The present study aims to investigate the relationship between physical activity changes and the daily life patterns in the island of La Gomera (Canary Islands, Spain) during the aboriginal period (ca. 3rd–15th centuries AD). The commingled skeletal material used in this study comprised a minimum of 88 individuals from burial caves used by these agropastoral communities. The methodological corpus combines the study of entheseal changes in upper and lower limbs with a cross‐sectional geometry analysis. The results revealed a prevalence of muscle chains linked to bilateral movements and a high mobility, probably more intense in the eastern areas of the island. At the same time, we observed diachronic changes in mobility possibly due to processes of adaptation to an isolated environment. Finally, entheseal changes and cross‐sectional geometry also indicated some differences between sexes as women seem to have had lower mobility than men.

Desde un enfoque biomecánico, los restos humanos pueden verse modificados a partir de los patrones cotidianos de actividad física, en los cuales se imbrican toda una serie de sistemas culturales y laborales. A partir de la perspectiva metodológica de los marcadores óseos de actividad física, hemos analizado a los 32 individuos procedentes del Dolmen del Cortijo de los Vínculos-I, el cual forma parte de la Necrópolis Megalítica del Pantano de los Bermejales (Granada). Éstos han sido abordados a través de la osteometría, de la aplicación de sistemas de graduación entésica en el esqueleto postcraneal, y de la valoración paleopatológica de ciertas afecciones vertebrales causadas por el estrés mecánico. A rasgos generales, se observó que esta población tenía un patrón cotidiano donde predominarían las actividades físicas relacionadas con la carga de objetos pesados, la marcha y el acuclillamiento. Esto se insertaría en el marco de una sociedad calcolítica donde además de las prácticas agrícolas, habría un peso importantísimo de la ganadería, la caza y la movilidad residencial. Por tanto, los marcadores óseos de actividad física pueden suponer una buena fuente de información complementaria sobre el patrón cotidiano de vida en el pasado.

Throughout Egypt and Nubia's state formation periods (4400-1750 BCE), broad transformations impacted Nile Valley communities, which experienced agricultural consolidation, sedentarization, and more complex social organization. The current study examines the various patterns and levels of physical activity in the skeletal remains of 259 predynastic and early dynastic individuals from Nubia (Northern Dongola Reach) and Egypt (el-Badari, Naqada, el-Ballas, and Hu). Using entheseal changes in the upper and lower limbs and non-parametric tests, we have observed changes in behavior patterns between the fifth and second millennia BCE in the Nile Valley. These transformations include an increased impact on the evolution of physical activity and possibly specialized occupations in the Old Kingdom. In this regard, we discovered differences in activity based on the type of burial and the tasks performed by females compared with males. Furthermore, we found additional evidence to support the hypothesis that the Nubian state of Kerma was based on a highly mobile pastoral way of life.

In this introduction to the special issue, Adaptive Tools for Resilient Bones: Biostatistical Approaches to Past Physical Activity in Osteoarchaeology, we discuss the outcome of the workshop held in Leiden (the Netherlands; November 18-19, 2021). We review statistical approaches to entheseal changes and present a series of new contributions to this field. These research, commentary, and review articles present different statistical approaches to entheseal changes and reflect the current state of research in the field.

Highlights: The combination of biomechanical analysis and open-access Kinovea software enables the study of musculoskeletal and articular wear of experimentally reproduced tasks. The repeated use of the right arm during indirect percussion and abrasion in lithic production could increase the changes in bone robusticity of specific muscle attachments observed in the osteoarchaeological record. Motion ranges and postural angles analysis can generate more accurate representations of "virtual humans" in their archaeological context. Abstract: Understanding the physical impact of ancient labours has become an important experimental bioarchaeology area. Complex motion capture systems and digital tools have been used in biomechanical analysis during the reproduction of manual tasks. However, these systems are costly, so the researchers have explored alternative digital solutions. Therefore, the open-access Kinovea software was checked to confirm its reliability in characterizing the physical loads associated with particular works of ancient times. In this case study, the authors have analyzed the central postural angles and muscle chains involved in the indigenous manufacturing process of rotary stone mills, in the high mountains of Tenerife. The study included a virtual motion capture analysis carried out during the different phases of the experimental reproduction of this process; it was defined from the archaeological record of the quarries-workshops of Las Cañadas del Teide National Park (Canary Islands, Spain) volcanic millstones. The results of this study have demonstrated the software's effectiveness to virtually analyze the significant differences in posture between work techniques, observing a predominance of the use of m. biceps brachii, the m. brachioradialis, and the elbow joint during the manufacture of stone mills. On the other hand, Kinovea also has excellent potential in virtual archaeology, giving users tools to generate the average postural angles. As a result, building "virtual skeletons" in more precise work postures has been possible. This may serve as the base element to create complete body representations in virtual environments.