It has been hypothesized that the extensively overlapping temporal and parietal bones of the
squamosal sutures in Paranthropus boisei are adaptations for withstanding loads
associated with feeding. Finite element analysis (FEA) was used to investigate the
biomechanical effects of suture size (ie, the area of overlap between the temporal and
parietal bones) on stress, strain energy, and strain ratio in the squamosal sutures of Pan
troglodytes and P. boisei (specimen OH 5) during biting. Finite element models (FEMs) of …

1Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, MA 01003 2Department of Anthropology, University at Albany, Albany, NY 12222
3Department of Biology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 4Department of
Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig,
Germany 5Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, A-1090 Vienna Austria