GOUGH'S CAVE 1: STUDY OF PELVIS AND LOWER LIMBS 



PELVIC REMAINS 



Inventory 



The pelvis is conserved fully articulated, with the two coxal bones in 

 articulation with the sacrum and with each other at the pubic sym- 

 physis (Figs 1-5). As a result, overall dimensions and proportions are 

 readily ascertainable, but the configurations of the sacroiliac and 

 pubic symphyseal surfaces are not observable. In addition, there is a 

 bolt transversely through the sacroiliac articulations, the S2 and the 

 dorsal ilia which maintains the pelvis in articulation. It is only 

 apparent on the external ilia just dorso-cranial of the dorsal greater 

 sciatic notches. 



Despite minor abrasion to several of the margins, there is no 

 apparent distortion to any of these bones, and adhering matrix is thin 

 and scattered. This makes morphological observations on them 

 highly reliable. 



Sacrum. The sacrum is largely complete from the cranial S 1 to the 

 caudal S5. with minor abrasion to several of the edges. The primary 

 areas of abrasion are across the sacral promontory producing a 

 rounded margin, and on most of the SI cranial disk surface and the 

 cranial surfaces of the alae. There is also minor surface bone loss 

 along the edges of the sacro-iliac articulations, but it is largely 

 obscured by their articulations with the ilia. There is also a rounded 

 hole dorso-ventrally through the S2 body, the result of a bolt placed 

 through it for the previous mounting of the articulated skeleton in the 

 Gough's Cave Museum. 



Right Coxal Bone (No. 1 . 1/23). The right coxal bone is essentially 

 intact. There is abrasion to the ventro-caudal ischio-pubic ramus 

 margin just ventral of the ischial tuberosity, to the internal margin of 

 the mid iliac crest, and along the superior auricular margin extending 

 on to the dorsal arcuate line. In addition, the middle of the iliac fossa 

 has an area of adhering matrix and a small hole (maximum diameter: 

 6.5mm) in the middle of that area. All of the iliac crest is present, 

 even though it is partially fused. 



Left Coxal Bone (No. 1.1/24). The left coxal bone is similarly 

 intact without distortion. It shares the same abrasion to the ventro- 

 caudal margin of the ischio-pubic ramus just ventral of the ischial 

 tuberosity and to the cranial margin of the auricular surface and 

 adjacent arcuate line. In addition, there is a notch of bone missing 

 from the ventral ilium just below the anterior superior iliac spine, and 

 there is a large hole (31.8mm dorso- ventral and 23.0mm cranio- 

 caudal) in the middle of the iliac fossa. The iliac crest is present 

 ventrally, but it was (at least partially) unfused between the iliac 

 pillar and the iliac tuberosity and is absent from that portion of the 

 ilium. 



Pelvic Morphology 



Sacrum (Table 1 ; Fig. 1 ). The Gough's Cave 1 sacrum retains five 

 clear sacral vertebrae. In this they follow the pattern of the majority 

 of recent humans (Schultz, 1930). Despite damage in the regions of 

 the auricular surfaces, it appears that the lateral portions of the 

 sacrum and their dorsal neural arches were fully fused at the time of 

 death. However, the bodies remain largely separate across their 

 ventral margins. The degree of fusion of the sacral bodies and the 

 pattern of fusion (from caudal to cranial) primarily reflects the young 

 adult age of the individual and not an unusual pattern or degree of 

 sacral fusion. 



The ventral length of the Gough's Cave 1 sacrum of ca. 123.7mm 

 is large for a recent human (Radlauer, 1908). In combination with a 

 mean femoral bicondylar length of 436.0mm, it provides a length 



Table 1 Osteometries of the Gough's Cave 1 sacrum. 



Ventral height chord (M-2) 1 



Ventral height arc (M-l) 



Ventral SI height chord 2 



Ventral S2 height chord 



Ventral S3 height chord 



Ventral S4 height chord 



Ventral S5 height chord 



Dorsal height chord (M-3) 



Antero-cranial breadth (M-5) 



Mid sacral breadth (M-9) 



Base dorso-ventral diameter (M-18) 



Base transverse diameter (M-l 9) 



Base sagittal angle' 



Base/S 1 sagittal angle 4 



Canal dorso-ventral diameter (M-16) 



Canal transverse diameter (M-17) 



(123.7) 



(131.5) 



(32.2) 



30.2 



25.9 



21.8 



19.5 



124.7 



(110.0) 



83.0 



(29.0) 



46.2 



81° 



60° 



17.6 



30.6 



1 (M-xx) refers to the equivalent measurement in R. Martin's Lehrbuch der 

 Anthropologie (see Brauer, 1988). 



2 Cranio-caudal distance between the cranial and caudal margins of each ventral 

 body. 



3 The angle, in the median sagittal plane, between the tangent to the SI vertebral disk 

 surface and the ventral height chord from SI to S5. 



4 The angle, in the median sagittal plane, between the tangent to the SI vertebral disk 

 surface and the ventral surface of S 1 . 



index of ca.28.4. This value high for a recent human sample (Warren, 

 1897; Trinkaus, 1983) but it is only slightly above a Mesolithic 

 sample mean (27.6 ± 2.2, N = 14) and very close to the mean of a 

 Mesolithic male sample (28.0 ± 2.2, N = 1 1 ). 



The maximum antero-cranial breadth of the Gough's Cave 1 

 sacrum (ca. 11 0.0mm) is moderate compared to other Mesolithic 

 remains, and it provides an index against ventral height of 88.9. This 

 value is only slightly below that of a highly variable Mesolithic 

 sample (91.4 ± 8.9, N= 16) and removing the three females from the 

 sample moves the mean close to the Gough's Cave 1 value (Mesolithic 

 males: 89.8 ± 8.4, N = 13). 



The sacrum presents a modest degree of ventral concavity, as is 

 indicated by an index of the ventral chord to the ventral arc of 

 ca.94. 1 . This index is well above the mean of a Euroamerican male 

 sample [85.8 ± 4.7, N = 50 (Tague, 1989)]. However, it is quite close 

 to means of 93.3 for both Mesolithic samples (pooled sex sample: ± 

 2.5, N = 9; males: ± 2.6, N = 8). Most of the curvature present is in 

 the vicinity of S4, with only a slight concavity cranial of the S3/S4 

 articulation. 



The sacral foramina are all present and prominent. They are 

 slightly larger on the left side, primarily in cranio-caudal height, but 

 present no unusual features. 



The cranial surface of the SI is notable for the degree of caudal 

 slope of the alae, from the lateral margins of the S 1 body to the 

 cranial margins of the auricular surfaces (or their estimated positions 

 given damage). The degree of downward slope is indicated by a 

 cranio-caudal distance of 2 1 .0mm between the promontory and a 

 line between the intersections of the arcuate lines and the auricular 

 surfaces. In a parallel way, the S5 body extends caudally from its 

 lateral portions, down to a clearly delimited body surface for the Cx 1 

 articulation. 



The sacral hiatus extends cranially to the level of the S3/S4 

 intervertebral body articulation. In two recent human samples, 

 Euroamericans and Afroamericans, about a third of the individuals 

 have the hiatus extend cranially to the cranial S4 or above [34.3%, N 

 = 519 and 30.4%, N = 694 respectively (Trotter & Lanier, 1945)], 

 making this pattern in Gough's Cave 1 relatively common. 



Ilia (Table 2; Fig. 2). The Gough's Cave 1 ilia present relatively 

 smooth surfaces but with generally clear markings for the various 



