The Omo I hominin clavicle: Archaic or modern?

Assessment of clavicular Curvatures projected onto two perpendicular planes to decompose the three dimensional shape into cranial and dorsal primary curvatures has shown that two morphological groups of clavicle exist within the genus Homo. The first one includes all species from Homo habilis to Neandertals, while the second includes only Upper Paleolithic remains and more recent modern humans. These morphological differences are associated with different shoulder architectures. The morphology of the Omo I left clavicle is sufficiently complete to compare its curvatures to other clavicles of several species of Homo. Its overall morphology, assessed by its curvatures, is similar to that of Upper Paleolithic remains and modern humans, confirming the conclusions of previous descriptions of the Omo I remains in general and of its clavicles in particular. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved