Craniofacial Morphology of Homo Floresiensis: Description, Taxonomic

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Craniofacial Morphology of Homo Floresiensis: Description, Taxonomic Journal of Human Evolution 61 (2011) 644e682 Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect Journal of Human Evolution journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jhevol Craniofacial morphology of Homo floresiensis: Description, taxonomic affinities, and evolutionary implication Yousuke Kaifu a,b,*, Hisao Baba a, Thomas Sutikna c, Michael J. Morwood d, Daisuke Kubo b, E. Wahyu Saptomo c, Jatmiko c, Rokhus Due Awe c, Tony Djubiantono c a Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, 4-1-1 Amakubo, Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki Prefecture Japan b Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-1-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan c National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jl. Raya Condet Pejaten No 4, Jakarta 12001, Indonesia d Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia article info abstract Article history: This paper describes in detail the external morphology of LB1/1, the nearly complete and only known Received 5 October 2010 cranium of Homo floresiensis. Comparisons were made with a large sample of early groups of the genus Accepted 21 August 2011 Homo to assess primitive, derived, and unique craniofacial traits of LB1 and discuss its evolution. Prin- cipal cranial shape differences between H. floresiensis and Homo sapiens are also explored metrically. Keywords: The LB1 specimen exhibits a marked reductive trend in its facial skeleton, which is comparable to the LB1/1 H. sapiens condition and is probably associated with reduced masticatory stresses. However, LB1 is Homo erectus craniometrically different from H. sapiens showing an extremely small overall cranial size, and the Homo habilis Cranium combination of a primitive low and anteriorly narrow vault shape, a relatively prognathic face, a rounded Face oval foramen that is greatly separated anteriorly from the carotid canal/jugular foramen, and a unique, tall orbital shape. Whereas the neurocranium of LB1 is as small as that of some Homo habilis specimens, it exhibits laterally expanded parietals, a weak suprameatal crest, a moderately flexed occipital, a marked facial reduction, and many other derived features that characterize post-habilis Homo. Other craniofacial characteristics of LB1 include, for example, a relatively narrow frontal squama with flattened right and left sides, a marked frontal keel, posteriorly divergent temporal lines, a posteriorly flexed anteromedial corner of the mandibular fossa, a bulbous lateral end of the supraorbital torus, and a forward protruding maxillary body with a distinct infraorbital sulcus. LB1 is most similar to early Javanese Homo erectus from Sangiran and Trinil in these and other aspects. We conclude that the craniofacial morphology of LB1 is consistent with the hypothesis that H. floresiensis evolved from early Javanese H. erectus with dramatic island dwarfism. However, further field discoveries of early hominin skeletal remains from Flores and detailed analyses of the finds are needed to understand the evolutionary history of this endemic hominin species. Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Introduction Westaway et al., 2009). The unusual combination of extremely small brain size, short stature, and other unique physical traits of Homo floresiensis is a small-bodied, hominin species that lived H. floresiensis have led some to argue that the skeletal remains on the Indonesian island of Flores in the late Pleistocene. Skeletal represent a population of pathological modern humans. However, remains of this species are currently only known from Liang Bua, such proponents have been unable to indicate a specific syndrome a limestone cave, where they are dated to between 74 and 17 kyr. At that fully explains these traits, and there is now growing support least 14 individuals are represented by these remains, which for the hypothesis that H. floresiensis was a late-surviving species of include LB1, an almost complete skeleton and the species holotype, pre-modern Homo (reviewed in Aiello, 2010). popularly known as ‘Hobbit’ (Brown et al., 2004; Morwood and The origins of this novel species still remain highly controversial Jungers, 2009; Morwood et al., 2009; Roberts et al., 2009; despite lively debate and further studies following the initial reports (Brown et al., 2004; Morwood et al., 2004, 2005). In fact, fl * Corresponding author. nominated candidates for ancestral species of H. oresiensis include E-mail address: [email protected] (Y. Kaifu). Javanese Homo erectus and pre-erectus grade hominins such as 0047-2484/$ e see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.08.008 Y. Kaifu et al. / Journal of Human Evolution 61 (2011) 644e682 645 Homo habilis or even Australopithecus (e.g., Brown et al., 2004; description of the external cranial morphology of LB1, and assess its Argue et al., 2009; Brown and Maeda, 2009; Lyras et al., 2009; morphological affinities. Morwood and Jungers, 2009). All these possibilities have major implications for our understanding of the evolution of genus Homo. Background and the scope of this study If H. floresiensis evolved from a habiline-like ancestor on Flores, then H. erectus sensu lato (H. erectus s. l.) was not the first hominin The LB1 skeleton is that of an adult individual whose sex is species to disperse into Eurasia, as assumed in the current Out of presumed to be female on the basis of pelvic morphology (Brown Africa 1 hypothesis (Morwood and Jungers, 2009). It would also et al., 2004; Jungers et al., 2009b). The cranium is almost imply that H. erectus and another more primitive form of Homo complete (Reference number LB1/1; Figs. 1 and 2) and is the only coexisted in Southeast Asia for a substantial period. Alternatively, if example of a H. floresiensis cranium yet recovered (Morwood and H. floresiensis originated from Asian H. erectus, then insular Jungers, 2009). In this section, we review the published studies dwarfing to an unparalleled degree has been a significant factor in on its morphological affinities. early hominin evolution on Flores (Brown et al., 2004). In the original reports of H. floresiensis, Brown et al. (2004) Skeletal evidence of the first hominins to colonize Flores would and Morwood et al. (2005) described “a mosaic of primitive, provide direct and conclusive evidence for the evolutionary history unique and derived features not recorded for any other hominin” of H. floresiensis, but further study of the Liang Bua hominin in the cranium and other skeletal parts of LB1. For instance, they remains is also essential. In this paper, we provide a detailed found that the endocranial capacity is small and comparable to Figure 1. Facial, posterior, right lateral, left lateral, superior, and basal views of LB1/1 oriented based on the Frankfurt Horizontal. Scale ¼ 5 cm. 646 Y. Kaifu et al. / Journal of Human Evolution 61 (2011) 644e682 Australopithecus; the face was said to be Homo-like, lacking a series most probably evolved from an ancestral H. erectus population on of characteristic morphologies of Australopithecus such as a great Flores as a result of long-term isolation and insular dwarfing facial height, marked prognathism, large tooth crown size, and an (Brown et al., 2004). With the recovery of additional H. floresiensis anteriorly oriented infraorbital region; the cranial vault is similar to postcranial remains, however, the Liang Bua research team were those of H. erectus s. l. in height-breadth relationships, bone less certain about the genealogy of H. floresiensis e noting the thicknesses, and some basicranial traits; and the frontal resembles species “is not just an allometrically scaled-down version of those of early African and Dmanisi Homo in exhibiting a strong H. erectus” (Morwood et al., 2005: 1016). midsagittal curvature. Furthermore, principal component analysis Subsequently, two studies employed multivariate analyses of (PCA) based on 5 cranial vault measurements (Howells’ GOL, WFB, linear cranial measurements to further investigate LB1’s morpho- XCB [SMCB of us], ASB, and VRR: see Table 1 and Howells, 1973) also logical affinities. Argue et al. (2006) conducted canonical variate showed that the vault shape of LB1/1 is, among extant and various analyses (CVA). Their Analysis 3 is based on 5 cranial vault fossil hominin crania, most similar to KNM-ER 3733, KNM-ER 3883, measurements (Howells’ GOL, XCB, BBH, AUB, ASB: data of LB1 Sangiran 2 and another unspecified Indonesian H. erectus (Brown cited from Brown et al., 2004) and includes a recent modern human et al., 2004: SOM Fig. 1). sample (Howells’ data), as well as a small sample of australopith- On the basis of the location and age of the find, as well as some ecine and early Homo specimens (Sts 5; OH 24; KNM-ER 406, 1813, morphological traits, it was initially suggested that H. floresiensis 3733, 3883; D2280; Sangiran 17; five Ngandong H. erectus). Another Figure 2. Surface rendered CT images of LB1/1. The orientations and scale same as in Fig. 1. Table 1 Craniofacial measurements of LB1. Abb. This studya Brown et al. Definition [M57, H73, K08]b (2004) Cranial vault length Maximum cranial length GOL (139) (143) Glabellaeopisthocranion [1, GOL, 1] Cranial vault breadth Postorbital breadth POBB 71 Min. transverse breadth across the frontal squama [9(1), e,4] Maximum frontal breadth XFB 84 Max. transverse breadth across the frontal squama [10, XFB, 5] Minimum frontal breadth WFRB 61 67 Measured between the superior lines when the temporal line is split into the superior and inferior branches [z9, e,6] Bi-stephanic breadth BSTB 64 Stephanionestephanion. As above [z10b, zSTB, 7] Bi-temporal line breadth on parietal BTLB 64 Min. breadths between the superior temporal lines on the parietals [e, e, e] Squamosal suture breadth SQSB 110 The posterior end of the squamosal suture is defined at the posterior tip of the supramastoid crest [8c, e,8] Maximum bi-parietal breadth XBPB 110 Max.
Recommended publications
  • Hands-On Human Evolution: a Laboratory Based Approach
    Hands-on Human Evolution: A Laboratory Based Approach Developed by Margarita Hernandez Center for Precollegiate Education and Training Author: Margarita Hernandez Curriculum Team: Julie Bokor, Sven Engling A huge thank you to….. Contents: 4. Author’s note 5. Introduction 6. Tips about the curriculum 8. Lesson Summaries 9. Lesson Sequencing Guide 10. Vocabulary 11. Next Generation Sunshine State Standards- Science 12. Background information 13. Lessons 122. Resources 123. Content Assessment 129. Content Area Expert Evaluation 131. Teacher Feedback Form 134. Student Feedback Form Lesson 1: Hominid Evolution Lab 19. Lesson 1 . Student Lab Pages . Student Lab Key . Human Evolution Phylogeny . Lab Station Numbers . Skeletal Pictures Lesson 2: Chromosomal Comparison Lab 48. Lesson 2 . Student Activity Pages . Student Lab Key Lesson 3: Naledi Jigsaw 77. Lesson 3 Author’s note Introduction Page The validity and importance of the theory of biological evolution runs strong throughout the topic of biology. Evolution serves as a foundation to many biological concepts by tying together the different tenants of biology, like ecology, anatomy, genetics, zoology, and taxonomy. It is for this reason that evolution plays a prominent role in the state and national standards and deserves thorough coverage in a classroom. A prime example of evolution can be seen in our own ancestral history, and this unit provides students with an excellent opportunity to consider the multiple lines of evidence that support hominid evolution. By allowing students the chance to uncover the supporting evidence for evolution themselves, they discover the ways the theory of evolution is supported by multiple sources. It is our hope that the opportunity to handle our ancestors’ bone casts and examine real molecular data, in an inquiry based environment, will pique the interest of students, ultimately leading them to conclude that the evidence they have gathered thoroughly supports the theory of evolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Darwin and the Recent African Origin of Modern Humans
    EDITORIAL Darwin and the recent African origin of modern humans Richard G. Klein1 Program in Human Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 n this 200th anniversary of When Darwin and Huxley were ac- The Course of Human Evolution Charles Darwin’s birth and tive, many respected scientists sub- In the absence of fossils, Darwin could the 150th anniversary of the scribed to the now discredited idea that not have predicted the fundamental pat- publication of his monumen- human races represented variably tern of human evolution, but his evolu- Otal The Origin of Species (1859) (1), it evolved populations of Homo sapiens. tionary theory readily accommodates seems fitting to summarize Darwin’s The original Neanderthal skull had a the pattern we now recognize. Probably views on human evolution and to show conspicuous browridge, and compared the most fundamental finding is that the how far we have come since. Darwin with the skulls of modern humans, it australopithecines, who existed from at famously neglected the subject in The was decidedly long and low. At the same least 4.5 million to 2 million years ago, Origin, except near the end where he time, it had a large braincase, and Hux- were distinguished from apes primarily noted only that ‘‘light would be thrown ley regarded it as ‘‘the extreme term of by anatomical specializations for habit- on the origin of man and his history’’ by a series leading gradually from it to the ual bipedalism, and it was only after 2 the massive evidence he had compiled highest and best developed of [modern] million years ago that people began to for evolution by means of natural selec- human crania.’’ It was only in 1891 that acquire the other traits, including our tion.
    [Show full text]
  • 13.10 News 934-935
    NEWS NATURE|Vol 437|13 October 2005 Forbidden cave: without permits, the discoverers of the hobbit are unable to continue digging at Liang Bua cave. C. TURNEY, UNIV. WOLLONGONG UNIV. TURNEY, C. More evidence for hobbit unearthed as diggers are refused access to cave Even as researchers uncover more details The study of the bones that have so far been about the ancient ‘hobbit’ people of Indonesia, recovered has already been hindered, the they fear that they may never return to Liang researchers complain. Last winter, after hold- Bua cave, where the crucial specimens were ing the remains for about four months, Jacob found in 2003. returned them to the discovery team with “My guess is that we will not work at Liang some bones broken or shattered. The bones Bua again, this year or any other year,” says may have been damaged when casts were team leader Michael Morwood, an archaeolo- attempted or during transport. Today’s article C. TURNEY, UNIV. WOLLONGONG UNIV. TURNEY, C. gist at the University of New England in was delayed by at least six months, the authors Armidale. say, because the bones were not available The latest findings from the cave reveal, for follow-up studies. The newly described among other details, that the metre-tall jaw, for instance, was broken in half between humans, known as Homo floresiensis, lived on the front teeth, and the break has obliterated the island of Flores as little as 12,000 years ago certain key structures. (see page 1012). But continued exploration at “It’s an outrage,” says team anthropologist Liang Bua is being blocked, the researchers say, Peter Brown, also based at the University of because the discovery of miniature humans New England.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Small-Bodied Hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia
    articles A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia P. Brown1, T. Sutikna2, M. J. Morwood1, R. P. Soejono2, Jatmiko2, E. Wayhu Saptomo2 & Rokus Awe Due2 1Archaeology & Palaeoanthropology, School of Human & Environmental Studies, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia 2Indonesian Centre for Archaeology, Jl. Raya Condet Pejaten No. 4, Jakarta 12001, Indonesia ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Currently, it is widely accepted that only one hominin genus, Homo, was present in Pleistocene Asia, represented by two species, Homo erectus and Homo sapiens. Both species are characterized by greater brain size, increased body height and smaller teeth relative to Pliocene Australopithecus in Africa. Here we report the discovery, from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia, of an adult hominin with stature and endocranial volume approximating 1 m and 380 cm3, respectively—equal to the smallest-known australopithecines. The combination of primitive and derived features assigns this hominin to a new species, Homo floresiensis. The most likely explanation for its existence on Flores is long-term isolation, with subsequent endemic dwarfing, of an ancestral H. erectus population. Importantly, H. floresiensis shows that the genus Homo is morphologically more varied and flexible in its adaptive responses than previously thought. The LB1 skeleton was recovered in September 2003 during archaeo- hill, on the southern edge of the Wae Racang river valley. The type logical excavation at Liang Bua, Flores1.Mostoftheskeletal locality is at 088 31 0 50.4 00 south latitude 1208 26 0 36.9 00 east elements for LB1 were found in a small area, approximately longitude. 500 cm2, with parts of the skeleton still articulated and the tibiae Horizon.
    [Show full text]
  • © in This Web Service Cambridge University
    Cambridge University Press 978-1-107-01829-7 - Human Adaptation in the Asian Palaeolithic: Hominin Dispersal and Behaviour during the Late Quaternary Ryan J. Rabett Index More information Index Abdur, 88 Arborophilia sp., 219 Abri Pataud, 76 Arctictis binturong, 218, 229, 230, 231, 263 Accipiter trivirgatus,cf.,219 Arctogalidia trivirgata, 229 Acclimatization, 2, 7, 268, 271 Arctonyx collaris, 241 Acculturation, 70, 279, 288 Arcy-sur-Cure, 75 Acheulean, 26, 27, 28, 29, 45, 47, 48, 51, 52, 58, 88 Arius sp., 219 Acheulo-Yabrudian, 48 Asian leaf turtle. See Cyclemys dentata Adaptation Asian soft-shell turtle. See Amyda cartilaginea high frequency processes, 286 Asian wild dog. See Cuon alipinus hominin adaptive trajectories, 7, 267, 268 Assamese macaque. See Macaca assamensis low frequency processes, 286–287 Athapaskan, 278 tropical foragers (Southeast Asia), 283 Atlantic thermohaline circulation (THC), 23–24 Variability selection hypothesis, 285–286 Attirampakkam, 106 Additive strategies Aurignacian, 69, 71, 72, 73, 76, 78, 102, 103, 268, 272 economic, 274, 280. See Strategy-switching Developed-, 280 (economic) Proto-, 70, 78 technological, 165, 206, 283, 289 Australo-Melanesian population, 109, 116 Agassi, Lake, 285 Australopithecines (robust), 286 Ahmarian, 80 Azilian, 74 Ailuropoda melanoleuca fovealis, 35 Airstrip Mound site, 136 Bacsonian, 188, 192, 194 Altai Mountains, 50, 51, 94, 103 Balobok rock-shelter, 159 Altamira, 73 Ban Don Mun, 54 Amyda cartilaginea, 218, 230 Ban Lum Khao, 164, 165 Amyda sp., 37 Ban Mae Tha, 54 Anderson, D.D., 111, 201 Ban Rai, 203 Anorrhinus galeritus, 219 Banteng. See Bos cf. javanicus Anthracoceros coronatus, 219 Banyan Valley Cave, 201 Anthracoceros malayanus, 219 Barranco Leon,´ 29 Anthropocene, 8, 9, 274, 286, 289 BAT 1, 173, 174 Aq Kupruk, 104, 105 BAT 2, 173 Arboreal-adapted taxa, 96, 110, 111, 113, 122, 151, 152, Bat hawk.
    [Show full text]
  • Test 3 Study Guide
    Test 3 Study Guide ANATOMICALLY MODERN HUMANS- earliest fossils found in Africa dated to about 200,000 years ago, well-rounded rear of skull (no occipital bun), high skull (doesn’t slope), small brow ridges (supra orbital torus), noticeable chin, associated with Upper Paleolithic tools (some had blades and some were made of bone), created shelters and they were the first to create artistic objects (note cave drawings possible sympathetic magic-related to the desire to capture more animals). Omo- oldest known AMH found at Omo site in Ethiopia—date ~ 195,000ya. Same morphology as noted above. homo heidelbergensis- a species of archaic human w/ a brain size close to that of modern humans (~1500-1800cc’s or more) but had a larger face and lived in Africa, Europe and Asia between 800,000 and 200,000 ya. Cro-Magnon Man- found in Cro-Magnon, France…dates between 27,000-23,000ya, earliest AMH populations found in Europe, very sophisticated, fished, cured ailments, made clothing and jewelry, built rafts etc… complication: Homo Floresiensis “hobbit” Discovered in Liang Bua cave on the island of Flores in Indonesia, 3.5”, 417cc’s found w/ tools and bones, dates between 12,000 and 94,000 ya, possible dwarf species, AMH characteristics. Possible explanations= island dwarfism, microcephalic, pathology, different species= unsure of where it falls on our phylogenic tree PREHISTORIC ART (note Lascaux cave, France) >600 pictures of animals, mostly horses don’t know purpose possible sympathetic magic cultural symbolism? means of communication ideas? pictograph- painting on surface like a cave wall petroglyph- design carved into rock or other surface HUMAN ORIGINS Associated models: (from book as per your syllabus) multiregional model- evolution happened 1.8 mya in Africa from a single lineage but that changes in modern human anatomy happened by way of gene flow as archaic humans moved across the Old World.
    [Show full text]
  • Early Members of the Genus Homo -. EXPLORATIONS: an OPEN INVITATION to BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
    EXPLORATIONS: AN OPEN INVITATION TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY Editors: Beth Shook, Katie Nelson, Kelsie Aguilera and Lara Braff American Anthropological Association Arlington, VA 2019 Explorations: An Open Invitation to Biological Anthropology is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. ISBN – 978-1-931303-63-7 www.explorations.americananthro.org 10. Early Members of the Genus Homo Bonnie Yoshida-Levine Ph.D., Grossmont College Learning Objectives • Describe how early Pleistocene climate change influenced the evolution of the genus Homo. • Identify the characteristics that define the genus Homo. • Describe the skeletal anatomy of Homo habilis and Homo erectus based on the fossil evidence. • Assess opposing points of view about how early Homo should be classified. Describe what is known about the adaptive strategies of early members of the Homo genus, including tool technologies, diet, migration patterns, and other behavioral trends.The boy was no older than 9 when he perished by the swampy shores of the lake. After death, his slender, long-limbed body sank into the mud of the lake shallows. His bones fossilized and lay undisturbed for 1.5 million years. In the 1980s, fossil hunter Kimoya Kimeu, working on the western shore of Lake Turkana, Kenya, glimpsed a dark colored piece of bone eroding in a hillside. This small skull fragment led to the discovery of what is arguably the world’s most complete early hominin fossil—a youth identified as a member of the species Homo erectus. Now known as Nariokotome Boy, after the nearby lake village, the skeleton has provided a wealth of information about the early evolution of our own genus, Homo (see Figure 10.1).
    [Show full text]
  • Phylogenetic Analysis of the Calvaria of Homo Floresiensis Valéry Zeitoun, Véronique Barriel, Harry Widianto
    Phylogenetic analysis of the calvaria of Homo floresiensis Valéry Zeitoun, Véronique Barriel, Harry Widianto To cite this version: Valéry Zeitoun, Véronique Barriel, Harry Widianto. Phylogenetic analysis of the calvaria of Homo floresiensis. Comptes Rendus Palevol, Elsevier Masson, 2016, 10.1016/j.crpv.2015.12.002. hal-01290521 HAL Id: hal-01290521 https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01290521 Submitted on 18 Mar 2016 HAL is a multi-disciplinary open access L’archive ouverte pluridisciplinaire HAL, est archive for the deposit and dissemination of sci- destinée au dépôt et à la diffusion de documents entific research documents, whether they are pub- scientifiques de niveau recherche, publiés ou non, lished or not. The documents may come from émanant des établissements d’enseignement et de teaching and research institutions in France or recherche français ou étrangers, des laboratoires abroad, or from public or private research centers. publics ou privés. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution - NonCommercial - NoDerivatives| 4.0 International License G Model PALEVO-924; No. of Pages 14 ARTICLE IN PRESS C. R. Palevol xxx (2016) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Comptes Rendus Palevol w ww.sciencedirect.com Human palaeontology and prehistory Phylogenetic analysis of the calvaria of Homo floresiensis Analyse phylogénétique de la calvaria de Homo floresiensis a,∗ b c Valéry Zeitoun , Véronique Barriel , Harry Widianto a UMR 7207 CNRS–MNHN–Université Paris-6, Sorbonne universités, Centre de recherche sur la paléobiodiversité et les e paléoenvironnements, Université Pierre-et-Marie-Curie, T. 46-56, 5 étage, case 104, 4, place Jussieu, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France b UMR 7207 CNRS–MNHN–Université Paris-6, Sorbonne universités, Centre de recherche sur la paléobiodiversité et les paléoenvironnements, 8, rue Buffon, 75252 Paris cedex 05, France c Directorate of Cultural properties and Museums, Komplek Kemdikbud, Gedung E Lt.
    [Show full text]
  • Homo Erectus: a Bigger, Faster, Smarter, Longer Lasting Hominin Lineage
    Homo erectus: A Bigger, Faster, Smarter, Longer Lasting Hominin Lineage Charles J. Vella, PhD August, 2019 Acknowledgements Many drawings by Kathryn Cruz-Uribe in Human Career, by R. Klein Many graphics from multiple journal articles (i.e. Nature, Science, PNAS) Ray Troll • Hominin evolution from 3.0 to 1.5 Ma. (Species) • Currently known species temporal ranges for Pa, Paranthropus aethiopicus; Pb, P. boisei; Pr, P. robustus; A afr, Australopithecus africanus; Ag, A. garhi; As, A. sediba; H sp., early Homo >2.1 million years ago (Ma); 1470 group and 1813 group representing a new interpretation of the traditionally recognized H. habilis and H. rudolfensis; and He, H. erectus. He (D) indicates H. erectus from Dmanisi. • (Behavior) Icons indicate from the bottom the • first appearance of stone tools (the Oldowan technology) at ~2.6 Ma, • the dispersal of Homo to Eurasia at ~1.85 Ma, • and the appearance of the Acheulean technology at ~1.76 Ma. • The number of contemporaneous hominin taxa during this period reflects different Susan C. Antón, Richard Potts, Leslie C. Aiello, 2014 strategies of adaptation to habitat variability. Origins of Homo: Summary of shifts in Homo Early Homo appears in the record by 2.3 Ma. By 2.0 Ma at least two facial morphs of early Homo (1813 group and 1470 group) representing two different adaptations are present. And possibly 3 others as well (Ledi-Geraru, Uraha-501, KNM-ER 62000) The 1813 group survives until at least 1.44 Ma. Early Homo erectus represents a third more derived morph and one that is of slightly larger brain and body size but somewhat smaller tooth size.
    [Show full text]
  • 1000002291104.Pdf
    Quaternary International 211 (2010) 4–13 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Quaternary International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/quaint Morphological and morphometric analysis of variation in the Zhoukoudian Homo erectus brain endocasts Xiujie Wu a,b,*, Lynne A. Schepartz c, Christopher J. Norton d a Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xizhimenwaidajie 142, Box 643, Beijing 100044, China b State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Nanjing 210008, China c Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-7772, USA d Department of Anthropology, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822-2223, USA article info abstract Article history: The six Zhoukoudian (ZKD) Locality 1 Homo erectus specimens derive from stratigraphic levels 11–3 with Available online 19 July 2009 a geochronological span of approximately 0.3 Ma. This paper introduces the history of the ZKD endocasts and presents data on their morphological features and linear dimensions in order to evaluate variability in the sample over time and in the broader context of human brain evolution using a comparative sample of African and other Asian H. erectus fossils and modern Chinese males. The ZKD brains are very similar in their morphological characteristics, but there are also significant but subtle changes involving expansion of the frontal and occipital lobe breadths that correlate with the geochronology. The same is not true for general endocranial volume. The ZKD brains, together with other Asian and African H. erectus specimens, have low height dimensions and short parietal chords that distinguish them from the modern Chinese.
    [Show full text]
  • The Homo Floresiensis Cranium (LB1): Size, Scaling, and Early Homo Affinities
    The Homo floresiensis cranium (LB1): Size, scaling, and early Homo affinities Adam D. Gordon*, Lisa Nevell, and Bernard Wood Department of Anthropology, Center for the Advanced Study of Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University, 2110 G Street Northwest, Washington, DC 20052 Edited by David Pilbeam, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, and approved February 8, 2008 (received for review October 22, 2007) The skeletal remains of a diminutive small-brained hominin found to endocranial size (as it scales with body size) (3, 5, 6, 11) and in Late Pleistocene cave deposits on the island of Flores, Indonesia brain component size (as they scale with endocranial size) (14), were assigned to a new species, Homo floresiensis [Brown P, et al. but, to date, no study has considered the scaling of cranial vault (2004) A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of shape and cranial size when assessing morphological similarity Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431: 1055–1061]. A dramatically different between LB1, modern humans, and fossil hominins. Because the interpretation is that this material belongs not to a novel hominin LB1 cranium is so small relative to modern humans and most taxon but to a population of small-bodied modern humans af- fossil Homo, morphological analyses must take into account how fected, or unaffected, by microcephaly. The debate has primarily cranial shape scales with cranial size because this relationship focused on the size and shape of the endocranial cavity of the type may not be isometric. However, care must be taken when doing specimen, LB1, with less attention being paid to the morphological this, because LB1 falls well outside the size range used to evidence provided by the rest of the LB1 cranium and postcranium, generate regression slopes.
    [Show full text]
  • Southeast Asian and Australian Paleoanthropology: a Review of the Last Century
    JASs Invited Reviews Journal of Anthropological Sciences Vol. 87 (2009), pp. 7-31 Southeast Asian and Australian paleoanthropology: a review of the last century Arthur C. Durband Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech University, MS 41012 Holden Hall 158, Lubbock, TX 79409-1012, USA e-mail: [email protected] Summary - A large and diverse body of scholarship has been developed around the fossil evidence discovered in Southeast Asia and Australia. However, despite its importance to many diff erent aspects of paleoanthropological research, Australasia has often received signifi cantly less attention than it deserves. is review will focus primarily on the evidence for the origins of modern humans from this region. Workers like Franz Weidenreich identifi ed characteristics in the earliest inhabitants of Java that bore some resemblance to features found in modern indigenous Australians. More recent work by numerous scholars have built upon those initial observations, and have contributed to the perception that the fossil record of Australasia provides one of the better examples of regional continuity in the human fossil record. Other scholars disagree, instead fi nding evidence for discontinuity between these earliest Indonesians and modern Australian groups. ese authorities cite support for an alternative hypothesis of extinction of the ancient Javan populations and their subsequent replacement by more recently arrived groups of modern humans. Presently, the bulk of the evidence supports this latter model. A dearth of credible regional characteristics linking the Pleistocene fossils from Java to early Australians, combined with a series of features indicating discontinuity between those same groups, indicate that the populations represented by the fossils from Sangiran and Ngandong went extinct without contributing genes to modern Australians.
    [Show full text]