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García-González R, Rodríguez L, Salazar-Fernández A, Arsuaga JL, Carretero JM. Updated study of adult and subadult pectoral girdle bones from Sima de los Huesos site (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, Spain). Anatomical and age estimation keys. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 36656646 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2022] [Revised: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
Abstract
Here we present an updated inventory and study of pectoral girdle remains recovered from the Sima de los Huesos (SH) site. Here, we describe the key morphological traits of adults and, for the first time, subadult specimens. Because morphological traits can change with age, we also discuss some shortcomings related to age estimation in postcranial fossil specimens. Adult clavicles from the SH are long with a low robusticity index and marked curvatures in the superior view. Among these traits, only extreme clavicular length seems to characterize subadult individuals. Neandertals share all these traits. In the case of the scapula, the SH specimens share a relatively long and narrow glenoid fossa with Neandertals. This trait is also present in subadult individuals. Additionally, most specimens from SH, adults, and subadults showed a dorsal axillary sulcus on the scapular lateral border, a trait also present in most adult and subadult Neandertals. These traits in adult and subadult specimens supports substantial genetic control for many of them in both human species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebeca García-González
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
| | - Laura Rodríguez
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
- Departamento de Biodiversidad y Gestión Ambiental, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas y Ambientales, Universidad de León, León, Spain
| | | | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José-Miguel Carretero
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Universidad de Burgos, Edificio I+D+i-CIBA, Burgos, Spain
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Investigación sobre Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Unidad Asociada de I+D+i al CSIC Vidrio y Materiales del Patrimonio Cultural (VIMPAC), Burgos, Spain
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Wolfe CA, Herrmann NP. Interpreting error in the estimation of skeletal growth profiles from past populations: An example demonstrating skeletal growth in historic African American communities. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 177:83-99. [PMID: 36787783 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2020] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/13/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The study of growth in the past is a critical component of bioarcheological analyses. However, our understanding of growth in the past is subject to a number of methodological challenges. This study aims to model the skeletal growth of past populations by considering the challenges associated with the data collection process and the challenges associated with the age estimation procedures. MATERIALS AND METHODS We use skeletal remains from two historic African American cemeteries in the American South to model femoral diaphyseal length-for-age. We estimate the age of each individual using dental development techniques and present growth curves as both a product of the maximum likelihood (MLE) age estimate and the estimated posterior age distribution. Growth was compared against a reference sample from the University of Colorado Child Research Council Study. RESULTS The results of our analyses showed that femoral diaphyseal length in two historic African American communities is small-for-estimated age as compared to a modern reference sample. However, the magnitude and characterization of this difference is variable when taking into account the broader posterior age distribution. DISCUSSION Both samples may be small-for-age due to physiological stress associated with racism, inequality, and the compounding effects of early urbanization. However, the interpretation of growth in the past is muddled when considering the relationship between the study sample and the reference sample, when accounting for uncertainty in the age estimation procedure, and the error-inducing steps taken during the data collection process. Future interpretation of skeletal growth in the past must include a full account of the possible sources of error in order to present an accurate representation of growth.
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Sgheiza V. Conditional independence assumption and appropriate number of stages in dental developmental age estimation. Forensic Sci Int 2021; 330:111135. [PMID: 34883298 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2021.111135] [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: 04/29/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
When estimating the age of an individual it is critical that 1) age ranges are as narrow as possible while still capturing the true age of the individual with an acceptable frequency, and 2) this frequency is known. When multiple traits are used to produce a single age estimate, the simplest practice is to assume that the traits are conditionally independent from one another given age. Unfortunately, if the traits are correlated once the effect of age is accounted for, the resulting age intervals will be too narrow. The frequency at which the age interval captures the true age of the individual will be decreased below the expected value to some unknown degree. It is therefore critical that age estimation methods that include multiple traits incorporate the possible correlations between them. Moorrees et al. (1963) [1] scores of the permanent mandibular dentition from 2607 individuals between 2 and 23 years were used to produce and cross-validate a cumulative probit model for age estimation with an optimal number of stages for each tooth. Two correction methods for covariance of development between teeth were tested: the variance-covariance matrix for a multivariate normal, and the Boldsen et al. (2002) [2] ad-hoc method. Both correction methods successfully decreased age interval error rates from 21% to 23% in the uncorrected model to the expected value of 5%. These results demonstrate both the efficacy of these correction methods and the need to move away from assuming conditional independence in multi-trait age estimation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerie Sgheiza
- University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Department of Anthropology, 109 Davenport Hall, 607 S. Matthews Avenue, Urbana, IL 61801, United States.
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Pinares Toledo J, Retamal Yermani R, Ortega Pinto A, Villanueva Conejeros R. Development of the third molar in Chileans: A radiographic study on chronological age. FORENSIC SCIENCE INTERNATIONAL: REPORTS 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.fsir.2021.100177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
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Nelson JS, Harrington L, Holland E, Cardoso HFV. Does age estimated from teeth forming in different early life periods show differential discrepancy with known age? Am J Hum Biol 2021; 33:e23577. [PMID: 33590517 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The aim of this study is to explore growth discrepancies in the dentition of impoverished children and examine how dental development is impacted by environmental influences throughout childhood, thereby identifying which teeth are more sensitive to the effects of biocultural factors and are consequently less useful to predict age. METHODS Length measurements of developing teeth (deciduous and permanent) were taken from individuals of known age and sex (n = 61) from the Certosa collection, a 19th century skeletal assemblage representing Italian children of low socioeconomic status. Discrepancies between age estimates based on tooth length and chronological age were calculated, and the accuracy and precision of age prediction between earlier forming teeth and later forming teeth were compared. RESULTS Deciduous teeth produced more precise dental age estimates (mean age discrepancy -0.092 years), while discrepancies between chronological age and age based on developing permanent dentition were larger (-0.628 years). The difference between these discrepancies in age estimates for deciduous and permanent teeth was significant (p < 0.001), indicating that age prediction from deciduous tooth length is more accurate than age predicted using permanent tooth length. CONCLUSION An increasing variation and delay in tooth length for age reflects increasing susceptibility to biocultural factors, which impacts tooth growth during the course of childhood. Teeth whose development occurs earlier in life are less variable in their growth and provide more accurate estimations of age as a result.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer S Nelson
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Lesley Harrington
- Department of Anthropology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Emily Holland
- Department of Anthropology, Brandon University, Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
| | - Hugo F V Cardoso
- Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
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Stock SR, Stock MK, Almer JD. Combined computed tomography and position-resolved X-ray diffraction of an intact Roman-era Egyptian portrait mummy. J R Soc Interface 2020; 17:20200686. [PMID: 33234061 DOI: 10.1098/rsif.2020.0686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Hawara Portrait Mummy 4, a Roman-era Egyptian portrait mummy, was studied with computed tomography (CT) and with CT-guided synchrotron X-ray diffraction mapping. These are the first X-ray diffraction results obtained non-invasively from objects within a mummy. The CT data showed human remains of a 5-year-old child, consistent with the female (but not the age) depicted on the portrait. Physical trauma was not evident in the skeleton. Diffraction at two different mummy-to-detector separations allowed volumetric mapping of features including wires and inclusions within the wrappings and the skull and femora. The largest uncertainty in origin determination was approximately 1.5 mm along the X-ray beam direction, and diffraction- and CT-determined positions matched. Diffraction showed that the wires were a modern dual-phase steel and showed that the 7 × 5 × 3 mm inclusion ventral of the abdomen was calcite. Tracing the 00.2 and 00.4 carbonated apatite (bone's crystalline phase) reflections back to their origins produced cross-sectional maps of the skull and of femora; these maps agreed with transverse CT slices within approximately 1 mm. Coupling CT and position-resolved X-ray diffraction, therefore, offers considerable promise for non-invasive studies of mummies.
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Affiliation(s)
- S R Stock
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - M K Stock
- Department of Sociology & Anthropology, Metropolitan State Univ. of Denver, Denver, CO, USA.,Department of Exercise Science, High Point University, High Point, NC, USA
| | - J D Almer
- The Advanced Photon Source, Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, IL, USA
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Modesto-Mata M, Dean MC, Lacruz RS, Bromage TG, García-Campos C, Martínez de Pinillos M, Martín-Francés L, Martinón-Torres M, Carbonell E, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Short and long period growth markers of enamel formation distinguish European Pleistocene hominins. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4665. [PMID: 32170098 PMCID: PMC7069994 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-61659-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2019] [Accepted: 01/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Characterizing dental development in fossil hominins is important for distinguishing between them and for establishing where and when the slow overall growth and development of modern humans appeared. Dental development of australopiths and early Homo was faster than modern humans. The Atapuerca fossils (Spain) fill a barely known gap in human evolution, spanning ~1.2 to ~0.4 million years (Ma), during which H. sapiens and Neandertal dental growth characteristics may have developed. We report here perikymata counts, perikymata distributions and periodicities of all teeth belonging to the TE9 level of Sima del Elefante, level TD6.2 of Gran Dolina (H. antecessor) and Sima de los Huesos. We found some components of dental growth in the Atapuerca fossils resembled more recent H. sapiens. Mosaic evolution of perikymata counts and distribution generate three distinct clusters: H. antecessor, Sima de los Huesos and H. sapiens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mario Modesto-Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain. .,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1H 0BW, UK. .,Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura, Casa de Cultura Rodríguez Moñino, Cáceres, Spain.
| | - M Christopher Dean
- Centre for Human Evolution Research (CHER), Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London, SW7 5BD, UK.,Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Rodrigo S Lacruz
- Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA
| | - Timothy G Bromage
- Department of Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, New York University College of Dentistry, New York, USA
| | - Cecilia García-Campos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,University of Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACE, UMR 5199 F_33615, Pessac, Cedex, France
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Eudald Carbonell
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades, Edifici W3, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.,Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento humanos, Madrid, Spain.,Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
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8
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De Tobel J, Fieuws S, Hillewig E, Phlypo I, van Wijk M, de Haas MB, Politis C, Verstraete KL, Thevissen PW. Multi-factorial age estimation: A Bayesian approach combining dental and skeletal magnetic resonance imaging. Forensic Sci Int 2019; 306:110054. [PMID: 31778924 DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.110054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2019] [Revised: 10/19/2019] [Accepted: 11/12/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE To study age estimation performance of combined magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data of all four third molars, the left wrist and both clavicles in a reference population of females and males. To study the value of adding anthropometric and sexual maturation data. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three Tesla MRI of the three anatomical sites was prospectively conducted from March 2012 to May 2017 in 14- to 26-year-old healthy Caucasian volunteers (160 females, 138 males). Development was assessed by allocating stages, anthropometric measurements were taken, and self-reported sexual maturation data were collected. All data was incorporated in a continuation-ratio model to estimate age, applying Bayes' rule to calculate point and interval predictions. Two performance aspects were studied: (1) accuracy and uncertainty of the point prediction, and (2) diagnostic ability to discern minors from adults (≥18 years). RESULTS Combining information from different anatomical sites decreased the mean absolute error (MAE) compared to incorporating only one site (P<0.0001). By contrast, adding anthropometric and sexual maturation data did not further improve MAE (P=0.11). In females, combining all three anatomical sites rendered a MAE equal to 1.41 years, a mean width of the 95% prediction intervals of 5.91 years, 93% correctly classified adults and 91% correctly classified minors. In males, the corresponding results were 1.36 years, 5.49 years, 94%, and 90%, respectively. CONCLUSION All aspects of age estimation improve when multi-factorial MRI data of the three anatomical sites are incorporated. Anthropometric and sexual maturation data do not seem to add relevant information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jannick De Tobel
- Department of Diagnostic Sciences - Radiology, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium; Department of Imaging and Pathology - Forensic Odontology, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7 blok a bus 7001, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Leuven University Hospitals, Kapucijnenvoer 33, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Steffen Fieuws
- KU Leuven - Leuven University & Hasselt University, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, l-BioStat, Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35 blok d bus 7001, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Elke Hillewig
- Department of Diagnostic Sciences - Radiology, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Inès Phlypo
- Department of Oral Health Sciences - Special Needs in Dentistry, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Mayonne van Wijk
- Division of Special Services and Expertise, Section of Forensic Anthropology, Netherlands Forensic Institute, Laan van Ypenburg 6, 2497 GB The Hague, the Netherlands.
| | - Michiel Bart de Haas
- Division of Special Services and Expertise, Section of Forensic Anthropology, Netherlands Forensic Institute, Laan van Ypenburg 6, 2497 GB The Hague, the Netherlands.
| | - Constantinus Politis
- Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Leuven University Hospitals, Kapucijnenvoer 33, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
| | - Koenraad Luc Verstraete
- Department of Diagnostic Sciences - Radiology, Ghent University, Corneel Heymanslaan 10, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
| | - Patrick Werner Thevissen
- Department of Imaging and Pathology - Forensic Odontology, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 7 blok a bus 7001, 3000 Leuven, Belgium.
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Turner TR, Schmitt CA, Cramer JD, Lorenz J, Grobler JP, Jolly CJ, Freimer NB. Morphological variation in the genus Chlorocebus: Ecogeographic and anthropogenically mediated variation in body mass, postcranial morphology, and growth. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:682-707. [PMID: 29577231 PMCID: PMC6039265 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 02/28/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Direct comparative work in morphology and growth on widely dispersed wild primate taxa is rarely accomplished, yet critical to understanding ecogeographic variation, plastic local variation in response to human impacts, and variation in patterns of growth and sexual dimorphism. We investigated population variation in morphology and growth in response to geographic variables (i.e., latitude, altitude), climatic variables (i.e., temperature and rainfall), and human impacts in the vervet monkey (Chlorocebus spp.). METHODS We trapped over 1,600 wild vervets from across Sub-Saharan Africa and the Caribbean, and compared measurements of body mass, body length, and relative thigh, leg, and foot length in four well-represented geographic samples: Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa, and St. Kitts & Nevis. RESULTS We found significant variation in body mass and length consistent with Bergmann's Rule in adult females, and in adult males when excluding the St. Kitts & Nevis population, which was more sexually dimorphic. Contrary to Rensch's Rule, although the South African population had the largest average body size, it was the least dimorphic. There was significant, although very small, variation in all limb segments in support for Allen's Rule. Females in high human impact areas were heavier than those with moderate exposures, while those in low human impact areas were lighter; human impacts had no effect on males. CONCLUSIONS Vervet monkeys appear to have adapted to local climate as predicted by Bergmann's and, less consistently, Allen's Rule, while also responding in predicted ways to human impacts. To better understand deviations from predicted patterns will require further comparative work in vervets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trudy R. Turner
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin –
Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI 53201, USA
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein,
FS, South Africa
| | - Christopher A. Schmitt
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215,
USA
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of California
– Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Jennifer Danzy Cramer
- Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Women's Studies,
American Military University and American Public University, Charles Town, WV 25414,
USA
| | - Joseph Lorenz
- Department of Anthropology and Museum Studies, Central Washington
University, Ellensburg, WA 98926, USA
| | - J. Paul Grobler
- Department of Genetics, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein,
FS, South Africa
| | - Clifford J. Jolly
- CSHO, Department of Anthropology, New York University, and NYCEP,
New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Nelson B. Freimer
- Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics, University of California
– Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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10
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Stock MK. A Preliminary Analysis of the Age of Full Expression of Sexually Dimorphic Cranial Traits. J Forensic Sci 2018; 63:1802-1808. [DOI: 10.1111/1556-4029.13780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Revised: 02/25/2018] [Accepted: 03/05/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michala K. Stock
- C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory; Department of Anthropology; University of Florida; 2033 Mowry Road, Room G-17 Gainesville FL 32610
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11
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Šešelj M. An analysis of dental development in Pleistocene Homo using skeletal growth and chronological age. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:531-541. [PMID: 28432824 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2016] [Revised: 02/28/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study takes a new approach to interpreting dental development in Pleistocene Homo in comparison with recent modern humans. As rates of dental development and skeletal growth are correlated given age in modern humans, using age and skeletal growth in tandem yields more accurate dental development estimates. Here, I apply these models to fossil Homo to obtain more individualized predictions and interpretations of their dental development relative to recent modern humans. MATERIALS AND METHODS Proportional odds logistic regression models based on three recent modern human samples (N = 181) were used to predict permanent mandibular tooth development scores in five Pleistocene subadults: Homo erectus/ergaster, Neanderthals, and anatomically modern humans (AMHs). Explanatory variables include a skeletal growth indicator (i.e., diaphyseal femoral length), and chronological age. RESULTS AMHs Lagar Velho 1 and Qafzeh 10 share delayed incisor development, but exhibit considerable idiosyncratic variation within and across tooth types, relative to each other and to the reference samples. Neanderthals Dederiyeh 1 and Le Moustier 1 exhibit delayed incisor coupled with advanced molar development, but differences are reduced when femoral diaphysis length is considered. Dental development in KNM-WT 15,000 Homo erectus/ergaster, while advanced for his age, almost exactly matches the predictions once femoral length is included in the models. DISCUSSION This study provides a new interpretation of dental development in KNM-WT 15000 as primarily reflecting his faster rates of skeletal growth. While the two AMH specimens exhibit considerable individual variation, the Neanderthals exhibit delayed incisor development early and advanced molar development later in ontogeny.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maja Šešelj
- Department of Anthropology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania
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Brimacombe C, Kuykendall K, Nystrom P. Analysis of correlations between measures of skeletal development and dental mineralization inPan troglodytes. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 158:279-287. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22790] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Revised: 04/28/2015] [Accepted: 05/26/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C.S. Brimacombe
- Department of Archaeology; University of Sheffield; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
- Human Evolutionary Studies Program and Department of Archaeology; Simon Fraser University; Education Building 9635, 8888 University Drive Burnaby BC V5A 1S6 Canada
| | - K.L. Kuykendall
- Department of Archaeology; University of Sheffield; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
| | - P. Nystrom
- Department of Archaeology; University of Sheffield; Sheffield South Yorkshire S10 2TN UK
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13
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M. Smith
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138;
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14
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Ruff CB, Garofalo E, Holmes MA. Interpreting skeletal growth in the past from a functional and physiological perspective. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2013; 150:29-37. [PMID: 23283662 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2012] [Accepted: 06/21/2012] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
The study of juvenile skeletal remains can yield important insights into the health, behavior, and biological relationships of past populations. However, most studies of past skeletal growth have been limited to relatively simple metrics. Considering additional skeletal parameters and taking a broader physiological perspective can provide a more complete assessment of growth patterns and environmental and genetic effects on those patterns. We review here some alternative approaches to ontogenetic studies of archaeological and paleontological skeletal material, including analyses of body size (stature and body mass) and cortical bone structure of long bone diaphyses and the mandibular corpus. Together such analyses can shed new light on both systemic and localized influences on bone growth, and the metabolic and mechanical factors underlying variation in growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher B Ruff
- Center for Functional Anatomy and Evolution, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
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