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An examination of ancient and modern skeletal samples gathered from around the world reveals that the shape and size of the female birth canal varies widely among different human populations. These differences are not so much the result of a functional need but rather the products of chance genetic differences and the timing of migrations around the globe, according to the study published today (October 24) in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
“This is an excellent and thorough analysis of several of the main evolutionary processes that we think have shaped the evolution of the human female pelvis,” Helen Kurki, an anthropologist at the University of Victoria who was not involved in the work, writes in an email to The Scientist. “This illustration of high variation is important because it challenges common perceptions that the pelvic canal of females has one particular ‘best’ shape and ...
