Entheses have rarely been systematically studied in the field of human evolution. However, the investigation of their morphological variability (e.g., robusticity) could provide new insight into their evolutionary significance in the European Neanderthal populations. The aim of this work is to study the entheses and joint features of the lower limbs of El Sidrón Neanderthals (Spain; 49 ka), using standardized scoring methods developed on modern samples. Paleobiology, growth, and development of both juveniles and adults from El Sidrón are studied and compared with those of Krapina Neanderthals (Croatia, 130 ka) and extant humans. The morphological patterns of the gluteus maximus and vastus intermedius entheses in El Sidrón, Krapina, and modern humans differ from one another. Both Neanderthal groups show a definite enthesis design for the gluteus maximus, with little intrapopulation variability with respect to modern humans, who are characterized by a wider range of morphological variability. The gluteus maximus enthesis in the El Sidrón sample shows the osseous features of fibrous entheses, as in modern humans, whereas the Krapina sample shows the aspects of fibrocartilaginous ones. The morphology and anatomical pattern of this enthesis has already been established during growth in all three human groups. One of two and three of five adult femurs from El Sidrón and from Krapina, respectively, show the imprint of the vastus intermedius, which is absent among juveniles from those Neanderthal samples and in modern samples. The scant intrapopulation and the high interpopulation variability in the two Neanderthal samples is likely due to a long-term history of small, isolated populations with high levels of inbreeding, who also lived in different ecological conditions. The comparison of different anatomical entheseal patterns (fibrous vs. fibrocartilaginous) in the Neanderthals and modern humans provides additional elements in the discussion of their functional and genetic origin.

在人类进化领域，很少对系统进行研究。但是，对它们的形态变异性（例如稳健性）的研究可以为它们在欧洲尼安德特人种群中的进化意义提供新的见解。这项工作的目的是使用在现代样本上开发的标准化评分方法，研究ElSidrónNeanderthals（西班牙； 49 ka）的下肢的骨骼和关节特征。研究了ElSidrón的少年和成年人的古生物学，生长和发育，并将其与Krapina Neanderthals（克罗地亚，130 ka）和现存人类进行了比较。ElSidrón，Krapina和现代人类的臀大肌和中间臀肌的形态学模式互不相同。尼安德特人的两个群体都针对臀大肌进行了明确的设计，相对于现代人而言，其内部种群变异性很小，其特征是形态变异性范围更广。与现代人一样，ElSidrón样品中的臀大肌粘膜显示出纤维状骨的骨性特征，而Krapina样品显示了纤维软骨状骨的各个方面。在所有三个人类群体的生长过程中，已经确定了该假说的形态和解剖学模式。来自ElSidrón和来自Krapina的五个成人股骨中的两个和三个，分别显示了中间阴天的印记，这些中间阴天在这些尼安德特人的样本和现代样本中是不存在的。两个尼安德特人样本中的种群内缺乏和种群间的高变异性很可能是由于长期以来的历史，这些小种群近亲繁殖，近交程度高，他们也生活在不同的生态环境中。在尼安德特人和现代人类中，不同解剖包膜模式（纤维状与纤维软骨状）的比较提供了讨论其功能和遗传起源的其他要素。