Introduction

Growth and development studies in Paleolithic populations have, for a long time, focused on craniodental remains as there was simply less documentation available for similar studies of the postcranial skeleton. Yet the appendicular skeleton and the hipbone are thought to provide an indication of differences in robusticity and morphology between human groups within the Late Pleistocene hominid sample (e.g., Churchill, 1994; Trinkaus, 1992; Trinkaus et al., 1998). The morphology of the hipbone (note: we follow the Nomina Anatomica for the use of appropriate nomenclature, in agreement with Tuttle's note published in 1988) has been used to distinguish Neandertals from their close relatives, anatomically modern humans (e.g., McCown & Keith, 1939; Rak, 1990; Rosenberg, 1988; Stewart, 1960; Trinkaus, 1976). However, none of the Neandertal specimens in Europe is sufficiently preserved to estimate relative sizes of the iliac, ischial, and pubic elements in order to produce accurate analysis of the hipbone morphocomplex. By far the most complete and least distorted specimen within the Middle Paleolithic hominid sample is represented by Kebara 2 from the southern Levant. While the identification of several Near Eastern specimens as parts of the Neandertal sample is still debated (e.g., Arensburg, 1989; Arensburg & Belfer-Cohen, 1998; Mann, 1995; Trinkaus, 1992), the Kebara specimen is usually described as a presumed Neandertal (see Aiello & Dean, 1990: 455).

On the basis of the European fossil record, the Neandertal adult hipbone is primarily described as exhibiting an unusually elongated and slender superior pubic ramus.