The Variation of Measurements: Considering the Morphology of Late Pleistocene Hominins
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
THE VARIATION OF MEASUREMENTS: CONSIDERING THE MORPHOLOGY OF LATE PLEISTOCENE HOMININS A Thesis by James Scott Bachelor of Science, Central Michigan University, 2010 Submitted to the Department of Anthropology and the faculty of the Graduate School of Wichita State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts December 2016 ©Copyright 2016 by James Scott All Rights Reserved THE VARIATION OF MEASUREMENTS: CONSIDERING THE MORPHOLOGY OF LATE PLEISTOCENE HOMININS The following faculty members have examined the final copy of this thesis for form and content, and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Arts, with a major in Anthropology. ____________________ Peer Moore-Jansen, Committee Chair ____________________ Donald Blakeslee, Committee Member ____________________ William Parcel, Committee Member iii DEDICATION To My friends and family, who never gave up on believing in me and have always been there for help and support. iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my adviser, Dr. Moore-Jansen, for his guidance and support. In addition, credit and thanks are given to the Wichita State University Anthropology Department’s Jackman fund for funding my Graduate Research Assistantship as well as providing for the additional fossil casts purchased to make this thesis possible. I would also like to thank Dr. Moore-Jansen again for the procurement of the new fossil casts and the use of the 3D digitizer available at the WSU-BAL. I would also like to extend my gratitude to members of my committee, Dr. Blakeslee, and Dr. Parcel, for their helpful comments and suggestions on all stages of this project. as well as my family and friends. Together their friendship and selfless role modeling have contributed to my professional development. v ABSTRACT The variability of measurement has been a concern for anthropologists for some time now, and has developed into many different styles of recording said measurements. In this thesis, the comparison of craniometric measurements from two perspectives are explored. First, that of the traditional caliper measurements and second, that of the 3D Digitizer measurements and equipment. This comparison shows the minute difference between traditional and contemporary measurements by analyzing four component shapes of select Pleistocene hominins and Modern Homo, as well as, the difficulty of said measurement techniques. Incidentally, this thesis also covers the place of Pleistocene hominin cranial-morphology and variation within Modern Homo. By looking at different Pleistocene fossils (n=13) from three different geographic regions, and comparing them to Modern Homo (n=10) selected from among the Wichita State University Biological Anthropology Laboratory cadavers, this study seeks to assess the biological significance and place of fossil groups in relation to modern Homo. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page Chapter 1 ................................................................................................... 1 Introduction............................................................................................. 1 Research Questions................................................................................. 4 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................... 7 Background ............................................................................................. 7 Shanidar ................................................................................................................................................ 9 Skhul V ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Bodo .................................................................................................................................................... 11 Idaltu ................................................................................................................................................... 12 Broken Hill ........................................................................................................................................... 12 La Chapelle-Aux-Saints ........................................................................................................................ 12 La Ferrassie 1 ....................................................................................................................................... 13 Atapureca 5 ......................................................................................................................................... 13 Gibraltar 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 13 Oase 2 ................................................................................................................................................. 13 Cro-Magnon ........................................................................................................................................ 14 Steinheim ............................................................................................................................................ 14 Chapter 3 ................................................................................................. 15 Materials ............................................................................................... 15 Fossil Casts ........................................................................................... 15 West Asian Samples ............................................................................................................................ 16 African Samples ................................................................................................................................... 19 TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER PAGE European Samples .............................................................................................................................. 23 Methods ................................................................................................ 30 Caliper Measurements ........................................................................................................................ 31 Microscribe Digitizer ........................................................................................................................... 37 Digitizing .............................................................................................................................................. 39 Analytical Methods .............................................................................. 41 Chapter 4 ................................................................................................. 43 Findings ................................................................................................ 43 Component Breakdown ........................................................................ 50 General Cranial Shape .......................................................................... 50 Traditional Neandertal Fossils............................................................................................................. 50 Archaic European Fossils ..................................................................................................................... 55 West Asian Fossils ............................................................................................................................... 59 African Fossils ...................................................................................................................................... 63 Sagittal Cranial Contour ....................................................................... 67 Traditional Neandertal Fossils............................................................................................................. 67 Archaic European Fossils ..................................................................................................................... 72 West Asian Fossils ............................................................................................................................... 76 African Fossils ...................................................................................................................................... 80 Facial Breadth ....................................................................................... 84 Traditional Neandertal Fossils............................................................................................................. 84 Archaic European Fossils ..................................................................................................................... 89 West Asian Fossils ............................................................................................................................... 93 African Fossils ...................................................................................................................................... 97 Posterior Cranial Shape and Nasal Shape .......................................... 101 viii TABLE OF CONTENTS (continued) CHAPTER PAGE Traditional Neandertal Fossils........................................................................................................... 101 Archaic European Fossils ..................................................................................................................