género Homo. Esta adaptación pudo haber surgido para facilitar la carrera de larga distancia y el desplazamiento extendido en la sabana. Las piernas largas, un torso alto y estrecho, y una cintura delgada, so...

Durante la evolución humana, la condición plesiomórfica de torsos profundos, anchos y cortos evolucionó hacia torsos planos, estrechos y altos en H. sapiens anatómicamente modernos. Se ha propuesto que estos cambios influyen en el patrón respiratorio, la energética y la ecología de la especie. Estudios sobre los efectos del ejercicio en la cinemáti...

Featured Application This article is the first step of a recent investigation line which gives a new perspective to the physical condition evaluation using the quantification of the thoracic expansion. Knowing how much the thorax is expanded during different exercise intensities could be used to classify different persons for making exercise recomm...

Up to now, Allen and Bergmann's rules have been studied in modern humans by analyzing differences in limb length, height, or body mass. However, there are no publications studying the effects of latitude in the 3D configuration of the ribcage. To assess this issue, we digitally reconstructed the ribcages of a balanced sample of 109 adult individual...

This study aimed to explore the variability in nasal airflow patterns among different sexes and populations using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). We focused on evaluating the universality and applicability of dimensionless parameters R (bilateral nasal resistance) and ϕ (nasal flow asymmetry), initially established in a Caucasian Spanish cohort...

Objectives Ecogeographic variation in human nasal anatomy has historically been analyzed on skeletal morphology and interpreted in the context of climatic adaptations to respiratory air‐conditioning. Only a few studies have analyzed nasal soft tissue morphology, actively involved in air‐conditioning physiology. Materials and Methods We used in viv...

Up to now, there have been no publication standardizing the digital reconstruction of the modern human ribcage from commingled costo‐vertebral material. Consequently, we designed a validated protocol based on anatomical features observed in the literature and the CT scanned ribcages of 10 adult European individuals. After quantifying the shape of t...

Flowgy is a semi-automated tool designed to simulate airflow across the nasal passage and detect airflow alterations in humans. In this study, we tested the use and accuracy of Flowgy in non-human vertebrates, using large felids as the study group. Understanding the dynamics of nasal airflow in large felids such as lions (Panthera leo) is crucial f...

Throughout human evolution the skeletal torso has undergone several anatomical changes which are directly reflected on external trunk morphology. The primitive condition of deep, wide and short trunks changed into the derived condition of flat, narrow and tall trunks [1]. In the context of respiratory function, this has been suggested to influence...

The cervical spine is of great importance to understand posture and locomotor pattern of ancient species. However, fossil cervical vertebrae record is scarce, as is the case of Homo ergaster. Taking into account Dmanisi remains and KNM-WT15000 individual (WT15k), only three cervical vertebrae were preserved. WT15 seventh cervical vertebra was previ...

After a road construction in the 1960s, faunal fossils were surface-collected by locals from a small area in the Los Villares urbanization (Ruidera, Ciudad Real). The study of those fossils [1] concluded that this site could fill a gap of knowledge in an area characterized by a limited Pleistocene fossil and archeological record, dated around MIS 9...

Metameric development of body structures and 3D geometric morphometrics (3DGM) can be used for reconstruction of serial anatomical elements. Hand digits, as autopods with proximo-distal and radio-ulnar morphogenesis in primates can be analyzed following a seriality approach [1], yet there has been limited application of this to previous hominins st...

Evaluation of the anteroposterior and transversal diameters in three different parts of the thorax during an incremental running tests, divided among different morphology groups.

Several inferences have been made about neck mobility and stability in Neanderthals [1]. However, the hypothesis of decreased mobility of the cervical spine in this species was based on interpretations of a few morphometric measurements without directly linked functional data. Thus, experimental analyses are required to test whether Neanderthals ha...

Despite the well preserved cranial and post-cranial elements of the fossil KNM-WT 15000 (~1.5 Ma), its hand anatomy is still largely unknown [1]. Only a partial proximal phalanx (KNM-WT 15000-BQ), an intermediate phalanx (KNM-WT 15000-BO) and two potential first metacarpals (KNM-WT 15000-BU and -BV) were recovered. Moreover, in all of them the pr...

Objectives Studying rib torsion is crucial for understanding the evolution of the hominid ribcage. Interestingly, there are variables of the rib cross section that could be associated with rib torsion and, consequently, with the morphology of the thorax. The aim of this research is to conduct a comparative study of the shape and mineralized tissues...

The human torso is a complex, dynamic structure. Its superior part, the thorax, houses the major respiratory structures. During evolution the primitive condition of deep and wide thoraces with low rib torsion and declination in early Homo changed into the narrow, flat thorax (derived condition) of modern humans [1]. Yet the functional implications...

Study of the nasal airflow in diferents species of carnivores

Humans have a larger energy budget than great apes, allowing the combination of the metabolically expensive traits that define our life history. This budget is ultimately related to the cardiac output, the product of the blood pumped from the ventricle and the number of heart beats per minute, a measure of the blood available for the whole organism...

Rib internal anatomy and its cross-sectional morphology inform about important biomechanical or even evolutionary aspects. Classic histological studies require destructive techniques that are reprehensible depending on the case (e.g., fossils). In the last years, non-destructive CT-based methods are contributing to complementing previous knowledge...

En el campo de la paleoantropología, el estudio in vivo e in vitro de las estructuras biológicas de especies actuales nos permite hacer inferencias sobre la funcionalidad de especies extintas. Desde este marco conceptual este trabajo plantea la fusión de metodologías de estudio de la forma (morfometría geométrica) y del movimiento (cinemática). El...

Purpose There is strong evidence supporting the presence of fluctuating asymmetry (FA) in Adolescents with Idiopathic Scoliosis (AIS). Additionally, recent research investigating the relationship between vitamin D and AIS found a relation between them. We hypothesize a negative correlation between FA and vitamin D. Methods We performed a surface s...

Los análisis morfométricos conllevan sesgos en el nivel de precisión, y por ende, error.El desarrollo de la morfometría geométrica ha permitido generar colecciones digitalesque albergan archivos procedentes de fuentes diversas. El uso combinado de digital-izaciones obtenidas a través de técnicas diferentes introduce un nuevo tipo de error,el error...

This paper presents a proof of concept in the study of human respiratory motion from a palaeoanthropological approach. The hybrid methodology proposed merges Motion Capture techniques (optoelectronic plethysmography) with 3D geometric morphometrics of the superior torso surface during incremental running exercise. Results reveal the importance of t...

El desarrollo de la morfometría geométrica ha permitido generar colecciones digitales que albergan archivos procedentes de fuentes diversas. El uso de fuentes de digitalización diversas de manera conjunta se dará siempre y cuando exista un error intermétodo bajo, siendo el objeto de este trabajo evaluar la magnitud de dicho error en una muestra de...

Las poblaciones humanas de Patagonia Austral se caracterizan por su diferenciación craneal con respecto al resto de pueblos de América, así como por una marcada variabilidad entre los diferentes grupos que conforman la región. No obstante, los factores que interceden en la variación del cráneo son poco conocidos. Este estudio analiza la variabilida...

This study investigates the contribution of external trunk morphology and posture to running performance in an evolutionary framework. It has been proposed that the evolution from primitive to derived features of torso shape involved changes from a mediolaterally wider into a narrower, and antero-posteriorly deeper into a shallower, more lightly bu...

La nula preservación de los tejidos blandos respiratorios en el registro fósil de homininos ha restringido los análisis morfofuncionales de las vías aéreas superiores a estructuras óseas craneales, a pesar de su importante implicación en la fisiología respiratoria. Recientemente se han publicado trabajos sobre la reconstrucción cuantitativa de las...

El estudio de la evolución de la respiración humana se ha visto limitado tradicionalmente al estudio de piezas que componen el tórax y las vías aéreas, además del análisis comparado con humanos actuales y algunas otras especies de primates. Esto se debe tanto a la naturaleza fragmentaria del registro fósil, como a la complejidad estructural del tor...

Durante la inhalación, el tejido blando de la cavidad nasal posee la función esencial de acondicionar el aire en términos de temperatura y humedad. Se ha hipotetizado que la forma de las vías aéreas y el esqueleto nasal presenta adaptaciones climáticas, en concreto para ambientes fríos y secos, cavidades nasales más largas, aumentando el tiempo de...

The human thorax is a three-dimensional mobile structure that allows the breathing function. The traditional approach to the study of this complex postcranial structure in palaeobiology has been restricted to the morphology of the ribs and vertebrae. Recent statistical and geometrical approaches have presented the first 3D reconstructions of fossil...

Objectives: Recent studies highlighted the importance of the fibula to further our understanding of locomotor adaptations in fossil hominins. In this study, we present a three-dimensional geometric morphometric (3D-GM) investigation of the distal fibula in extant hominids and Australopithecus afarensis with the aim of pointing out morphological co...

The paucity of early Pleistocene hominin fossils in Eurasia hinders an in-depth discussion on their paleobiology and paleoecology. Here we report on the earliest large-bodied hominin remains from the Levantine corridor: a juvenile vertebra (UB 10749) from the early Pleistocene site of ‘Ubeidiya, Israel, discovered during a reanalysis of the faunal...

Introduction From an evolutionary perspective, the ribcage has changed substantially in the subfamily Homininae. Among many other features, the amount of mineralized tissues of the rib cross‐section at the midshaft could be informative about potential biomechanical changes during Homininae evolution. These changes would be related to the different...

Understanding the origin and evolution of the Neanderthal phenotype can be considered the question that ignites palaeoanthropology, and yet after more than 150 years of research, it is still largely unsolved. From a theoretical point of view, two conceptual frameworks have been proposed. On the one hand, there are approaches based on population gen...

OsteogenesisImperfecta (OI) is a rare disease with respiratory problems, which are usually attributed to the secondary effects of scoliosis and rib fractures and to severe restrictive pulmonary disease. Conventional morphometry has already been studied in OI patients but three-dimensional geometric morphometrics (3D GMM) has never been used to asse...

This study aims to carry out the first geometric morphometric analysis of the 3D size and shape of the full series of cervical vertebrae delving into variability related to sex and population background. For this reason, we analyzed the cervical vertebrae of both males and females belonging to Europeans, Africans, and Greenland Inuit. We 3D-scanned...

Los Neandertales y su alta capacidad pulmonar

Adaptations of the lower back to bipedalism are frequently discussed but infrequently demonstrated in early fossil hominins. Newly discovered lumbar vertebrae contribute to a near-complete lower back of Malapa Hominin 2 (MH2), offering additional insights into posture and locomotion in Australopithecus sediba . We show that MH2 possessed a lower ba...

The facial differences between recent Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens can be used as a proxy for the reduction of facial prognathism that happened during evolutionary transition between Australopithecines and early Homo. The projecting nasal morphology of Homo has been considered both a passive consequence of anatomical reorganization related to b...

The presence of directional and fluctuating asymmetry in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis has not been deeply studied. We aimed to test the presence of both in a scoliosis group and a control group. 24 patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and 24 control subjects were subjected to geometric morphometrics analyses to address our main hypothes...

Los cambios morfológicos en el esqueleto craneofacial de nuestros ancestros homininos han sido ampliamente estudiados y caracterizados. En concreto, la proyección de los huesos nasales se ha relacionado con la reducción del prognatismo facial y la reorganización de la morfología craneal en el contexto de la integración anatómica y la evolución del...

Our understanding of the evolution of the human thorax has largely improved during the last decade through the use of virtual anthropology and 3D geometric morphometrics. For example, recent research has produced 3D reconstructions of the thorax of adult and subadult Neanderthals [1,2], but also other fossil species such as Homo erectus [3]. In the...

Despite its great evolutionary interest, a comparative analysis of thoracic breathing biomechanics in hominins is challenging because of the incomplete fossil record and unknown soft tissue morphology. However, some specimens, whose ribcages are well preserved, such as KNM-WT 15000 [1] and Kebara 2 [2], may allow for a first step towards determinin...

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) is an indicator of developmental instability referred to random deviations from mean asymmetry. That average asymmetry is the directional asymmetry (DA), which, in the particular case of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), corresponds to a right thoracic and left lumbar curves. Investigating the presence of FA and DA i...

The bony symphyseal surface is an important trait for age-at-death estimation from human skeletal remains. In this paper, we demonstrate for the first time that the outline of the human symphyseal surface is sexually dimorphic and that it changes with age. We present a geometric morphometric analysis based on a sample of 323 symphyseal pubic bones...

Adaptations of the lower back to bipedalism are frequently discussed but infrequently demonstrated in early fossil hominins. Newly discovered lumbar vertebrae contribute to a near-complete lower back of Malapa Hominin 2 (MH2), offering additional insights into posture and locomotion in Australopithecus sediba. We show that MH2 demonstrates a lower...

Objective: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis is the most prevalent type of scoliosis, and its consequences on the human torso have not been deeply studied. In spite of being a 3D condition, clinical management is circumscribed to 2D images among health-care professionals. GMM is a well-recognized tool in the study of 3D shape and symmetry. Methods:...

The first cervical vertebra (atlas, C1) is an important element of the vertebral column because it connects the cranial base with the cervical column, thus helping to maintain head posture and contributing to neck mobility. However, few atlases are preserved in the fossil record because of the fragility of this vertebra. Consequently, only eight we...

Ontogenetic studies provide clues for understanding important paleobiological aspects of extinct species. When compared to that of modern humans, the adult Neanderthal thorax was shorter, deeper, and wider. This is related to the wide Neanderthal body and is consistent with their hypothetical large requirements for energy and oxygen. Whether these...

Like many other anatomical structures, the ribcage has changed its morphology and configuration throughout primate evolutionary history. Unfortunately, ribs usually appear broken in the fossil record, which challenges the interpretation of their morphology. In this context, it has been observed that the mineralized area of the rib cross-section at...

Objectives Understanding thoraco‐pelvic integration in Homo sapiens and their closest living relatives (genus Pan) is of great importance within the context of human body shape evolution. However, studies assessing thoraco‐pelvic covariation across Hominoidea species are scarce, although recent research would suggest shared covariation patterns in...

The skeletal torso is a complex structure of outstanding importance in understanding human body shape evolution, but reconstruction usually entails an element of subjectivity as researchers apply their own anatomical expertise to the process. Among different fossil reconstruction methods, 3D geometric morphometric techniques have been increasingly...

Sexual dimorphism is an important feature of adult thorax morphology, but when and how sex-related differences in the ribcage arise during ontogeny is poorly known. Previous research proposed that sex-related size differences in the nasal region arise during puberty. Therefore, we explore whether ribcage sexual dimorphism also arises at that time a...

Lumbar lordosis is a key element of the upright posture, being interpreted as a consequence of bipedal locomotion. There is consensus that the generic modern human pattern of metameric vertebral body wedging is sexually dimorphic in modern humans. However, recently published studies have compared this pattern with other hominins, such as Neandertha...

The first cervical vertebra, atlas, and its anatomical variants have been widely studied in Homo sapiens. However, in Neanderthals, the presence of anatomical variants of the atlas has been very little studied until very recently. Only the Neanderthal group from the El Sidrón site (Spain) has been analysed with regard to the anatomical variants of...

Various studies have examined morphometric features of the vertebrae to understanding functional aspects of the spine. Geometric analysis of vertebral zygapophyseal facets have also been related to functional and clinical aspects of the spine but no quantitative investigation of the costotransverse joint facet is found in the literature. The costal...

The evolution of the body form in Homo and its potential morphological connection to the arrangement of different skeletal systems is of major interest in human evolution. Patella morphology as part of the knee is potentially influenced by body form. Here, we describe for the first time the patellae remains recovered at El Sidrón Neandertal site an...

Recent papers have sparked an ongoing debate on the taxonomic adscription of the late Middle Pleistocene fossil skulls from Apidima (Greece). There is general agreement that the more complete skull Apidima 2 is a member of the Neandertal lineage. However, the evolutionary significance of the anatomy of Apidima 1 is unclear. While de Lumley et al. (...

Resumen: La primera vértebra cervical (atlas) es una estructura anatómica importante porque conecta la base del cráneo con la columna cervical y participa en la estabilidad y movilidad del complejo cabeza-cuello. Sin embargo, pocos atlas se han preservado en el registro fósil dada su gran fragilidad. De hecho, sólo 8 atlas adultos neandertales se h...

Objectives: Several studies have analyzed the sexual dimorphism of the skeletal cranial airways. This study aimed to quantify the three-dimensional (3D) morphology of the soft tissues of the upper airways in a human population. We addressed hypotheses about morphological features related to respiratory and energetic aspects of nasal sexual dimorph...

The aim of the present study was to test the hypothesis that ribs shape changes in patients with OI aremore relevant for respiratory function than thoracic spine shape. We used 3D geometric morphometricsto quantify rib cage morphology in OI patients and controls, and to investigate its relationship with forcedvital capacity (FVC) and forced expirat...

This chapter overviews the theoretical basics of geometric morphometrics (GM) and reviews its potential for the study of hominin vertebrae and vertebral columns. We show that challenges are related to seriality and the metameric nature of the spine. Measuring a series of vertebrae is a time-consuming process because the necessary sample sizes need...

The last two decades have seen the development of virtual morphology (ViMo), which emerged during the late 20 th century through the application of medical imaging techniques to the study of fossil hominins (Spoor et al. 1994, Zollikofer et al. 1995, Conroy et al. 1998). The ViMo workflow has evolved successively by first building digital databases...

The cervical spine is of great importance to understand posture and locomotor pattern of ancient species. However, cervical vertebrae are badly preserved in the fossil record, as is the case of KNM-WT 15000 (WT15k), which only preserves the C7. Even so, many features of this vertebra, such as the vertebral body wedging and the orientation of the ar...

The aim of this paper is to give a practical overview, showing how recent available digital technology can be combined to build a laboratory capable to produce 3D (and reproduce in 3D) anatomical models for research, teaching and museum exhibitions on topics related to anatomy, morphology in natural sciences, biology and medicine. We present workfl...

Objectives: The shape of the human lumbar spine is considered to be a consequence of erect posture. In addition, several other factors such as sexual dimorphism and variation in genetic backgrounds also influence lumbar vertebral morphology. Here we use 3D geometric morphometrics (GM) to analyze the 3D morphology of the lumbar spine in different h...

This study presents the results of the archaeological investigation in Benzú Cave, located on the North African shore of the Strait of Gibraltar. The archaeological deposits, approximately 1 m deep, belong to two occupational levels dated to the Neolithic and the Bronze Age. A wide range of artifacts was found, and this led to an interdisciplinary...

Classic studies in Palaeoanthropology suggest that in hominins and other primates thoraces and pelves are anatomically integrated. However, this torso integration hypothesis has been only tested in isolated bones so far, but not in anatomically connected torsos. Here we aim at testing the torso integration hypothesis in two modern human populations...

The lower back is adapted to mobility and stability across mammals and reflects posture and locomotion in the framework of a species’ evolutionary history. Upright bipedalism is one such positional behavior, and due to limited fossil evidence, disagreements exist as to when, how, and in what evolutionary context bipedalism evolved. Here, we describ...

This study aimed to understand the ontogenetic and allometric relationships in scaling between the anterior and posterior openings of the cranial airways and facial size, in order to shed light on the mechanisms that might underlie the evolution of a large face and large airways in Middle Pleistocene hominins and Neandertals. Sizes were calculated...

Sexual dimorphism is an important biological factor underlying morphological variation in the human skeleton. Previous research found sex-related differences in the static ribcage, with males having more horizontally oriented ribs and a wider lower ribcage than females. Furthermore, a recent study found sex-related differences in the kinematics of...

The long-standing debate around the origin and evolutionary mode of the Neandertal lineage is connected to the understanding of the large morphological diversity found in the European Middle Pleistocene Hominin (EMPH) samples. In practical terms, this problem can be approached through two questions: How many morphs can be distinguished in EMPH and...

Sexual dimorphism is an important biological factor affecting both cranial and postcranial parts of the human skeleton of living and fossil hominids. At the ribcage, sexual dimorphism has been documented to exist at least in a neutral kinematic status. Recent research studying sexual dimorphism in the human lungs has also found different kinematic...