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Hui J, Wu X, Balzeau A. Reappraisal of the Morphological Affinities of the Maba 1 Cranium: New Evidence From Internal Cranial Anatomy. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2025; 187:e70064. [PMID: 40401630 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.70064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2024] [Revised: 04/11/2025] [Accepted: 05/07/2025] [Indexed: 05/23/2025]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Maba 1 is a critical fossil from the late Middle Pleistocene Asia. It is well-known for the Neanderthal-like face, while its neurocranium shows affinities with many hominin taxa, which makes the taxonomic status of Maba 1 controversial. Beyond the limited information from the external surface, we investigate in detail its internal structures, which are largely unexplored. MATERIALS AND METHODS We reconstructed and described its frontal sinuses, diploic vessels, endocast, and bone thickness, using micro-CT data. Linear measurements were applied for the frontal sinuses and endocast, and the latter was also analyzed through geometric morphometrics. A comparison is made after considering the preservation of Maba 1 and the availability of comparative specimens. RESULTS The linear discriminant analyses for the frontal sinus cluster Maba 1 with Homo neanderthalensis. The Maba 1 diploic vessels anastomosed with the parietal foramen, a rare trait among H. neanderthalensis. The Maba 1 endocast differs from Homo erectus in the frontal lobe, but it was generally closer to H. erectus than to H. neanderthalensis and Homo sapiens. Generally, Maba 1 shares higher resemblances with other debated specimens, including LH18, Djebel Irhoud, and Broken Hill 1. The bregmatic thickness of Maba 1 differed from most H. erectus, while patterns in other areas share similarities with H. neanderthalensis and some H. erectus. DISCUSSION The internal structures of Maba 1 show a combination of morphological features found in various species. These findings further evidence the high morphological variability among Asian hominins in the late Middle Pleistocene. Maba 1 currently cannot be definitely classified in any known hominin taxon.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiaming Hui
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- PaleoFED Team, UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques, MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Antoine Balzeau
- PaleoFED Team, UMR 7194 Histoire Naturelle des Humanités Préhistoriques, MNHN-CNRS-UPVD, Paris, France
- Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium
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2
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Bae CJ, Aiello LC, Hawks J, Kaifu Y, Lindal J, Martinón-Torres M, Ni X, Posth C, Radović P, Reed D, Schroeder L, Schwartz JH, Silcox MT, Welker F, Wu XJ, Zanolli C, Roksandic M. Moving away from "the Muddle in the Middle" toward solving the Chibanian puzzle. Evol Anthropol 2024; 33:e22011. [PMID: 37943093 DOI: 10.1002/evan.22011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/17/2023] [Indexed: 11/10/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Bae
- Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawai, USA
| | - Leslie C Aiello
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
- The Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Inc., New York, New York, USA
| | - John Hawks
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Yousuke Kaifu
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Joshua Lindal
- Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
| | - Xijun Ni
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Cosimo Posth
- Archaeo- and Palaeogenetics, Department of Geosciences and the Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Predrag Radović
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- National Museum Kraljevo, Kraljevo, Serbia
| | - Denne Reed
- Department of Anthropology, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Lauren Schroeder
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- The Human Evolution Research Institute, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
| | - Jeffrey H Schwartz
- Departments of Anthropology and History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Mary T Silcox
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Frido Welker
- Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Xiu-Jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Mirjana Roksandic
- Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
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3
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Roksandic M, Radović P, Wu XJ, Bae CJ. Homo bodoensis and why it matters. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:240-244. [PMID: 35924751 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21954] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2022] [Revised: 06/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
In our original paper, we proposed a new species, Homo bodoensis, to replace the problematical taxa Homo heidelbergensis and Homo rhodesiensis, with the goal of streamlining communication about human evolution in the Chibanian. We received two independent responses. Given their substantial overlap, we provide one combined reply. In this response: (1) we are encouraged that the primary proposal in our paper, to discontinue the use of H. heidelbergensis (as a junior synonym to Homo neanderthalensis) due to its' nomenclatural problems, is acknowledged. (2) we provide additional clarification about the rules governing taxonomic nomenclature as outlined by the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature and join the growing calls for a revision to these rules. (3) we discuss further why H. rhodesiensis should be abandoned, particularly in light of the current sensitivity to using culturally inappropriate names. We conclude that H. bodoensis is a better solution than the proposed alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Roksandic
- Department of Anthropology, University of Winnipeg, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.,DFG, Words Bones Genes Tools, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Predrag Radović
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.,National Museum Kraljevo, Kraljevo, Serbia
| | - Xiu-Jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Christopher J Bae
- Department of Anthropology, University of Hawai'i at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
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4
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Roksandic M, Radović P, Wu X, Bae CJ. Resolving the "muddle in the middle": The case for Homo bodoensis sp. nov. Evol Anthropol 2022; 31:20-29. [PMID: 34710249 PMCID: PMC9297855 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Recent developments in the field of palaeoanthropology necessitate the suppression of two hominin taxa and the introduction of a new species of hominins to help resolve the current nebulous state of Middle Pleistocene (Chibanian) hominin taxonomy. In particular, the poorly defined and variably understood hominin taxa Homo heidelbergensis (both sensu stricto and sensu lato) and Homo rhodesiensis need to be abandoned as they fail to reflect the full range of hominin variability in the Middle Pleistocene. Instead, we propose: (1) introduction of a new taxon, Homo bodoensis sp. nov., as an early Middle Pleistocene ancestor of the Homo sapiens lineage, with a pan-African distribution that extends into the eastern Mediterranean (Southeast Europe and the Levant); (2) that many of the fossils from Western Europe (e.g. Sima de los Huesos) currently assigned to H. heidelbergensis s.s. be reassigned to Homo neanderthalensis to reflect the early appearance of Neanderthal derived traits in the Middle Pleistocene in the region; and (3) that the Middle Pleistocene Asian fossils, particularly from China, likely represent a different lineage altogether.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirjana Roksandic
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of WinnipegWinnipegManitobaCanada
- DFG, Words Bones Genes ToolsUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Predrag Radović
- Department of Archaeology, Faculty of PhilosophyUniversity of BelgradeBelgradeSerbia
- National Museum KraljevoKraljevoSerbia
| | - Xiu‐Jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origin of Chinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Christopher J. Bae
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Hawai'i at ManoaHonoluluHawaiiUSA
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5
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Comparative dental study between Homo antecessor and Chinese Homo erectus: Nonmetric features and geometric morphometrics. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103087. [PMID: 34742110 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 09/13/2021] [Accepted: 09/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The Chinese Middle Pleistocene fossils from Hexian, Xichuan, Yiyuan, and Zhoukoudian have been generally classified as Homo erectus s.s. These hominins share some primitive features with other Homo specimens, but they also display unique cranial and dental traits. Thus, the Chinese Middle Pleistocene hominins share with other European and Asian hominin populations the so-called 'Eurasian dental pattern'. The late Early Pleistocene hominins from Gran Dolina-TD6.2 (Spain), representing the species Homo antecessor, also exhibit the Eurasian dental pattern, which may suggest common roots. To assess phylogenetic affinities of these two taxa, we evaluated and compared nonmetric and metric dental features and interpreted morphological differences within a comparative hominin framework. We determined that the robust roots of the molars, the shelf-like protostylid, the dendrite-like pattern of the enamel-dentine junction surface of the upper fourth premolars and molars, the strongly folded dentine of the labial surface of the upper incisors, and the rare occurrence of a mid-trigonid crest in the lower molars, are all characteristic of Chinese H. erectus. With regard to H. antecessor, we observed the consistent expression of a continuous mid-trigonid crest, the absence of a cingulum in the upper canines, a complex root pattern of the lower premolars, and a rhomboidal occlusal contour and occlusal polygon and protrusion in the external outline of a large a bulging hypocone in the first and second upper molars. Using two-dimensional geometric morphometrics, we further demonstrated that H. antecessor falls outside the range of variation of Chinese H. erectus for occlusal crown outline shape, the orientation of occlusal grooves, and relative locations of anterior and posterior foveae in the P4s, P3s, M1s, M2s, and M2s. Given their geographic and temporal separation, the differences between these two species suggest their divergence occurred at some point in the Early Pleistocene, and thereafter they followed different evolutionary paths.
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Hershkovitz I, May H, Sarig R, Pokhojaev A, Grimaud-Hervé D, Bruner E, Fornai C, Quam R, Arsuaga JL, Krenn VA, Martinón-Torres M, de Castro JMB, Martín-Francés L, Slon V, Albessard-Ball L, Vialet A, Schüler T, Manzi G, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Weber GW, Zaidner Y. A Middle Pleistocene
Homo
from Nesher Ramla, Israel. Science 2021. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Israel Hershkovitz
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hila May
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Rachel Sarig
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Oral Biology, the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ariel Pokhojaev
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Oral Biology, the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Dominique Grimaud-Hervé
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
| | - Cinzia Fornai
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rolf Quam
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodináica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Viktoria A. Krenn
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Martinón-Torres
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Viviane Slon
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lou Albessard-Ball
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Amélie Vialet
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology Weimar, Germany
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Gerhard W. Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Core Facility for Micro-Computed Tomography, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yossi Zaidner
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
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7
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Chalala C, Saadeh M, Ayoub F. Facial flatness indices: application in orthodontics. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6889. [PMID: 31143536 PMCID: PMC6526017 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2018] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Facial flatness indices have been used in anthropology to discern differences among populations. They were evaluated on skulls from around the world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chimène Chalala
- Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Lebanese University and American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Maria Saadeh
- Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Lebanese University and American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.,Department of Forensic Odontology, Anthropology and Human Identification, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Fouad Ayoub
- Department of Forensic Odontology, Anthropology and Human Identification, Lebanese University, Beirut, Lebanon
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8
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9
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Kaifu Y. Archaic Hominin Populations in Asia before the Arrival of Modern Humans. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/694318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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10
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Athreya S, Wu X. A multivariate assessment of the Dali hominin cranium from China: Morphological affinities and implications for Pleistocene evolution in East Asia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:679-701. [PMID: 29068047 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 08/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES A nearly complete hominin fossil cranium from Dali in Shaanxi Province, China was excavated in 1978. We update and expand on previous research by providing a multivariate analysis of the specimen relative to a large sample of Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins. MATERIALS AND METHODS We apply principal components analysis, discriminant function analysis, and a method of assessing group membership based on a soft independent model of class analogy (SIMCA) to the study of Dali's cranial morphology. We evaluate Dali's affinities within the context of Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo patterns of craniofacial morphology. RESULTS When just the facial skeleton is considered, Dali aligns with Middle Paleolithic H. sapiens and is clearly more derived than African or Eurasian Middle Pleistocene Homo. When just the neurocranium is considered, Dali is most similar to African and Eastern Eurasian but not Western European Middle Pleistocene Homo. When both sets of variables are considered together, Dali exhibits a unique morphology that is most closely aligned with the earliest H. sapiens from North Africa and the Levant. DISCUSSION These results add perspective to our previous view of as Dali a "transitional" form between Chinese H. erectus and H. sapiens. Athough no taxonomic allocation is appropriate at this time for Dali, it appears to represent a population that played a more central role in the origin of Chinese H. sapiens. Dali's affinities can be understood in the context of Wu's Continuity with Hybridization scenario and a braided-stream network model of gene flow. Specifically, we propose that Pleistocene populations in China were shaped by periods of isolated evolutionary change within local lineages at certain times, and gene flow between local lineages or between Eastern and Western Eurasia, and Africa at other times, resulting in contributions being made in different capacities to different regions at different times.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheela Athreya
- Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, MS 4352 TAMU, College Station, Texas 77843
| | - Xinzhi Wu
- Laboratory for Human Evolution, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
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11
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Wu XJ, Bruner E. The endocranial anatomy of maba 1. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 160:633-43. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Revised: 02/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/18/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; 100044 Beijing China
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- Grupo de Paleobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana; Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3 Burgos 09002 Spain
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12
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Mounier A, Mirazón Lahr M. Virtual ancestor reconstruction: Revealing the ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals. J Hum Evol 2015; 91:57-72. [PMID: 26852813 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2015] [Revised: 10/22/2015] [Accepted: 11/04/2015] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
The timing and geographic origin of the common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals remain controversial. A poor Pleistocene hominin fossil record and the evolutionary complexities introduced by dispersals and regionalisation of lineages have fuelled taxonomic uncertainty, while new ancient genomic data have raised completely new questions. Here, we use maximum likelihood and 3D geometric morphometric methods to predict possible morphologies of the last common ancestor of modern humans and Neandertals from a simplified, fully resolved phylogeny. We describe the fully rendered 3D shapes of the predicted ancestors of humans and Neandertals, and assess their similarity to individual fossils or populations of fossils of Pleistocene age. Our results support models of an Afro-European ancestral population in the Middle Pleistocene (Homo heidelbergensis sensu lato) and further predict an African origin for this ancestral population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurélien Mounier
- The Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, United Kingdom; UMR 7268 ADES, Aix-Marseille Université/EFS/CNRS, Faculté de Médecine - Secteur Nord, CS80011, Bd Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille, France.
| | - Marta Mirazón Lahr
- The Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge CB2 1QH, United Kingdom; Turkana Basin Institute, Kenya
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13
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Mounier A, Caparros M. The phylogenetic status of Homo heidelbergensis – a cladistic study of Middle Pleistocene hominins. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s13219-015-0127-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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14
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Metric and geometric morphometric analysis of new hominin fossils from Maba (Guangdong, China). J Hum Evol 2014; 74:1-20. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2012] [Revised: 02/26/2014] [Accepted: 04/07/2014] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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15
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DE CASTRO JOSÉMARÍABERMÚDEZ, MARTINÓN-TORRES MARÍA. Evolutionary interpretation of the modern human-like facial morphology of the Atapuerca Gran Dolina-TD6 hominins. ANTHROPOL SCI 2014. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.140827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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16
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Freidline SE, Gunz P, Harvati K, Hublin JJ. Evaluating developmental shape changes in Homo antecessor subadult facial morphology. J Hum Evol 2013; 65:404-23. [PMID: 23998458 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.07.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2012] [Revised: 07/25/2013] [Accepted: 07/25/2013] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The fossil ATD6-69 from Atapuerca, Spain, dated to ca. 900 ka (thousands of years ago) has been suggested to mark the earliest appearance of modern human facial features. However, this specimen is a subadult and the interpretation of its morphology remains controversial, because it is unclear how developmental shape changes would affect the features that link ATD6-69 to modern humans. Here we analyze ATD6-69 in an evolutionary and developmental context. Our modern human sample comprises cross-sectional growth series from four populations. The fossil sample covers human specimens from the Pleistocene to the Upper Paleolithic, and includes several subadult Early Pleistocene humans and Neanderthals. We digitized landmarks and semilandmarks on surface and CT scans and analyzed the Procrustes shape coordinates using multivariate statistics. Ontogenetic allometric trajectories and developmental simulations were employed in order to identify growth patterns and to visualize potential adult shapes of ATD6-69. We show that facial differences between modern and archaic humans are not exclusively allometric. We find that while postnatal growth further accentuates the differences in facial features between Neanderthals and modern humans, those features that have been suggested to link ATD6-69's morphology to modern humans would not have been significantly altered in the course of subsequent development. In particular, the infraorbital depression on this specimen would have persisted into adulthood. However, many of the facial features that ATD6-69 shares with modern humans can be considered to be part of a generalized pattern of facial architecture. Our results present a complex picture regarding the polarity of facial features and demonstrate that some modern human-like facial morphology is intermittently present in Middle Pleistocene humans. We suggest that some of the facial features that characterize recent modern humans may have developed multiple times in human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah E Freidline
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany; City University of New York Graduate School, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, USA; Paleoanthropology, Department of Early Prehistory and Quaternary Ecology, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen and Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoecology, Rümelinstrasse 23, 72070 Tübingen, Germany.
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Balzeau A. Thickened cranial vault and parasagittal keeling: Correlated traits and autapomorphies of Homo erectus? J Hum Evol 2013; 64:631-44. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2012] [Revised: 02/12/2013] [Accepted: 02/13/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Wu X, Athreya S. A description of the geological context, discrete traits, and linear morphometrics of the Middle Pleistocene hominin from Dali, Shaanxi Province, China. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 150:141-57. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2012] [Accepted: 10/11/2012] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Antemortem trauma and survival in the late Middle Pleistocene human cranium from Maba, South China. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2011; 108:19558-62. [PMID: 22106311 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1117113108] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Paleopathological assessment of the late Middle Pleistocene archaic human cranium from Maba, South China, has documented a right frontal squamous exocranially concave and ridged lesion with endocranial protrusion. Differential diagnosis indicates that it resulted from localized blunt force trauma, due to an accident or, more probably, interhuman aggression. As such it joins a small sample of pre-last glacial maximum Pleistocene human remains with probable evidence of humanly induced trauma. Its remodeled condition also indicates survival of a serious pathological condition, a circumstance that is increasingly documented for archaic and modern Homo through the Pleistocene.
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Balzeau A, Grimaud-Hervé D, Gilissen E. Where are inion and endinion? Variations of the exo- and endocranial morphology of the occipital bone during hominin evolution. J Hum Evol 2011; 61:488-502. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2010] [Revised: 06/30/2011] [Accepted: 07/03/2011] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Mounier A. Définition du taxon Homo heidelbergensis Schoetensack, 1908 : analyse phénétique du massif facial supérieur des fossiles du genre Homo du Pléistocène moyen. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s13219-011-0038-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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22
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Mounier A. Le massif facial supérieur d’Homo heidelbergensis Schoetensack, 1908 : l’apport de la morphométrie géométrique. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1007/s13219-011-0041-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Reich D, Green RE, Kircher M, Krause J, Patterson N, Durand EY, Viola B, Briggs AW, Stenzel U, Johnson PLF, Maricic T, Good JM, Marques-Bonet T, Alkan C, Fu Q, Mallick S, Li H, Meyer M, Eichler EE, Stoneking M, Richards M, Talamo S, Shunkov MV, Derevianko AP, Hublin JJ, Kelso J, Slatkin M, Pääbo S. Genetic history of an archaic hominin group from Denisova Cave in Siberia. Nature 2011; 468:1053-60. [PMID: 21179161 DOI: 10.1038/nature09710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 918] [Impact Index Per Article: 65.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2010] [Accepted: 11/30/2010] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Using DNA extracted from a finger bone found in Denisova Cave in southern Siberia, we have sequenced the genome of an archaic hominin to about 1.9-fold coverage. This individual is from a group that shares a common origin with Neanderthals. This population was not involved in the putative gene flow from Neanderthals into Eurasians; however, the data suggest that it contributed 4-6% of its genetic material to the genomes of present-day Melanesians. We designate this hominin population 'Denisovans' and suggest that it may have been widespread in Asia during the Late Pleistocene epoch. A tooth found in Denisova Cave carries a mitochondrial genome highly similar to that of the finger bone. This tooth shares no derived morphological features with Neanderthals or modern humans, further indicating that Denisovans have an evolutionary history distinct from Neanderthals and modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Reich
- Department of Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA.
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Bae CJ. The late Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil record of eastern Asia: Synthesis and review. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2010; 143 Suppl 51:75-93. [PMID: 21086528 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.21442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher J Bae
- Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA.
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Wang Q, Wright BW, Smith A, Chalk J, Byron CD. Mechanical Impact of Incisor Loading on the Primate Midfacial Skeleton and its Relevance to Human Evolution. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2010; 293:607-17. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.21123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
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De Bivort BL, Clouse RM, Giribet G. A morphometrics-based phylogeny of the temperate Gondwanan mite harvestmen (Opiliones, Cyphophthalmi, Pettalidae). J ZOOL SYST EVOL RES 2010. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0469.2009.00562.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Pearson OM. Statistical and biological definitions of “anatomically modern” humans: Suggestions for a unified approach to modern morphology. Evol Anthropol 2008. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.20155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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28
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Terhune CE, Kimbel WH, Lockwood CA. Variation and diversity in Homo erectus: a 3D geometric morphometric analysis of the temporal bone. J Hum Evol 2007; 53:41-60. [PMID: 17512034 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2007.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2006] [Revised: 11/30/2006] [Accepted: 01/29/2007] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Although the level of taxonomic diversity within the fossil hominin species Homo erectus (sensu lato) is continually debated, there have been relatively few studies aiming to quantify the morphology of this species. Instead, most researchers have relied on qualitative descriptions or the evaluation of nonmetric characters, which in many cases display continuous variation. Also, only a few studies have used quantitative data to formally test hypotheses regarding the taxonomic composition of the "erectus" hypodigm. Despite these previous analyses, however, and perhaps in part due to these varied approaches for assessing variation within specimens typically referred to H. erectus (sensu lato) and the general lack of rigorous statistical testing of how variation within this taxon is partitioned, there is currently little consensus regarding whether this group is a single species, or whether it should instead be split into separate temporal or geographically delimited taxa. In order to evaluate possible explanations for variation within H. erectus, we tested the general hypothesis that variation within the temporal bone morphology of H. erectus is consistent with that of a single species, using great apes and humans as comparative taxa. Eighteen three-dimensional (3D) landmarks of the temporal bone were digitized on a total of 520 extant and fossil hominid crania. Landmarks were registered by Generalized Procrustes Analysis, and Procrustes distances were calculated for comparisons of individuals within and between the extant taxa. Distances between fossil specimens and between a priori groupings of fossils were then compared to the distances calculated within the extant taxa to assess the variation within the H. erectus sample relative to that of known species, subspecies, and populations. Results of these analyses indicate that shape variation within the entire H. erectus sample is generally higher than extant hominid intraspecific variation, and putative H. ergaster specimens are significantly different from other specimens in H. erectus (sensu lato). However, shape distances within geographical groups of H. erectus are also high, and OH 9 and Dmanisi 2280 are morphologically distinct from the Koobi Fora specimens that are sometimes classified as H. ergaster. These findings suggest that, although H. erectus may be composed of multiple species, the differentiation is complex, and specimens cannot easily be grouped geographically or chronologically. Consequently, more complicated scenarios seeking to explain the observed variation within H. erectus must be considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claire E Terhune
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Box 872402, Tempe, AZ 85287-2402, USA.
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Athreya S, Glantz MM. Impact of character correlation and variable groupings on modern human population tree resolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2003; 122:134-46. [PMID: 12949834 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.10220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Relationships among modern human populations are often explored through the use of linear measurements taken on the cranium and expressed in the form of dendrograms. However, craniometric variables are strongly correlated and thereby violate the assumption of independence that most statistical analyses require. This study explores the relationship between differing methods of variable treatment and the statistical robustness of the outcomes they yield, as depicted in interpopulational trees of relatedness among modern humans. Three methods of grouping variables are examined. The first method leaves them ungrouped, the second groups variables on the basis of the developmental and/or functional complex of the cranium to which they are thought to belong, and the last method reduces variables by using principal components analysis. The strength of each of these methods is tested through the use of the Continuous Character Maximum Likelihood (CONTML) program in the PHYLIP phylogeny inference package. This program produces output in the form of trees, and the resolution of the branching topology is given as a log-likelihood value, with statistical confidence intervals supporting each branch placement on the tree. The results indicate that leaving variables ungrouped provides misleadingly strong results by failing to account for character correlation. Of the alternative two grouping methods, the covarying components method yields the best-resolved tree with stronger statistical support for its topology than the approach of grouping variables on the basis of their location on the cranium. Finally, the implications for interpreting population histories based on such methods are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheela Athreya
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, USA.
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31
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Abstract
Since the discovery of the Homo sapiens crania from the Upper Cave of Zhoukoudian in northern China (UC 101, UC 102, and UC 103), no clear consensus has arisen regarding their affinities with modern populations. We use linear craniofacial measurements to compare UC 101 and UC 103 to a worldwide sample of H. sapiens that includes Paleoamericans and Archaic Indians, and employ Mahalanobis distance analysis and associated unweighted, unrestricted canonical variate analysis for the comparisons. Analyses indicate that UC 101 has consistent affinities with Easter Island and European populations, whereas UC 103 has more tenuous similarities with Australo-Melanesian groups. Both fossils exhibit some similarities to certain Paleoamerican and Archaic Indian individuals, but rarely cluster together. Upper Cave 103 is more of an outlier to modern populations than is UC 101. The fossils are not representative of any group to which they have been compared, but may be part of the generalized population that was ancestral to Paleoamericans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah L Cunningham
- Department of Anthropology, University of Tennessee, 252 South Stadium Hall, Knoxville, TN 37996, USA.
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Hawks J, Wolpoff MH. Sixty Years of Modern Human Origins in the American Anthropological Association. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2003. [DOI: 10.1525/aa.2003.105.1.89] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Abstract
The hominid fossil and Paleolithic archaeology records from the Korean Peninsula are extensive, but relatively little is known about the Korean human evolutionary record outside this region. The Korean paleoanthropological record is reviewed here in light of major research issues, including the hominid fossil record, relative and chronometric dating, lithic analysis, hominid subsistence, and the presence of bone tools, art and symbolism. Some of the major conclusions drawn from this review include: (1) hominid fossils have been found in nine separate sites on the Korean Peninsula; (2) possible Homo erectus fossils are present in North Korea; (3) Ryonggok Cave, in North Korea, has exposed the remains of at least five archaic Homo sapiens individuals; (4) a possible burial of an anatomically modern Homo sapiens child, discovered in Hungsu Cave in South Korea, has been tentatively dated to roughly 40,000 years ago; (5) handaxes and cleavers have been found at a number of sites near Chongokni and they appear to date to at least 100,000 years ago; and (6) taphonomic studies are necessary for addressing issues related to determining the nature of hominid-carnivore interaction over similar resources (e.g. carcasses and shelter); and the presence/absence of Early Paleolithic bone tools, art, and symbolism in Korea.
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Affiliation(s)
- C J Norton
- P.O Box 483, New Brunswick, NJ 08903, USA.
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Abstract
Multiregional evolution is a model to account for the pattern of human evolution in the Pleistocene. The underlying hypothesis is that a worldwide network of genic exchanges, between evolving human populations that continually divide and reticulate, provides a frame of population interconnections that allows both species-wide evolutionary change and local distinctions and differentiation. "Multiregional" does not mean independent multiple origins, ancient divergence of modern populations, simultaneous appearance of adaptive characters in different regions, or parallel evolution. A valid understanding of multiregional evolution would go a long way toward reducing the modern human origins controversy.
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Affiliation(s)
- M H Wolpoff
- Paleoanthropology Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1382, USA.
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Abstract
We review the anatomical and archaeological evidence for an early population bottleneck in humans and bracket the time when it could have occurred. We outline the subsequent demographic changes that the archaeological evidence of range expansions and contractions address, and we examine how inbreeding effective population size provides an alternative view of past population size change. This addresses the question of other, more recent, population size bottlenecks, and we review nonrecombining and recombining genetic systems that may reflect them. We examine how these genetic data constrain the possibility of significant population size bottlenecks (i.e., of sufficiently small size and/or long duration to minimize genetic variation in autosomal and haploid systems) at several different critical times in human history. Different constraints appear in nonrecombining and recombining systems, and among the autosomal loci most are incompatible with any Pleistocene population size expansions. Microsatellite data seem to show Pleistocene population size expansions, but in aggregate they are difficult to interpret because different microsatellite studies do not show the same expansion. The archaeological data are only compatible with a few of these analyses, most prominently with data from Alu elements, and we use these facts to question whether the view of the past from analysis of inbreeding effective population size is valid. Finally, we examine the issue of whether inbreeding effective population size provides any reasonable measure of the actual past size of the human species. We contend that if the evidence of a population size bottleneck early in the evolution of our lineage is accepted, most genetic data either lack the resolution to address subsequent changes in the human population or do not meet the assumptions required to do so validly. It is our conclusion that, at the moment, genetic data cannot disprove a simple model of exponential population growth following a bottleneck 2 MYA at the origin of our lineage and extending through the Pleistocene. Archaeological and paleontological data indicate that this model is too oversimplified to be an accurate reflection of detailed population history, and therefore we find that genetic data lack the resolution to validly reflect many details of Pleistocene human population change. However, there is one detail that these data are sufficient to address. Both genetic and anthropological data are incompatible with the hypothesis of a recent population size bottleneck. Such an event would be expected to leave a significant mark across numerous genetic loci and observable anatomical traits, but while some subsets of data are compatible with a recent population size bottleneck, there is no consistently expressed effect that can be found across the range where it should appear, and this absence disproves the hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Hawks
- Department of Anthropology, University of Utah, USA
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Abstract
In the present study, the frontal and facial features of 112 populations from around the world are compared in terms of frontal and facial flatness measurements. Univariate analyses and canonical correlation analysis were applied to six indices representing flatness of frontal and facial bones. The deep infraglabellar notch, marked prognathism, and flat frontal bone show distinctive Australian/Melanesian characters among recent populations. Very flat faces in the transverse plane are the most common condition in eastern Asians. Some subSaharan Africans share similar characteristics with Australians in terms of marked prognathism and flat frontal bones in the sagittal plane on the one hand, and with eastern Asians on the other hand, for flat nasal and zygomaxillary regions. These results are not necessarily inconsistent with the evidence for regional continuity. The examination of relationships between frontal and facial flatness through canonical correlation analysis reveals a significant association between morphological features such as a deep infraglabellar notch, prognathism, flat frontal bone, and flat faces in the transverse plane. In this context, together with the generalized features of the late Pleistocene fossil record, the features of Australians having transversely projecting faces and of eastern Asians showing weak infraglabellar notches, ortho-/mosognathism, and rounded frontal bones can be interpreted as a differential retention of ancestral traits of anatomically modern humans. This may allow us to suppose that the frontal and facial flatness features treated herein can be explained by the hypothesis of a single origin of anatomically modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Hanihara
- Department of Anatomy, Saga Medical School, Saga 849-8501, Japan.
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Arsuaga JL, Martínez I, Lorenzo C, Gracia A, Muñoz A, Alonso O, Gallego J. The human cranial remains from Gran Dolina Lower Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). J Hum Evol 1999; 37:431-57. [PMID: 10496996 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1999.0309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In this article we study the cranial remains of the late Lower Pleistocene human fossils from Gran Dolina (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain), assigned to the new species Homo antecessor. The cranial remains belong to at least five individuals, both juveniles and adults. The most outstanding feature is the totally modern human morphology of the very complete face ATD6-69, representing the earliest occurrence of the modern face in the fossil record. The Gran Dolina fossils show in the face a suite of modern human apomorphies not found in earlier hominids nor in contemporary or earlier Homo erectus fossils. There are also traits in the Gran Dolina fossils shared with both Neandertals and modern humans, which reinforce the hypothesis that Neandertals and modern humans form a clade, and that the Gran Dolina fossils are a common ancestor to both lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Arsuaga
- Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Madrid, 28040, Spain.
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Martínez I, Arsuaga JL. The temporal bones from Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A phylogenetic approach. J Hum Evol 1997; 33:283-318. [PMID: 9300344 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 84] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Three well-preserved crania and 22 temporal bones were recovered from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site up to and including the 1994 field season. This is the largest sample of hominid temporal bones known from a single Middle Pleistocene site and it offers the chance to characterize the temporal bone morphology of an European Middle Pleistocene population and to study the phylogenetic relationships of the SH sample with other Upper and Middle Pleistocene hominids. We have carried out a cladistic analysis based on nine traits commonly used in phylogenetic analysis of Middle and Late Pleistocene hominids: shape of the temporal squama superior border, articular eminence morphology, contribution of the sphenoid bone to the median glenoid wall, postglenoid process projection, tympanic plate orientation, presence of the styloid process, mastoid process projection, digastric groove morphology and anterior mastoid tubercle. We have found two autapomorphies on the Home erectus temporal bone: strong reduction of the postglenoid process and absence of the styloid process. Modern humans, Neandertals and the Middle Pleistocene fossils from Europe and Africa constitute a clade characterized by a convex superior border of the temporal squama. The European Middle Pleistocene fossils from Sima de los Huesos, Petralona, Steinheim, Bilzingsleben and Castel di Guido share a Neandertal apomorphy: a relatively flat articular eminence. The fossils from Ehringsdorf, La Chaise Suardi and Biache-Saint-Vaast also display another Neandertal derived trait: an anteriorly obliterated digastric groove. Modern humans and the African Middle Pleistocene fossils share a synapomorphy: a sagittally orientated tympanic plate.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Martínez
- Departamento de Paleontología, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Ciudad Universitaria
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Arsuaga JL, Martínez I, Gracia A, Lorenzo C. The Sima de los Huesos crania (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). A comparative study. J Hum Evol 1997; 33:219-81. [PMID: 9300343 DOI: 10.1006/jhev.1997.0133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
The Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca) cranial remains found up to and including the 1995 field season are described and compared with other fossils in order to assess their evolutionary relationships. The phenetic affinities of the Sima de los Huesos crania and a large sample of Homo fossils are investigated through principal component analyses. Metrical comparisons of the Sima de los Huesos and other European and African Middle Pleistocene fossils with Neandertals are performed using Z-scores relative to the Neandertal sample statistics. The most relevant cranial traits are metrically and morphologically analyzed and cladistically evaluated. The Sima de los Huesos crania exhibit a number of primitive traits lost in Upper Pleistocene Neandertals (especially in the braincase, but also in the facial skeleton), as well as other traits that are transitional to the Neandertal morphology (particularly in the occipital bone), and features close to what is found in Neandertals (as the supraorbital morphology and midfacial prognathism). Different combinations of primitive and derived traits (shared with Neandertals) are also displayed by the other European Middle Pleistocene fossils. In conclusion, the Sima de los Huesos sample is evolutionarily related to Neandertals as well as to the other European Middle Pleistocene fossils. In our opinion, all the European Middle Pleistocene fossils belong to the Neandertal lineage, and none can be included in an Afroeuropean common ancestor of Neandertals and modern humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Arsuaga
- Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de madrid, Ciudad Universitaria, Spain
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Abstract
▪ Abstract The past decade has seen a dramatic increase in the number of fossil human specimens discovered in China. A better understanding of the tempo and mode of human evolution in Asia during the Pleistocene can be gained as a result. This new evidence has important implications for understanding the course of human evolution not only in Asia but throughout the world. Major issues in human evolutionary studies such as the timing of the initial hominid dispersal event and the factors behind major transitions in the fossil record are addressed in light of these recent finds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dennis A. Etler
- Laboratory for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720
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Abstract
Distance analysis and factor analysis, based on Q-mode correlation coefficients, were applied to 23 craniofacial measurements in 1,802 recent and prehistoric crania from major geographical areas of the Old World. The major findings are as follows: 1) Australians show closer similarities to African populations than to Melanesians. 2) Recent Europeans align with East Asians, and early West Asians resemble Africans. 3) The Asian population complex with regional difference between northern and southern members is manifest. 4) Clinal variations of craniofacial features can be detected in the Afro-European region on the one hand, and Australasian and East Asian region on the other hand. 5) The craniofacial variations of major geographical groups are not necessarily consistent with their geographical distribution pattern. This may be a sign that the evolutionary divergence in craniofacial shape among recent populations of different geographical areas is of a highly limited degree. Taking all of these into account, a single origin for anatomically modern humans is the most parsimonious interpretation of the craniofacial variations presented in this study.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Hanihara
- Department of Anatomy, Tohoku University School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan
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Multiregional Evolution: A World-Wide Source for Modern Human Populations. ORIGINS OF ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS 1994. [DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4899-1507-8_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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Arsuaga JL, Martínez I, Gracia A, Carretero JM, Carbonell E. Three new human skulls from the Sima de los Huesos Middle Pleistocene site in Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. Nature 1993; 362:534-7. [PMID: 8464493 DOI: 10.1038/362534a0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Three important fossil hominids were found in July 1992 in the Middle Pleistocene cave site called Sima de los Huesos (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Northern Spain). One is a complete calvaria (cranium 4), the second a virtually complete cranium (cranium 5), the third represents a more fragmentary cranium of an immature individual (cranium 6). There is a large difference in size between the two adult specimens (for example endocranial volume 1,125 cm3 versus 1,390 cm3). The Atapuerca human remains are dated to > 300,000 years. The Atapuerca cranial sample fits within the 'archaic Homo sapiens' group, but is well differentiated from the Asian Homo erectus group. The extensive Atapuerca human collection is the most complete sample of Middle Pleistocene humans yet discovered from one site, and appears to document an early stage in Neanderthal evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Arsuaga
- Departamento de Paleontologia, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain
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