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Delezene LK, Scott JE, Irish JD, Villaseñor A, Skinner MM, Hawks J, Berger LR. Sex-biased sampling may influence Homo naledi tooth size variation. J Hum Evol 2024; 187:103490. [PMID: 38266614 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103490] [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: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 12/20/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
A frequent source of debate in paleoanthropology concerns the taxonomic unity of fossil assemblages, with many hominin samples exhibiting elevated levels of variation that can be interpreted as indicating the presence of multiple species. By contrast, the large assemblage of hominin fossils from the Rising Star cave system, assigned to Homo naledi, exhibits a remarkably low degree of variation for most skeletal elements. Many factors can contribute to low sample variation, including genetic drift, strong natural selection, biased sex ratios, and sampling of closely related individuals. In this study, we tested for potential sex-biased sampling in the Rising Star dental sample. We compared coefficients of variation for the H. naledi teeth to those for eight extant hominoid samples. We used a resampling procedure that generated samples from the extant taxa that matched the sample size of the fossil sample for each possible Rising Star dental sex ratio. We found that variation at four H. naledi tooth positions-I2, M1, P4, M1-is so low that the possibility that one sex is represented by few or no individuals in the sample cannot be excluded. Additional evidence is needed to corroborate this inference, such as ancient DNA or enamel proteome data, and our study design does not address other potential factors that would account for low sample variation. Nevertheless, our results highlight the importance of considering the taphonomic history of a hominin assemblage and suggest that sex-biased sampling is a plausible explanation for the low level of phenotypic variation found in some aspects of the current H. naledi assemblage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas K Delezene
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa.
| | - Jeremiah E Scott
- Department of Medical Anatomical Sciences, College of Osteopathic Medicine of the Pacific, Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, CA, 91766, USA
| | - Joel D Irish
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa; School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Amelia Villaseñor
- Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, 72701, USA
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany
| | - John Hawks
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison. Madison, WI, 53706, USA
| | - Lee R Berger
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, WITS, 2050, South Africa; National Geographic Society, 1145 17th Street NW, Washington DC, 20036, USA
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Morrissey P, Mentzer SM, Wurz S. The stratigraphy and formation of Middle Stone Age deposits in Cave 1B, Klasies River Main site, South Africa, with implications for the context, age, and cultural association of the KRM 41815/SAM-AP 6222 human mandible. J Hum Evol 2023; 183:103414. [PMID: 37660505 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 07/12/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023]
Abstract
Cave 1B, in the Klasies River Main site complex (KRM), is best known for the recovery of the KRM 41815/SAM-AP 6222 human mandible. After initial skepticism over the modernity of this specimen, it is accepted that the mix of archaic and modern traits it displays is characteristic of early Homo sapiens individuals. Different authors have associated this specimen with the Middle Stone Age (MSA) I and II/Mossel Bay cultural phases, but the published data do not allow an unambiguous attribution. KRM 41815's frequent use in studies of the evolution of the human mandible, and its well-developed chin, makes clarifying its age and context important objectives. The field and micromorphology observations presented here provide greater insight into the stratigraphy and formation of the sequence exposed in the PP38 excavation. There are three major divisions: the basal Light Brown Sand (LBS) Member (not excavated), the Rubble Sand (RS) Member (MSA I), and the Shell and Sand Dark Carbonized (SASDC) Submember (MSA II). Cultural stratigraphy based on lithic artifacts remains the only way to make secure (but broad) temporal correlations with the rest of the site complex. This investigation shows that a range of anthropogenic, geogenic, and biogenic processes contributed to the deposition and post-depositional alteration of the identified microfacies. Short depositional hiatuses are reasonably common, and a significant hiatus was identified between the RS and SASDC. The impact of post-depositional processes on the RS is significant, with anthropogenic deposits poorly preserved. In comparison, the SASDC is dominated by hearths contained within deposits rich in reworked anthropogenic materials known as carbonized partings. Small shell disposal features are also present. The distribution of these anthropogenic features suggests continuity in the management of space throughout the MSA II occupations, from before 110 ka. New stratigraphic correlations indicate that KRM 41815 is unambiguously associated with the MSA I. Therefore, it predates 110 ka, with a lower age limit potentially in Marine Isotope Stage 6.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Morrissey
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Susan M Mentzer
- Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Department of Geosciences, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sarah Wurz
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; SFF Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE), University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
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Grine FE, Gonzalvo E, Rossouw L, Holt S, Black W, Braga J. Variation in Middle Stone Age mandibular molar enamel-dentine junction topography at Klasies River Main Site assessed by diffeomorphic surface matching. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103079. [PMID: 34739985 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The morphology and variability of the Middle Stone Age (MSA) hominin fossils from Klasies River Main Site have been the focus of investigation for more than four decades. The mandibular remains have figured prominently in discussions relating to robusticity, size dimorphism, and symphyseal morphology. Variation in corpus size between the robust SAM-AP 6223 and the diminutive SAM-AP 6225 mandibles is particularly impressive, and the difference between the buccolingual diameters of their M2s significantly exceeds recent human sample variation. SAM-AP 6223 and SAM-AP 6225 are the only Klasies specimens with homologous teeth (M2 and M3) that permit comparisons of crown morphology. While the differences in dental trait expression at the outer enamel surfaces of these molars are slight, diffeomorphic surface analyses of their underlying enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) topographies reveal differences that are well beyond the means of pairwise differences among comparative samples of Later Stone Age (LSA) Khoesan and recent African homologues. The EDJs of both SAM-AP 6225 molars and the SAM-AP 6223 M3 fall outside the envelopes that define the morphospace of these two samples. Although the radiocarbon dated LSA individuals examined here differ by a maximum of some 7000 years, and the two Klasies jaws may differ by perhaps as much as 18,000 years, it is difficult to ascribe their differences to time alone. With reference to the morphoscopic traits by which the SAM-AP 6223 and SAM-AP 6225 EDJs differ, the most striking is the expression of the protoconid cingulum. This is very weakly developed on the SAM-AP 6223 molars and distinct in SAM-AP 6225. As such, this diminutive fossil exhibits a more pronounced manifestation of what is likely a plesiomorphic feature, thus adding to the morphological mosaicism that is evident in the Klasies hominin assemblage. Several possible explanations for the variation and mosaicism in this MSA sample are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Elsa Gonzalvo
- Centre d'Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France
| | - Lloyd Rossouw
- Florisbad Quaternary Research Department, The National Museum, 36 Aliwal Street, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
| | - Sharon Holt
- Florisbad Quaternary Research Department, The National Museum, 36 Aliwal Street, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa
| | - Wendy Black
- Archaeology Unit, Research and Exhibitions Department, Iziko Museums of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa
| | - José Braga
- Centre d'Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa
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Human manual distal phalanges from the Middle Stone Age deposits of Klasies River Main Site, Western Cape Province, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2020; 146:102849. [PMID: 32721654 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102849] [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: 02/10/2020] [Revised: 06/11/2020] [Accepted: 06/11/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Two new distal manual phalanges from the Middle Stone Age deposits of Klasies River Main Site are described. One (SAM-AP 6387) likely derives from ray II or ray III, whereas the other (SAM-AP 6388) is from the thumb. Both derive from a late adolescent or fully adult individual. They were recovered by H. Deacon from the same stratigraphic unit (submember W or possibly submember R) of the Shell and Sand Member of Cave 1, which places them between 100 and 90 ka. Both are comparatively small elements, and the possibility that they came from the same hand cannot be discounted at this time. These bones add to the meager and all too fragmentary postcranial human fossil sample from the Late Pleistocene of South Africa. These two specimens provide some additional evidence pertaining to the morphological attributes of the distal phalanges of the Middle Stone Age inhabitants of South Africa. Together with the distal pollical phalanx from Die Kelders (SAM-AP 6402), they are relatively small in comparison with homologs from recent human samples as well as Late Pleistocene specimens from Eurasia. Given their small sizes, the distal pollical phalanges from Klasies and Die Kelders are not dissimilar to Holocene Khoesan homologs. As expected, the Klasies elements differ noticeably from Neandertal homologs, especially in the narrowness of their shafts and distal tuberosities.
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García-Campos C, Modesto-Mata M, Martinón-Torres M, Martínez de Pinillos M, Martín-Francés L, Arsuaga JL, Bermúdez de Castro JM. Sexual dimorphism of the enamel and dentine dimensions of the permanent canines of the Middle Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos (Burgos, Spain). J Hum Evol 2020; 144:102793. [PMID: 32442650 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2018] [Revised: 03/26/2020] [Accepted: 03/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism is an important component of the total variation seen in populations and plays a key role in taxonomic debates. In this study, microtomographic (microcomputed tomography) techniques were applied to a sample of hominin teeth from the Sima de los Huesos site (Spain). Dental tissue proportions of the permanent canines were assessed to characterize the pattern and degree of sexual dimorphism within this population. In addition, the possible similarities and differences with the Homo neanderthalensis remains from Krapina (Croatia) and with a recent modern human sample were evaluated. A combination of classical statistical approaches with more novel techniques allowed us not only to ratify the sex allocation of the individuals previously assigned in the literature but also to estimate the sex of the youngest individuals, which were not assessed in previous studies. Likewise, the sexes of certain extensively worn canines and isolated pieces were estimated. As a result, the sex ratio observed in our dental sample from the Sima de los Huesos population is 5:9 (Nm:Nf). In general terms, both Sima de los Huesos and Krapina dental samples have a degree of sexual dimorphism in their permanent canine tissue proportions that does not surpass that of modern humans. The marked dimorphic root volume of Sima de los Huesos mandibular canines is the exception, which surpasses the modern human mean, although it falls within the 95% confidence interval. Therefore, our results do not support that dental tissue proportions of the European Middle Pleistocene populations were more dimorphic than in modern humans. However, the differences in canine tissue proportions are great enough to allow sex estimation with a high degree of confidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia García-Campos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK.
| | - Mario Modesto-Mata
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - María Martinón-Torres
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Marina Martínez de Pinillos
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK; Université de Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33615, Pessac Cedex, France
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre La Evolución Humana, Paseo de La Sierra de Atapuerca 3, 09002, Burgos, Spain; Anthropology Department, University College London, 14 Taviton Street, London, WC1H 0BW, UK
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6
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White S, Soligo C, Pope M, Hillson S. Taxonomic variation in the supraorbital region of catarrhine primates. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 171:198-218. [PMID: 31762014 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 10/28/2019] [Accepted: 11/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aimed to test the taxonomic utility of the catarrhine supraorbital region using 3D geometric morphometrics, with the aim of establishing its potential use in elucidating the position of more debated hominin groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS 230 3D coordinates were used to record the supraorbital morphology of two datasets: one containing 460 non-hominin catarrhine primates from species and subspecies of Gorilla, Pan, Papio, and Macaca; and the other containing 55 Pleistocene hominins from Homo, Australopithecus, and Paranthropus. Principal component analyses in tangent, form, and allometry-free shape space were used to assess differentiation of taxa, with biological distinctiveness of taxa being established using step-wise discriminant analysis with subsampling. RESULTS Results indicated that the recorded supraorbital morphology could be used to separate non-hominin catarrhine primate genera, species, and subspecies, although accuracy was found to decrease with decreasing Linnaean rank. In addition, analyses in tangent space were found to produce the highest accuracy when classifying primates of known taxonomy. Biological distinctiveness of the middle and later Homo species was comparable to or higher than that of the non-hominin primates, and relatively lower for the earlier groups of Homo. DISCUSSION This study indicates that the supraorbital region preserves taxonomic information that can be used to delineate between closely related groups, both within hominins and wider catarrhine primates. Therefore, this region may be used to provide insight when assessing the taxonomic affiliation of disputed hominin specimens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suzanna White
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Matt Pope
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Simon Hillson
- Institute of Archaeology, University College London, London, UK
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7
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Grine FE, Wurz S, Marean CW. The Middle Stone Age human fossil record from Klasies River Main Site. J Hum Evol 2017; 103:53-78. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2016] [Revised: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 12/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Crevecoeur I, Brooks A, Ribot I, Cornelissen E, Semal P. Late Stone Age human remains from Ishango (Democratic Republic of Congo): New insights on Late Pleistocene modern human diversity in Africa. J Hum Evol 2016; 96:35-57. [PMID: 27343771 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2015] [Revised: 04/08/2016] [Accepted: 04/19/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Although questions of modern human origins and dispersal are subject to intense research within and outside Africa, the processes of modern human diversification during the Late Pleistocene are most often discussed within the context of recent human genetic data. This situation is due largely to the dearth of human fossil remains dating to the final Pleistocene in Africa and their almost total absence from West and Central Africa, thus limiting our perception of modern human diversification within Africa before the Holocene. Here, we present a morphometric comparative analysis of the earliest Late Pleistocene modern human remains from the Central African site of Ishango in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The early Late Stone Age layer (eLSA) of this site, dated to the Last Glacial Maximum (25-20 Ky), contains more than one hundred fragmentary human remains. The exceptional associated archaeological context suggests these remains derived from a community of hunter-fisher-gatherers exhibiting complex social and cognitive behaviors including substantial reliance on aquatic resources, development of fishing technology, possible mathematical notations and repetitive use of space, likely on a seasonal basis. Comparisons with large samples of Late Pleistocene and early Holocene modern human fossils from Africa and Eurasia show that the Ishango human remains exhibit distinctive characteristics and a higher phenotypic diversity in contrast to recent African populations. In many aspects, as is true for the inner ear conformation, these eLSA human remains have more affinities with Middle to early Late Pleistocene fossils worldwide than with extant local African populations. In addition, cross-sectional geometric properties of the long bones are consistent with archaeological evidence suggesting reduced terrestrial mobility resulting from greater investment in and use of aquatic resources. Our results on the Ishango human remains provide insights into past African modern human diversity and adaptation that are consistent with genetic theories about the deep sub-structure of Late Pleistocene African populations and their complex evolutionary history of isolation and diversification.
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Affiliation(s)
- I Crevecoeur
- UMR 5199 PACEA, CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France.
| | - A Brooks
- Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington DC, USA
| | - I Ribot
- Département d'Anthropologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
| | - E Cornelissen
- Culturele Antropologie/Prehistorie en Archeologie, Koninklijk Museum voor Midden-Afrika (KMMA), Tervuren, Belgium
| | - P Semal
- Scientific Service of Heritage, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Brussels, Belgium
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Grine FE. The Late Quaternary Hominins of Africa: The Skeletal Evidence from MIS 6-2. AFRICA FROM MIS 6-2 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/978-94-017-7520-5_17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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10
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Harvati K, Bauer CC, Grine FE, Benazzi S, Ackermann RR, van Niekerk KL, Henshilwood CS. A human deciduous molar from the Middle Stone Age (Howiesons Poort) of Klipdrift Shelter, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2015; 82:190-6. [PMID: 25883050 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2014] [Revised: 03/07/2015] [Accepted: 03/10/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, Tübingen 72070, Germany.
| | - Catherine C Bauer
- Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Center for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, Tübingen 72070, Germany
| | - Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-4364 New York, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, 11794-4364 New York, USA
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Via degli Ariani 1, 48121 Ravenna, Italy; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, D-04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Karen L van Niekerk
- Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religious Studies, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, N-5007 Bergen, Norway; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Christopher S Henshilwood
- Institute for Archaeology, History, Culture and Religious Studies, University of Bergen, Øysteinsgate 3, N-5007 Bergen, Norway; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Kurki HK. Skeletal variability in the pelvis and limb skeleton of humans: Does stabilizing selection limit female pelvic variation? Am J Hum Biol 2013; 25:795-802. [DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2013] [Revised: 08/16/2013] [Accepted: 08/19/2013] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Helen K. Kurki
- Department of Anthropology; University of Victoria; Victoria British Columbia Canada V8W 2Y2
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12
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Grine FE. Observations on Middle Stone Age human teeth from Klasies River Main Site, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2012; 63:750-8. [PMID: 23044372 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.08.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2012] [Revised: 08/10/2012] [Accepted: 08/15/2012] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The human fossils, artefacts and faunal remains from the Middle Stone Age (MSA) deposits of Klasies River Main Site have featured prominently in discussions of the evolution of modern human morphology and the emergence of human behavioral modernity. Nearly 40 human fossils were uncovered by John Wymer's (1967-1968) excavations, and subsequent work by Hilary Deacon (1984-1995) has produced an additional dozen specimens. Many of the latter have been described, but most of the dental remains have been afforded only cursory mention and provisional identification. These specimens are documented here, and questions of individual association among some of the fossils from Wymer's excavations are also addressed. Three teeth provide the first indisputable evidence for juvenile individuals in the deposit. The proportion of juvenile to adult remains in the MSA levels at Klasies is notably lower than in other penecontemporaneous South African coastal MSA sites such as Die Kelders Cave 1 and Blombos Cave, where the proportion of juveniles is seemingly in closer keeping with coastal, geographically proximate Later Stone Age sites such as Oakhurst Shelter and Matjes River Cave. The sizes of most of the recently identified human teeth from Klasies seem to affirm at least one arguable aspect of morphometric modernity in the MSA at this site in the form of a tendency for tooth size reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
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