by means of Fourier Analysis, Shape Coordinates of Landmarks, Principal and Relative Warps

The presence of Homo in Europe longer than a million years ago is often discussed. The finding of a Lower Pleistocene phalanx from the karstic site of Cueva Victoria in Murcia (Spain) can contribute important information about this theme if the Homo identification is confirmed. We have used an array of morphometric analyses to study this phalanx, and to compare it with human, gorilla and cercopithecid phalanges. The morphometric variates included conventional distance and surface area measurements estimated from radiographs of the phalanges, harmonic amplitudes from Fourier series fitted to their contours, and shape coordinates of landmarks. Discriminant analysis was used to compare the groups, and principal and relative warp analyses used to investigate the relative position of landmarks. Results obtained with all morphometric methods consistently indicated a human aYnity for the fossil, and thus constitute further evidence of the presence of Homo sp. in the southern Iberian Peninsula during the Lower Pleistocene