External auditory exostoses and prehistoric aquatic resource procurement

Sébastien Villotte (1) , Christopher J. Knüsel (1)

1 PACEA - De la Préhistoire à l'Actuel : Culture, Environnement et Anthropologie

External auditory exostoses (EAEs) are osseous exostoses that form in the external auditory canal as a result of an irritation of the periosteum. Many conditions can be responsible for this irritation, but contact with cold water is the principal cause. This article is a brief review of clinical and anthropological studies that permit consideration of EAEs as faithful markers of water-related activities in past populations and discusses the potential as well as the limits of EAEs to provide insights into aquatic resource exploitation by prehistoric humans.

Mots clés: Activity-related skeletal morphologies; Aquatic resource exploitation; subsistence strategies; Sexual division of labor Dear Editor; Sexual division of labor

Domaines: Anthropologie biologique; Archéologie et Préhistoire

Sébastien Villotte, Christopher J. Knüsel. External auditory exostoses and prehistoric aquatic resource procurement. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, 2016, 6, pp.633-636. ⟨10.1016/j.jasrep.2015.05.013⟩. ⟨hal-03146975⟩