1
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Šimková PG, Wurm L, Fornai C, Krenn VA, Weber GW. Shape variation in modern human upper premolars. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301482. [PMID: 38593117 PMCID: PMC11003632 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2022] [Accepted: 03/16/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024] Open
Abstract
Morphological variation in modern human dentition is still an open field of study. The understanding of dental shape and metrics is relevant for the advancement of human biology and evolution and is thus of interest in the fields of dental anthropology, as well as human anatomy and medicine. Of concern is also the variation of the inner aspects of the crown which can be investigated using the tools and methods of virtual anthropology. In this study, we explored inter- and intra-population morphometric variation of modern humans' upper third and fourth premolars (P3s and P4s, respectively) considering both the inner and outer aspects of the crown, and discrete traits. We worked by means of geometric morphometrics on 3D image data from a geographically balanced sample of human populations from five continents, to analyse the shape of the dentinal crown, and the crown outline in 78 P3s and 76 P4s from 85 individuals. For the study of dental traits, we referred to the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System integrated with more recent classification systems. The 3D shape variation of upper premolar crowns varied between short and mesio-distally broad, and tall and mesio-distally narrow. The observed shape variation was independent from the geographical origin of the populations, and resulted in extensive overlap. We noted a high pairwise correlation (r1 = 0.83) between upper P3s and P4s. We did not find any significant geographic differences in the analysed non-metric traits. Our outcomes thus suggest that geographical provenance does not play a determinant role in the shaping of the dental crown, whose genesis is under strict genetic control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra G. Šimková
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences HEAS, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Lisa Wurm
- Medical Technology Cluster, Business Upper Austria–OÖ Wirtschaftsagentur GmbH, Linz, Austria
| | - Cinzia Fornai
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences HEAS, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Department of Research in Occlusion Medicine, Vienna School of Interdisciplinary Dentistry–VieSID, Klosterneuburg, Austria
- Center for Clinical Research, University Clinic of Dentistry Vienna, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Viktoria A. Krenn
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Fraunhofer Austria Research GmbH, Graz, Austria
| | - Gerhard W. Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Human Evolution and Archaeological Sciences HEAS, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Core Facility for Micro-Computed Tomography, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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2
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Zhang Y, Urciuoli A, Zanolli C, Kullmer O, Wu X. Three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis of the bony labyrinth of Xujiayao 6. J Hum Evol 2024; 189:103514. [PMID: 38547737 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103514] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2023] [Revised: 02/17/2024] [Accepted: 02/17/2024] [Indexed: 04/08/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Yameng Zhang
- Joint International Research Laboratory of Environmental and Social Archaeology, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China; Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, 266237, China
| | - Alessandro Urciuoli
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP-CERCA), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Universidad de Alcalá, Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-UAH), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, 28871, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt, Germany
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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3
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Bacon AM, Bourgon N, Dufour E, Demeter F, Zanolli C, Westaway KE, Joannes-Boyau R, Duringer P, Ponche JL, Morley MW, Suzzoni E, Frangeul S, Boesch Q, Antoine PO, Boualaphane S, Sichanthongtip P, Sihanam D, Huong NTM, Tuan NA, Fiorillo D, Tombret O, Patole-Edoumba E, Zachwieja A, Luangkhoth T, Souksavatdy V, Dunn TE, Shackelford L, Hublin JJ. Palaeoenvironments and hominin evolutionary dynamics in southeast Asia. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16165. [PMID: 37758744 PMCID: PMC10533506 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43011-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Secure environmental contexts are crucial for hominin interpretation and comparison. The discovery of a Denisovan individual and associated fauna at Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra) Cave, Laos, dating back to 164-131 ka, allows for environmental comparisons between this (sub)tropical site and the Palearctic Denisovan sites of Denisova Cave (Russia) and Baishiya Karst Cave (China). Denisovans from northern latitudes foraged in a mix of forested and open landscapes, including tundra and steppe. Using stable isotope values from the Cobra Cave assemblage, we demonstrate that, despite the presence of nearby canopy forests, the Denisovan individual from Cobra Cave primarily consumed plants and/or animals from open forests and savannah. Using faunal evidence and proxy indicators of climates, results herein highlight a local expansion of rainforest at ~ 130 ka, raising questions about how Denisovans responded to this local climate change. Comparing the diet and habitat of the archaic hominin from Cobra Cave with those of early Homo sapiens from Tam Pà Ling Cave (46-43 ka), Laos, it appears that only our species was able to exploit rainforest resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne-Marie Bacon
- Université Paris Cité, CNRS, BABEL UMR 8045, 75012, Paris, France.
| | - Nicolas Bourgon
- IsoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, 07745, Jena, Germany
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Elise Dufour
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Fabrice Demeter
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Eco-anthropologie (EA), MNHN, CNRS, Université Paris Cité, Musée de l'Homme, 75016, Paris, France
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France
| | - Kira E Westaway
- 'Traps' Luminescence Dating Facility, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group (GARG), Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW, Australia
| | - Philippe Duringer
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Jean-Luc Ponche
- Laboratoire Image, Ville Environnement, UMR 7362 UdS CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Mike W Morley
- Flinders Microarchaeology Laboratory, Archaeology, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Sturt Road, Bedford Park, Adelaide, SA, 5042, Australia
| | - Eric Suzzoni
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Sébastien Frangeul
- Spitteurs Pan, Technical Cave Supervision and Exploration, La Chapelle en Vercors, France
| | - Quentin Boesch
- Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Institut de Physique du Globe de Strasbourg, UMR 7516 CNRS, Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France
| | - Pierre-Olivier Antoine
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | | | | | - Daovee Sihanam
- Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism, Vientiane, Lao PDR
| | | | | | - Denis Fiorillo
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Olivier Tombret
- UMR 7209 Archéozoologie, Archéobotanique, Sociétés, Pratiques, Environnements, MNHN, CNRS, Paris, France
| | - Elise Patole-Edoumba
- Muséum d'histoire naturelle de La Rochelle, UMRU 24140 Dynamiques, interactions, interculturalité asiatiques (UBM, LRUniv), La Rochelle, France
| | - Alexandra Zachwieja
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Minnesota Medical School Duluth, Duluth, USA
| | | | | | - Tyler E Dunn
- Anatomical Sciences Education Center, Oregon Health & Sciences University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Laura Shackelford
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
- Carle Illinois College of Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Department of Human Evolution, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
- Chaire de Paléoanthropologie, CIRB (UMR 7241-U1050), Collège de France, Paris, France
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Wu X, Pei S, Cai Y, Tong H, Zhang Z, Yan Y, Xing S, Martinón-Torres M, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Liu W. Morphological and morphometric analyses of a late Middle Pleistocene hominin mandible from Hualongdong, China. J Hum Evol 2023; 182:103411. [PMID: 37531709 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 06/25/2023] [Indexed: 08/04/2023]
Abstract
Excavations in Hualongdong (HLD), East China, have yielded abundant hominin fossils dated to 300 ka. There is a nearly complete mandible that fits well with a partial cranium, and together they compose the skull labeled as HLD 6. Thus far, detailed morphological description and comparisons of the mandible have not been conducted. Here we present a comprehensive morphological, metric, and geometric morphometric assessment of this mandible and compare it with both adult and immature specimens of Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. Results indicate that the HLD 6 mandible exhibits a mosaic morphological pattern characterized by a robust corpus and relatively gracile symphysis and ramus. The moderately developed mental trigone and a clear anterior mandibular incurvation of the HLD 6 mandible are reminiscent of Late Pleistocene hominin and recent modern human morphology. However, the weak expression of all these features indicates that this mandible does not possess a true chin. Moreover, a suite of archaic features that resemble those of Middle Pleistocene hominins includes pronounced alveolar planum, superior transverse torus, thick corpus, a pronounced endocondyloid crest, and a well-developed medial pterygoid tubercle. The geometric morphometric analysis further confirms the mosaic pattern of the HLD 6 mandible. The combination of both archaic and modern human features identified in the HLD 6 mandible is unexpected, given its late Middle Pleistocene age and differs from approximately contemporaneous Homo members such as Xujiayao, Penghu, and Xiahe. This mosaic pattern has never been recorded in late Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil assemblages in East Asia. The HLD 6 mandible provides further support for the high morphological diversity during late Middle Pleistocene hominin evolution. With these findings, it is possible that modern human morphologies are present as early as 300 ka and earlier than the emergence of modern humans in East Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Shuwen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049, Xi'an, China
| | - Haowen Tong
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Ziliang Zhang
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Yi Yan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, 09002, Spain.
| | | | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.
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5
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A Late Middle Pleistocene human tooth from the Luonan Basin (Shaanxi, China). J Hum Evol 2023; 178:103343. [PMID: 36917893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2023]
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6
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Early Pleistocene hominin teeth from Gongwangling of Lantian, Central China. J Hum Evol 2022; 168:103212. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 04/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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7
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A Middle Pleistocene Denisovan molar from the Annamite Chain of northern Laos. Nat Commun 2022; 13:2557. [PMID: 35581187 PMCID: PMC9114389 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29923-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The Pleistocene presence of the genus Homo in continental Southeast Asia is primarily evidenced by a sparse stone tool record and rare human remains. Here we report a Middle Pleistocene hominin specimen from Laos, with the discovery of a molar from the Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave) limestone cave in the Annamite Mountains. The age of the fossil-bearing breccia ranges between 164–131 kyr, based on the Bayesian modelling of luminescence dating of the sedimentary matrix from which it was recovered, U-series dating of an overlying flowstone, and U-series–ESR dating of associated faunal teeth. Analyses of the internal structure of the molar in tandem with palaeoproteomic analyses of the enamel indicate that the tooth derives from a young, likely female, Homo individual. The close morphological affinities with the Xiahe specimen from China indicate that they belong to the same taxon and that Tam Ngu Hao 2 most likely represents a Denisovan. Evidence for the presence of Homo during the Middle Pleistocene is limited in continental Southeast Asia. Here, the authors report a hominin molar from Tam Ngu Hao 2 (Cobra Cave), dated to 164–131 kyr. They use morphological and paleoproteomic analysis to show that it likely belonged to a female Denisovan.
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Liu W, Athreya S, Xing S, Wu X. Hominin evolution and diversity: a comparison of earlier-Middle and later-Middle Pleistocene hominin fossil variation in China. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210040. [PMID: 35125004 PMCID: PMC8819364 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Historical views of Asia as an evolutionary 'backwater' are associated with the idea that Homo erectus experienced long periods of stasis and ultimately went extinct. However, recent discoveries of well-dated Middle Pleistocene hominin fossils in China have considerably challenged these ideas and provide sufficient data to propose a testable model that explains the patterning of variation in Middle Pleistocene China, and why it changed over time. A series of hominin fossil studies comparing earlier-Middle and later-Middle Pleistocene groups confirm that the expressions of certain traits shift around 300 ka. Fossils from the later Middle Pleistocene are more variable with a mix of archaic traits as well as ones that are common in Western Eurasian early Homo sapiens and Neanderthals. The period around 300 ka appears to have been a critical turning point for later-Middle Pleistocene morphological changes in China. It coincides with a phase of climatic instability in the Northern Hemisphere between Marine Isotope Stages 12 and 10 that would have led to changes in gene flow patterning, and regional population survival/extinction. This localized and testable model can be used for future explorations of hominin evolution in later Pleistocene eastern Eurasia. This article is part of the theme issue 'The impact of Chinese palaeontology on evolutionary research'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wu Liu
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Sheela Athreya
- Liberal Arts Program, Texas A&M University-Qatar, Doha, Qatar
| | - Song Xing
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
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García‐Campos C, Modesto‐Mata M, Martinón‐Torres M, Martín‐Francés L, Martínez de Pinillos M, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Similarities and differences in the dental tissue proportions of the deciduous and permanent canines of Early and Middle Pleistocene human populations. J Anat 2022; 240:339-356. [PMID: 34611899 PMCID: PMC8742968 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 09/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
The two- and three-dimensional assessment of dental tissues has become routine in human taxonomic studies throughout the years. Nonetheless, most of our knowledge of the variability of the enamel and dentine dimensions of the human evolutionary lineage comes from the study of permanent dentition, and particularly from molars. This leads to a biased view of the variability of these features. Due to their early formation and rapid development, the deciduous teeth allow more simplified inferences regarding the processes involved in the dental tissue development of each group. Therefore, their study could be very valuable in dental palaeohistology. In this research, we have explored the dental tissue proportions of the deciduous canines belonging to some human samples of the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The purpose of this was to discuss the meaning of the similarities and differences observed in their histological pattern, as well as to evaluate the degree of covariance with that observed in the permanent dentition of these populations. Our results show that, although there are some similarities in the dental tissue proportions between the deciduous and permanent canines of the study samples, the two dental classes do not provide a similar or comparable pictures of the dental tissue pattern present in the dentition of fossil hominins. Future works on the dental tissue patterns of the anterior and posterior dentition, including deciduous teeth, of fossil samples, may help to shed light on this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - María Martinón‐Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución HumanaBurgosSpain
- Anthropology DepartmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
| | - Laura Martín‐Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución HumanaBurgosSpain
- Anthropology DepartmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES)TarragonaSpain
| | | | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro MixtoUCM‐ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento HumanosMadridSpain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución HumanaBurgosSpain
- Anthropology DepartmentUniversity College LondonLondonUK
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Evolution of cranial capacity revisited: A view from the late Middle Pleistocene cranium from Xujiayao, China. J Hum Evol 2022; 163:103119. [PMID: 35026677 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2021] [Revised: 11/12/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
The Late Middle Pleistocene hominin fossils from the Xujiayao site in northern China have been closely studied in light of their morphological variability. However, all previous studies have focused on separated cranial fragments. Here, we report the first reconstruction of a fairly complete posterior cranium, Xujiayao 6 (XJY 6), confidently dated to ∼200-160 ka, which facilitated an assessment of its overall cranial size. XJY 6 was reconstructed from three of the original fragments-the PA1486 (No.7/XJY 6a) occipital bone, PA1490 (No.10/XJY 6b) right parietal bone, and PA1498 (No.17/XJY 15) left temporal bone-which originated from the same young adult individual. The XJY 6 endocranial capacity, estimated by measuring endocranial volume, was estimated using multiple regression formulae derived from ectocranial and endocranial measurements on select samples of Pleistocene hominins and recent modern humans. The results indicate that the larger pooled sample of both Pleistocene and recent modern humans was more robust for the endocranial capacity estimate. Based on the pooled sample using the ectocranial and endocranial measurements, we conservatively estimate the XJY 6 endocranial volume to be ∼1700 cm3 with a 95% confidence interval of 1555-1781 cm3. This is close to Xuchang 1, which dates to 125-105 ka and whose endocranial volume is ∼1800 cm3. Thus, XJY 6 provides the earliest evidence of a brain size that falls in the upper range of Neanderthals and modern Homo sapiens. XJY 6, together with Xuchang 1, Homo floresiensis, Homo luzonensis, and Homo naledi, challenge the general pattern that brain size gradually increases over geological time. This study also finds that hominin brain size expansion occurred at different rates across time and space.
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11
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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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12
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Wu X, Pei S, Cai Y, Tong H, Xing S, Jashashvili T, Carlson KJ, Liu W. Morphological description and evolutionary significance of 300 ka hominin facial bones from Hualongdong, China. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103052. [PMID: 34601289 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Revised: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Late Middle Pleistocene hominins in Africa displaying key modern morphologies by 315 ka are claimed as the earliest Homo sapiens. Evolutionary relationships among East Asian hominins appear complex due to a growing fossil record of late Middle Pleistocene hominins from the region, reflecting mosaic morphologies that contribute to a lack of consensus on when and how the transition to modern humans transpired. Newly discovered 300 ka hominin fossils from Hualongdong, China, provide further evidence to clarify these relationships in the region. In this study, facial morphology of the juvenile partial cranium (HLD 6) is described and qualitatively and quantitatively compared with that of other key Early, Middle, and Late Pleistocene hominins from East Asia, Africa, West Asia, and Europe and with a sample of modern humans. Qualitatively, facial morphology of HLD 6 resembles that of Early and Middle Pleistocene hominins from Zhoukoudian, Nanjing, Dali, and Jinniushan in China, as well as others from Java, Africa, and Europe in some of these features (e.g., supraorbital and malar regions), and Late Pleistocene hominins and modern humans from East Asia, Africa, and Europe in other features (e.g., weak prognathism, flat face and features in nasal and hard plate regions). Comparisons of HLD 6 measurements to group means and multivariate analyses support close affinities of HLD 6 to Late Pleistocene hominins and modern humans. Expression of a mosaic morphological pattern in the HLD 6 facial skeleton further complicates evolutionary interpretations of regional morphological diversity in East Asia. The prevalence of modern features in HLD 6 suggests that the hominin population to which HLD 6 belonged may represent the earliest pre-modern humans in East Asia. Thus, the transition from archaic to modern morphology in East Asian hominins may have occurred at least by 300 ka, which is 80,000 to 100,000 years earlier than previously recognized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Shuwen Pei
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, 710049 Xi'an, China
| | - Haowen Tong
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA; Department of Geology and Paleontology, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | - Kristian J Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2000 South Africa.
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China; Chinese Academy of Sciences Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China.
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13
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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: 8.3] [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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14
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Xing S, Martinón-Torres M, Deng C, Shao Q, Wang Y, Luo Y, Zhou X, Pan L, Ge J, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Liu W. Early Pleistocene hominin teeth from Meipu, southern China. J Hum Evol 2021; 151:102924. [PMID: 33418452 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102924] [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: 04/13/2020] [Revised: 11/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
The rarity and poor preservation of hominin fossils from the East Asian Early Pleistocene hamper our understanding of their taxonomy and possible phylogenetic relationship with other members of the genus Homo. In the 1970s, four isolated hominin teeth were recovered from the Meipu site, southern China, which biostratigraphic analysis placed in the late Early Pleistocene. Early reports assigned the teeth to late Homo erectus. Since then, the teeth have not been re-evaluated, nor has reliable dating been performed at the Meipu site. Here, biostratigraphic and paleomagnetic dating allow for a more precise chronological constraint of the Meipu hominins in the late Early Pleistocene, between 780 ka and 990 ka, making them one of the few known hominins for this time in mainland Asia. The comparison of the morphology of the Meipu teeth with other members of the genus Homo reveals that the Meipu teeth preserve traits such as moderate shoveling of the I1, the square crown contour of M1, and a buccolingually wider lingual cusp in P4 that make them closer to early Homo specimens from Africa and Homo ergaster from Dmanisi (Georgia). In addition, the Meipu teeth exhibit features that are more typical for late mainland East Asian H. erectus, such as the moderately convex I1 labial surface and a pronouncedly convex I2 labial surface. In these features, the Meipu hominins are morphologically intermediate between African/Dmanisi early Homo and East Asian Middle Pleistocene hominins. This study contributes to a better understanding of the morphologies and the taxonomic status of East Asian Early Pleistocene hominins, a time period for which the hominin evidence with secure stratigraphic context is scarce.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China; Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain; University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Chenglong Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Qingfeng Shao
- College of Geographical Science, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing, China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Yunbing Luo
- Institute of Archeology and Cultural Relics of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
| | | | - Lei Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Junyi Ge
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China.
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca S/n, Burgos, Spain; University College London Anthropology, London, UK
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
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15
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Pan L, Dumoncel J, Mazurier A, Zanolli C. Hominin diversity in East Asia during the Middle Pleistocene: A premolar endostructural perspective. J Hum Evol 2020; 148:102888. [PMID: 33039881 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102888] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2019] [Revised: 09/10/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Following the recent studies of East Asian mid-Middle to early Late Pleistocene hominin material, a large spectrum of morphological diversity has been recognized and the coexistence of archaic ('Homo erectus-like') and derived ('modern-like') dental morphological patterns has been highlighted. In fact, for most of these Chinese fossils, generally categorized as 'archaic Homo sapiens' or 'post-H. erectus Homo', the taxonomic attribution is a matter of contention. With the help of μCT techniques and a deformation-based 3D geometric morphometric approach, we focused on the morphological variation in the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) of 18 upper and lower premolars from Chinese Middle Pleistocene hominins. We then compared our results with a number of fossil and modern human groups, including Early Pleistocene H. erectus from Sangiran; late Early Pleistocene hominins from Tighenif, Algeria; classic Neanderthals; and modern humans. Our results highlight an evolutionary/chronological trend of crown base reduction, elevation of EDJ topography, and EDJ surface simplification in the hominin groups studied here. Moreover, this study brings insights to the taxonomy/phylogeny of 6 late Middle Pleistocene specimens whose evolutionary placement has been debated for decades. Among these specimens, Changyang premolars show features that can be aligned with the Asian H. erectus hypodigm, whereas Panxian Dadong and Tongzi premolars are more similar to Late Pleistocene Homo. Compared with early to mid-Middle Pleistocene hominins in East Asia, late Middle Pleistocene hominins evince an enlarged morphological variation. A persistence of archaic morphotypes and possible admixture among populations during the late Middle Pleistocene are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS, Beijing, China; State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing, China
| | - Jean Dumoncel
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III, Paul Sabatier, France
| | - Arnaud Mazurier
- Institut de Chimie des Milieux et Matériaux, UMR 7285 CNRS, Université de Poitiers, 86073, Poitiers, France
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France.
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16
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Martínez de Pinillos M, Martín-Francés L, de Castro JMB, García-Campos C, Modesto-Mata M, Martinón-Torres M, Vialet A. Inner morphological and metric characterization of the molar remains from the Montmaurin-La Niche mandible: The Neanderthal signal. J Hum Evol 2020; 145:102739. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102739] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2019] [Revised: 11/06/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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17
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Šešelj M, Konigsberg LW. A different interpretation of dental development stages in Xujiayao 1 Middle to Late Pleistocene Homo. J Hum Evol 2020; 148:102745. [PMID: 32216959 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Revised: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/10/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Maja Šešelj
- Department of Anthropology, Bryn Mawr College, 101 N Merion Ave, Bryn Mawr, PA, 19010, USA.
| | - Lyle W Konigsberg
- Department of Anthropology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, 607 S Mathews Ave, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA
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18
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Yang S, Deng C, Zhu R, Petraglia MD. The Paleolithic in the Nihewan Basin, China: Evolutionary history of an Early to Late Pleistocene record in Eastern Asia. Evol Anthropol 2019; 29:125-142. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 06/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Shi‐Xia Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Department of ArchaeologyMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
- Chinese Academy of SciencesCenter for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment Beijing China
| | - Cheng‐Long Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and GeophysicsChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Innovation Academy for Earth ScienceChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Ri‐Xiang Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Lithospheric Evolution, Institute of Geology and GeophysicsChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- Innovation Academy for Earth ScienceChinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
- College of Earth and Planetary SciencesUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China
| | - Michael D. Petraglia
- Department of ArchaeologyMax Planck Institute for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
- Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural HistorySmithsonian Institution Washington District of Columbia
- School of Social ScienceUniversity of Queensland St Lucia Queensland Australia
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19
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Pan L, Dumoncel J, Mazurier A, Zanolli C. Structural analysis of premolar roots in Middle Pleistocene hominins from China. J Hum Evol 2019; 136:102669. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.102669] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2019] [Revised: 08/24/2019] [Accepted: 08/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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20
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Late Middle Pleistocene hominin teeth from Tongzi, southern China. J Hum Evol 2019; 130:96-108. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 02/28/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
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21
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A late Middle Pleistocene Denisovan mandible from the Tibetan Plateau. Nature 2019; 569:409-412. [DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1139-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 203] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2018] [Accepted: 03/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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22
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Archaic human remains from Hualongdong, China, and Middle Pleistocene human continuity and variation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2019; 116:9820-9824. [PMID: 31036653 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1902396116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Middle to Late Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia has remained controversial regarding the extent of morphological continuity through archaic humans and to modern humans. Newly found ∼300,000-y-old human remains from Hualongdong (HLD), China, including a largely complete skull (HLD 6), share East Asian Middle Pleistocene (MPl) human traits of a low vault with a frontal keel (but no parietal sagittal keel or angular torus), a low and wide nasal aperture, a pronounced supraorbital torus (especially medially), a nonlevel nasal floor, and small or absent third molars. It lacks a malar incisure but has a large superior medial pterygoid tubercle. HLD 6 also exhibits a relatively flat superior face, a more vertical mandibular symphysis, a pronounced mental trigone, and simple occlusal morphology, foreshadowing modern human morphology. The HLD human fossils thus variably resemble other later MPl East Asian remains, but add to the overall variation in the sample. Their configurations, with those of other Middle and early Late Pleistocene East Asian remains, support archaic human regional continuity and provide a background to the subsequent archaic-to-modern human transition in the region.
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23
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Liao W, Xing S, Li D, Martinón-Torres M, Wu X, Soligo C, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Wang W, Liu W. Mosaic dental morphology in a terminal Pleistocene hominin from Dushan Cave in southern China. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2347. [PMID: 30787352 PMCID: PMC6382942 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38818-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent studies reveal high degrees of morphological diversity in Late Pleistocene humans from East Asia. This variability was interpreted as complex demographic patterns with several migrations and possible survival of archaic groups. However, lack of well-described, reliably classified and accurately dated sites has seriously limited understanding of human evolution in terminal Pleistocene. Here we report a 15,000 years-old H. sapiens (Dushan 1) in South China with unusual mosaic features, such as large dental dimensions, cingulum-like structures at the dentine level in the posterior dentition and expression of a “crown buccal vertical groove complex”, all of which are uncommon in modern humans and more typically found in Middle Pleistocene archaic humans. They could represent the late survival of one of the earliest modern humans to settle in an isolated region of southern China and, hence, the retention of primitive-like traits. They could also represent a particularity of this group and, hence, reflect a high degree of regional variation. Alternatively, these features may be the result of introgression from some late-surviving archaic population in the region. Our study demonstrates the extreme variability of terminal Pleistocene populations in China and the possibility of a complex demographic story in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Liao
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.,Anthropology Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, 530028, Guangxi, China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Dawei Li
- State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China.,Anthropology Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, 530028, Guangxi, China
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK.,National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca s/n, Burgos, 09002, Spain
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Christophe Soligo
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK.,National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca s/n, Burgos, 09002, Spain
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, 72 Jimo-Binhai Road, Qingdao, 266237, China.
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China. .,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China.
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24
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Pan L, Zanolli C. Comparative observations on the premolar root and pulp canal configurations of Middle Pleistocene Homo
in China. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168:637-646. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23777] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2018] [Revised: 12/13/2018] [Accepted: 12/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Lei Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins; Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, CAS; Beijing China
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy; Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS; Nanjing China
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratory AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III - Paul Sabatier; France
- Laboratory PACEA; UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux France
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25
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Xing S, Tafforeau P, O’Hara M, Modesto-Mata M, Martín-Francés L, Martinón-Torres M, Zhang L, Schepartz LA, de Castro JMB, Guatelli-Steinberg D. First systematic assessment of dental growth and development in an archaic hominin (genus, Homo) from East Asia. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2019; 5:eaau0930. [PMID: 30746445 PMCID: PMC6357757 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aau0930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Several human dental traits typical of modern humans appear to be associated with the prolonged period of development that is a key human attribute. Understanding when, and in which early hominins, these dental traits first appeared is thus of strong interest. Using x-ray multiresolution synchrotron phase-contrast microtomography, we quantify dental growth and development in an archaic Homo juvenile from the Xujiayao site in northern China dating to 161,000-224,000 years or 104,000-125,000 years before present. Despite the archaic morphology of Xujiayao hominins, most aspects of dental development of this juvenile fall within modern human ranges (e.g., prolonged crown formation time and delayed first molar eruption). For its estimated age-at-death (6.5 years), its state of dental development is comparable to that of equivalently aged modern children. These findings suggest that several facets of modern human dental growth and development evolved in East Asia before the appearance of fully modern human morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Paul Tafforeau
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, CS-40220, 38043 Grenoble Cedex 09, France
| | - Mackie O’Hara
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
| | - Mario Modesto-Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura, Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino, Av. Cervantes s/n, 10003 Cáceres, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- UMR 5189 PACEA Université de Bordeaux, CNRS MCC, Bordeaux, France
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Limin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Lynne A. Schepartz
- HVIRU, School of Anatomical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002 Burgos, Spain
- Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- Department of Anthropology/Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NR, UK
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Smith TM, Houssaye A, Kullmer O, Le Cabec A, Olejniczak AJ, Schrenk F, de Vos J, Tafforeau P. Disentangling isolated dental remains of Asian Pleistocene hominins and pongines. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0204737. [PMID: 30383758 PMCID: PMC6211657 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0204737] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Accepted: 09/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Scholars have debated the taxonomic identity of isolated primate teeth from the Asian Pleistocene for over a century, which is complicated by morphological and metric convergence between orangutan (Pongo) and hominin (Homo) molariform teeth. Like Homo erectus, Pongo once showed considerable dental variation and a wide distribution throughout mainland and insular Asia. In order to clarify the utility of isolated dental remains to document the presence of hominins during Asian prehistory, we examined enamel thickness, enamel-dentine junction shape, and crown development in 33 molars from G. H. R. von Koenigswald's Chinese Apothecary collection (11 Sinanthropus officinalis [= Homo erectus], 21 "Hemanthropus peii," and 1 "Hemanthropus peii" or Pongo) and 7 molars from Sangiran dome (either Homo erectus or Pongo). All fossil teeth were imaged with non-destructive conventional and/or synchrotron micro-computed tomography. These were compared to H. erectus teeth from Zhoukoudian, Sangiran and Trinil, and a large comparative sample of fossil Pongo, recent Pongo, and recent human teeth. We find that Homo and Pongo molars overlap substantially in relative enamel thickness; molar enamel-dentine junction shape is more distinctive, with Pongo showing relatively shorter dentine horns and wider crowns than Homo. Long-period line periodicity values are significantly greater in Pongo than in H. erectus, leading to longer crown formation times in the former. Most of the sample originally assigned to S. officinalis and H. erectus shows greater affinity to Pongo than to the hominin comparative sample. Moreover, enamel thickness, enamel-dentine junction shape, and a long-period line periodicity value in the "Hemanthropus peii" sample are indistinguishable from fossil Pongo. These results underscore the need for additional recovery and study of associated dentitions prior to erecting new taxa from isolated teeth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M. Smith
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- ESRF—The European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France
- Département Adaptations du Vivant, UMR 7179 CNRS, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Department of Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
- Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
| | - Adeline Le Cabec
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America
- ESRF—The European Synchrotron, Grenoble, France
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Friedemann Schrenk
- Department of Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
- Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt a.M., Germany
| | - John de Vos
- Department of Geology, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
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Zanolli C, Pan L, Dumoncel J, Kullmer O, Kundrát M, Liu W, Macchiarelli R, Mancini L, Schrenk F, Tuniz C. Inner tooth morphology of Homo erectus from Zhoukoudian. New evidence from an old collection housed at Uppsala University, Sweden. J Hum Evol 2018; 116:1-13. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Revised: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 11/02/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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28
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Hanegraef H, Martinón-Torres M, Martínez de Pinillos M, Martín-Francés L, Vialet A, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Dentine morphology of Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos lower molars: Evolutionary implications through three-dimensional geometric morphometric analysis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 166:276-295. [PMID: 29417989 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Revised: 11/06/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aims to explore the affinities of the Sima de los Huesos (SH) population in relation to Homo neanderthalensis, Arago, and early and contemporary Homo sapiens. By characterizing SH intra-population variation, we test current models to explain the Neanderthal origins. MATERIALS AND METHODS Three-dimensional reconstructions of dentine surfaces of lower first and second molars were produced by micro-computed tomography. Landmarks and sliding semilandmarks were subjected to generalized Procrustes analysis and principal components analysis. RESULTS SH is often similar in shape to Neanderthals, and both groups are generally discernible from Homo sapiens. For example, the crown height of SH and Neanderthals is lower than for modern humans. Differences in the presence of a mid-trigonid crest are also observed, with contemporary Homo sapiens usually lacking this feature. Although SH and Neanderthals show strong affinities, they can be discriminated based on certain traits. SH individuals are characterized by a lower intra-population variability, and show a derived dental reduction in lower second molars compared to Neanderthals. SH also differs in morphological features from specimens that are often classified as Homo heidelbergensis, such as a lower crown height and less pronounced mid-trigonid crest in the Arago fossils. DISCUSSION Our results are compatible with the idea that multiple evolutionary lineages or populations coexisted in Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, with the SH paradigm phylogenetically closer to Homo neanderthalensis. Further research could support the possibility of SH as a separate taxon. Alternatively, SH could be a subspecies of Neanderthals, with the variability of this clade being remarkably higher than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hester Hanegraef
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, United Kingdom
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, United Kingdom.,National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, United Kingdom.,National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain.,Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199 F_33615, Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Amélie Vialet
- Département de Préhistoire du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Paléontologie Humaine, 1 Rue René-Panhard, Paris, 75013, France
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avd. Monforte de Lemos 5, Pabellón 14, Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, United Kingdom.,National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, Burgos, 09002, Spain
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Xing S, Martinón-Torres M, Bermúdez de Castro JM. The fossil teeth of the Peking Man. Sci Rep 2018; 8:2066. [PMID: 29391445 PMCID: PMC5794973 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-20432-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 01/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
This study provides new original data, including the endostructure of most Zhoukoudian H. erectus teeth preserved to date, since the publication of Black in 1927 and Weidenreich in 1937. The new evidence ratifies the similarities of Zhoukoudian with other East Asian mid-Middle Pleistocene hominins such as Hexian and Yiyuan, and allows defining a dental pattern potentially characteristic of this population commonly referred to as classic H. erectus. Given the possible chronological overlaps of classic H. erectus with other archaic Homo, the characterization of this group becomes a key issue when deciphering the taxonomy and evolutionary scenario of the Middle Pleistocene hominins in East Asia. Internally, the most remarkable feature of Zhoukoudian teeth is the highly crenulated enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) and its imprint on the roof of the pulp cavity. So far, this "dendrite-like" EDJ has been found only in East Asia Middle Pleistocene hominins although a large group of samples were assessed, and it could be useful to dentally define classic H. erectus in China. The crenulated EDJ surface, together with the stout roots and the taurodontism could be a mechanism to withstand high biomechanical demand despite a general dentognathic reduction, particularly of the crowns, in these populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,University College London (UCL) Anthropology, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo de la Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain.,University College London (UCL) Anthropology, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
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Hershkovitz I, Weber GW, Quam R, Duval M, Grün R, Kinsley L, Ayalon A, Bar-Matthews M, Valladas H, Mercier N, Arsuaga JL, Martinón-Torres M, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Fornai C, Martín-Francés L, Sarig R, May H, Krenn VA, Slon V, Rodríguez L, García R, Lorenzo C, Carretero JM, Frumkin A, Shahack-Gross R, Bar-Yosef Mayer DE, Cui Y, Wu X, Peled N, Groman-Yaroslavski I, Weissbrod L, Yeshurun R, Tsatskin A, Zaidner Y, Weinstein-Evron M. The earliest modern humans outside Africa. Science 2018; 359:456-459. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aap8369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 297] [Impact Index Per Article: 49.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/21/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
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Trinkaus E, Wu XJ. External auditory exostoses in the Xuchang and Xujiayao human remains: Patterns and implications among eastern Eurasian Middle and Late Pleistocene crania. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0189390. [PMID: 29232394 PMCID: PMC5726651 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0189390] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 11/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In the context of Middle and Late Pleistocene eastern Eurasian human crania, the external auditory exostoses (EAE) of the late archaic Xuchang 1 and 2 and the Xujiayao 15 early Late Pleistocene human temporal bones are described. Xujiayao 15 has small EAE (Grade 1), Xuchang 1 presents bilateral medium EAE (Grade 2), and Xuchang 2 exhibits bilaterally large EAE (Grade 3), especially on the right side. These cranial remains join the other eastern Eurasian later Pleistocene humans in providing frequencies of 61% (N = 18) and 58% (N = 12) respectively for archaic and early modern human samples. These values are near the upper limits of recent human frequencies, and they imply frequent aquatic exposure among these Pleistocene humans. In addition, the medial extents of the Xuchang 1 and 2 EAE would have impinged on their tympanic membranes, and the large EAE of Xuchang 2 would have resulted in cerumen impaction. Both effects would have produced conductive hearing loss, a serious impairment in a Pleistocene foraging context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erik Trinkaus
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, Saint Louis, MO, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Xiu-Jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Martinón-Torres M, Wu X, Bermúdez de Castro JM, Xing S, Liu W. Homo sapiens in the Eastern Asian Late Pleistocene. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/694449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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33
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Demeter F, Shackelford L, Westaway K, Barnes L, Duringer P, Ponche JL, Dumoncel J, Sénégas F, Sayavongkhamdy T, Zhao JX, Sichanthongtip P, Patole-Edoumba E, Dunn T, Zachwieja A, Coppens Y, Willerslev E, Bacon AM. Early Modern Humans from Tam Pà Ling, Laos. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/694192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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34
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35
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An early modern human presence in Sumatra 73,000–63,000 years ago. Nature 2017; 548:322-325. [DOI: 10.1038/nature23452] [Citation(s) in RCA: 144] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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36
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Modesto-Mata M, García-Campos C, Martín-Francés L, Martínez de Pinillos M, García-González R, Quintino Y, Canals A, Lozano M, Dean MC, Martinón-Torres M, Bermúdez de Castro JM. New methodology to reconstruct in 2-D the cuspal enamel of modern human lower molars. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:824-834. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23243] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Revised: 01/29/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mario Modesto-Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH); Burgos 09002 Spain
- Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura, Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino; Cáceres Spain
| | - Cecilia García-Campos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH); Burgos 09002 Spain
- Anthropology Department; University College London; London UK
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH); Burgos 09002 Spain
- Anthropology Department; University College London; London UK
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH); Burgos 09002 Spain
- Anthropology Department; University College London; London UK
| | - Rebeca García-González
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Área de Paleontología, Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos; Burgos Spain
| | - Yuliet Quintino
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Área de Paleontología, Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos; Burgos Spain
| | - Antoni Canals
- Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura, Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez Moñino; Cáceres Spain
- IPHES Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; C/Marcel.lí Domingo s/n, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) Tarragona 43007 Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV); Tarragona 43002 Spain
| | - Marina Lozano
- IPHES Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social; C/Marcel.lí Domingo s/n, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3) Tarragona 43007 Spain
| | - M. Christopher Dean
- Department of Cell and Developmental Biology; University College London; London UK
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Anthropology Department; University College London; London UK
- Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Área de Paleontología, Dpto. de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos; Burgos Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH); Burgos 09002 Spain
- Anthropology Department; University College London; London UK
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Ao H, Liu CR, Roberts AP, Zhang P, Xu X. An updated age for the Xujiayao hominin from the Nihewan Basin, North China: Implications for Middle Pleistocene human evolution in East Asia. J Hum Evol 2017; 106:54-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/26/2017] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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38
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Bermúdez de Castro JM, Martinón‐Torres M, Martín‐Francés L, Martínez de Pinillos M, Modesto‐Mata M, García‐Campos C, Wu X, Xing S, Liu W. Early Pleistocene hominin deciduous teeth from theHomo antecessorGran Dolina‐TD6 bearing level (Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:602-615. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3Burgos09002 Spain
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College London (UCL)14 Taviton StreetLondonWC1H 0BW United Kingdom
| | - María Martinón‐Torres
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College London (UCL)14 Taviton StreetLondonWC1H 0BW United Kingdom
- Laboratorio de Evolución HumanaDepartamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación. Universidad de Burgos Spain
| | - Laura Martín‐Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3Burgos09002 Spain
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College London (UCL)14 Taviton StreetLondonWC1H 0BW United Kingdom
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3Burgos09002 Spain
- Department of AnthropologyUniversity College London (UCL)14 Taviton StreetLondonWC1H 0BW United Kingdom
| | - Mario Modesto‐Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3Burgos09002 Spain
- Equipo Primeros Pobladores de Extremadura (EPPEX), Casa de la Cultura Rodríguez MoñinoAv. Cervantes s/nCáceres10003 Spain
| | - Cecilia García‐Campos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca 3Burgos09002 Spain
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyBeijing100044 China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyBeijing100044 China
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of SciencesChinese Academy of SciencesInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and PaleoanthropologyBeijing100044 China
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Li ZY, Wu XJ, Zhou LP, Liu W, Gao X, Nian XM, Trinkaus E. Late Pleistocene archaic human crania from Xuchang, China. Science 2017; 355:969-972. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aal2482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2016] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zhan-Yang Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- Henan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Zhengzhou 450000, China
| | - Xiu-Jie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Li-Ping Zhou
- Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Department of Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
| | - Xing Gao
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xiao-Mei Nian
- Laboratory for Earth Surface Processes, Department of Geography, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
- State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University, 3663 North Zhongshan Road, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Erik Trinkaus
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO 63130, USA
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Liu W, Martinón-Torres M, Kaifu Y, Wu X, Kono RT, Chang CH, Wei P, Xing S, Huang W, Bermúdez de Castro JM. A mandible from the Middle Pleistocene Hexian site and its significance in relation to the variability of Asian Homo erectus. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 162:715-731. [PMID: 28109118 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2016] [Revised: 12/05/2016] [Accepted: 12/18/2016] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study presents the first detailed morphological description and comparison of a Middle Pleistocene hominin mandibular fragment (PA 831) and associated teeth from the Hexian site in Eastern China. We aim to investigate where the Hexian mandible fits within the genus Homo variability in the light of an increased and better characterized Asian fossils record. METHODS Comparative samples include Pleistocene Homo mandibles and teeth from Africa, Asia, and Europe, as well as earlier African hominins (Australopithecus and early Homo) and Holocene recent humans. Both conventional morphological description and metric analysis were used. In addition, virtual reconstructions of the enamel dentine junction (EDJ) surface, pulp cavity, and roots with micro-CT were used to the mandible and teeth. RESULTS The Hexian mandible is characterized by a plesiomorphic structural pattern for the Homo clade, with strong corpus robustness and a subparallel and low-positioned mylohyoid line that differentiates the swollen subalveolar planum from the shallow subalveolar fossa. Features that are derived compared to early Homo include a moderately curved dental arcade, a well-developed lateral prominence placed at the M2 -M3 level, and multiple mental foramina. The Hexian mandible's complex enamel surface and strong, stout root structure are primitive traits for the Homo clade. Finally, the highly crenulated "dendrite-like" EDJ found in the molars may represent a dental feature specific to the continental Asian Homo erectus, but more data is needed to confirm this. CONCLUSIONS Mandibular and dental features indicate that the Hexian mandible and teeth differ from northern Chinese H. erectus and European Middle Pleistocene hominins, but show some affinities with the Early Pleistocene specimens from Africa (Homo ergaster) and Java (H. erectus), as well as the Middle-Late Pleistocene mandible from Penghu, Taiwan. Compared to contemporaneous continental Asian hominin populations, the Hexian fossils may represent the survival of a primitive hominin, with more primitive morphologies than other contemporaneous or some chronologically older Asian hominin specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW.,Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Historia, Geografía y Comunicación, University of Burgos, Burgos, 09001, Spain
| | - Yousuke Kaifu
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, 305-0005, Japan
| | - Xiujie Wu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Reiko T Kono
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, 305-0005, Japan
| | - Chun-Hsiang Chang
- Department of Geology, National Museum of Natural Science, Taichung, 40453, Taiwan
| | - Pianpian Wei
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering and Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China
| | - Song Xing
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Wanbo Huang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Department of Anthropology, University College London (UCL), 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW.,Hominid Paleobiology Program, National Research Center on Human Evolution (CENIEH), Paseo Sierra de Atapuerca s/n. Burgos, 09002, Spain
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XING SONG, GUAN YING, O’HARA MACKIE, CAI HUIYANG, WANG XIAOMIN, GAO XING. Late Pleistocene hominin teeth from Laoya Cave, southern China. ANTHROPOL SCI 2017. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.170802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- SONG XING
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
| | - YING GUAN
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
| | - MACKIE O’HARA
- Department of Anthropology, The Ohio State University, Columbus
| | | | - XIAOMIN WANG
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
| | - XING GAO
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing
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Homo floresiensis-like fossils from the early Middle Pleistocene of Flores. Nature 2016; 534:245-8. [DOI: 10.1038/nature17999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2015] [Accepted: 04/13/2016] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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Hominin teeth from the Middle Pleistocene site of Yiyuan, Eastern China. J Hum Evol 2016; 95:33-54. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.03.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2014] [Revised: 03/08/2016] [Accepted: 03/09/2016] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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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: 2.6] [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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Curnoe D, Ji X, Liu W, Bao Z, Taçon PSC, Ren L. A Hominin Femur with Archaic Affinities from the Late Pleistocene of Southwest China. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0143332. [PMID: 26678851 PMCID: PMC4683062 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0143332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2015] [Accepted: 11/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The number of Late Pleistocene hominin species and the timing of their extinction are issues receiving renewed attention following genomic evidence for interbreeding between the ancestors of some living humans and archaic taxa. Yet, major gaps in the fossil record and uncertainties surrounding the age of key fossils have meant that these questions remain poorly understood. Here we describe and compare a highly unusual femur from Late Pleistocene sediments at Maludong (Yunnan), Southwest China, recovered along with cranial remains that exhibit a mixture of anatomically modern human and archaic traits. Our studies show that the Maludong femur has affinities to archaic hominins, especially Lower Pleistocene femora. However, the scarcity of later Middle and Late Pleistocene archaic remains in East Asia makes an assessment of systematically relevant character states difficult, warranting caution in assigning the specimen to a species at this time. The Maludong fossil probably samples an archaic population that survived until around 14,000 years ago in the biogeographically complex region of Southwest China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren Curnoe
- Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives Research Centre, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- * E-mail: (DC); (XJ)
| | - Xueping Ji
- Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- * E-mail: (DC); (XJ)
| | - Wu Liu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Zhende Bao
- Mengzi Institute of Cultural Relics, Mengzi, Yunnan, China
| | - Paul S. C. Taçon
- Place, Evolution and Rock Art Heritage Unit, School of Humanities, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, Queensland, Australia
| | - Liang Ren
- Mengzi Institute of Cultural Relics, Mengzi, Yunnan, China
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Kaifu Y, Kono RT, Sutikna T, Saptomo EW, Jatmiko, Due Awe R. Unique Dental Morphology of Homo floresiensis and Its Evolutionary Implications. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141614. [PMID: 26624612 PMCID: PMC4651360 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Homo floresiensis is an extinct, diminutive hominin species discovered in the Late Pleistocene deposits of Liang Bua cave, Flores, eastern Indonesia. The nature and evolutionary origins of H. floresiensis' unique physical characters have been intensively debated. Based on extensive comparisons using linear metric analyses, crown contour analyses, and other trait-by-trait morphological comparisons, we report here that the dental remains from multiple individuals indicate that H. floresiensis had primitive canine-premolar and advanced molar morphologies, a combination of dental traits unknown in any other hominin species. The primitive aspects are comparable to H. erectus from the Early Pleistocene, whereas some of the molar morphologies are more progressive even compared to those of modern humans. This evidence contradicts the earlier claim of an entirely modern human-like dental morphology of H. floresiensis, while at the same time does not support the hypothesis that H. floresiensis originated from a much older H. habilis or Australopithecus-like small-brained hominin species currently unknown in the Asian fossil record. These results are however consistent with the alternative hypothesis that H. floresiensis derived from an earlier Asian Homo erectus population and experienced substantial body and brain size dwarfism in an isolated insular setting. The dentition of H. floresiensis is not a simple, scaled-down version of earlier hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousuke Kaifu
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Reiko T. Kono
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Thomas Sutikna
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Emanuel Wahyu Saptomo
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Jatmiko
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rokus Due Awe
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
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Abstract
Denisovans, a sister group of Neandertals, have been described on the basis of a nuclear genome sequence from a finger phalanx (Denisova 3) found in Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains. The only other Denisovan specimen described to date is a molar (Denisova 4) found at the same site. This tooth carries a mtDNA sequence similar to that of Denisova 3. Here we present nuclear DNA sequences from Denisova 4 and a morphological description, as well as mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data, from another molar (Denisova 8) found in Denisova Cave in 2010. This new molar is similar to Denisova 4 in being very large and lacking traits typical of Neandertals and modern humans. Nuclear DNA sequences from the two molars form a clade with Denisova 3. The mtDNA of Denisova 8 is more diverged and has accumulated fewer substitutions than the mtDNAs of the other two specimens, suggesting Denisovans were present in the region over an extended period. The nuclear DNA sequence diversity among the three Denisovans is comparable to that among six Neandertals, but lower than that among present-day humans.
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The earliest unequivocally modern humans in southern China. Nature 2015; 526:696-9. [DOI: 10.1038/nature15696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 298] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2015] [Accepted: 09/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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