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Pop E, Noerwidi S, Spoor F. Naming Homo erectus: A review. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103516. [PMID: 38547747 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103516] [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: 01/03/2024] [Revised: 02/20/2024] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024]
Abstract
Following the discovery of hominin fossils at Trinil (Java, Indonesia) in 1891 and 1892, Eugène Dubois named a new species, now known as Homo erectus. Although the main historical events are well-known, there appears to be no consensus regarding two important aspects of the naming of the species, including what constitutes the original publication of the name, and what is the name-bearing type specimen. These issues are addressed in this paper with reference to original sources and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. Our review confirms earlier studies that cite the published quarterly fieldwork report covering the 3rd quarter of 1892 as the original publication naming the species erectus. However, until recently, the correct publication year of 1893 has consistently been cited as 1892, and it has rarely been recognized that the author of the publication was anonymous, even though the author of the species is specifically named. Importantly, Dubois assigns all three hominin fossils found at Trinil up to that moment to the new species, explicitly stating that they belong to a single individual. The three fossils, a molar, a calotte, and a femur, therefore jointly constitute the original holotype. However, the femur most likely derives from younger strata than the other hominins and shows fully modern human-like morphology, unlike subsequently discovered H. erectus femora. Moreover, there is no consensus over the affinities of the molar, and if it is H. erectus rather than an extinct ape, there is no evidence that it belongs to the same individual as the calotte. Excluding these two fossils from the holotype, the calotte is the appropriate fossil to retain the role as name-bearing specimen.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduard Pop
- Naturalis Biodiversity Center, P.O. Box 9517, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands; Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9514, 2300 RA, Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Sofwan Noerwidi
- Research Center for Archaeometry, National Research and Innovation Agency, Jl. Condet Pejaten 4, Pasar Minggu, Jakarta Selatan 12510, Indonesia
| | - Fred Spoor
- Centre for Human Evolution Research, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, SW7 5BD London, United Kingdom; Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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2
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Kralick AE, Zemel BS, Nolan C, Lin P, Tocheri MW. Relative leg-to-arm skeletal strength proportions in orangutans by species and sex. J Hum Evol 2024; 188:103496. [PMID: 38412694 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
Among extant great apes, orangutans climb most frequently. However, Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) exhibit higher frequencies of terrestrial locomotion than do Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). Variation in long bone cross-sectional geometry is known to reflect differential loading of the limbs. Thus, Bornean orangutans should show greater relative leg-to-arm strength than their Sumatran counterparts. Using skeletal specimens from museum collections, we measured two cross-sectional geometric measures of bone strength: the polar section modulus (Zpol) and the ratio of maximum to minimum area moments of inertia (Imax/Imin), at the midshaft of long bones in Bornean (n = 19) and Sumatran adult orangutans (n = 12) using medical CT and peripheral quantitative CT scans, and compared results to published data of other great apes. Relative leg-to-arm strength was quantified using ratios of femur and tibia over humerus, radius, and ulna, respectively. Differences between orangutan species and between sexes in median ratios were assessed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. The tibia of Bornean orangutans was stronger relative to the humerus and the ulna than in Sumatran orangutans (p = 0.008 and 0.025, respectively), consistent with behavioral studies that indicate higher frequencies of terrestrial locomotion in the former. In three Zpol ratios, adult female orangutans showed greater leg-to-arm bone strength compared to flanged males, which may relate to females using their legs more during arboreal locomotion than in adult flanged males. A greater amount of habitat discontinuity on Borneo compared to Sumatra has been posited as a possible explanation for observed interspecific differences in locomotor behaviors, but recent camera trap studies has called this into question. Alternatively, greater frequencies of terrestriality in Pongo pygmaeus may be due to the absence of tigers on Borneo. The results of this study are consistent with the latter explanation given that habitat continuity was greater a century ago when our study sample was collected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra E Kralick
- Studies of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, Harvard University, Cambridge, 02138, USA; Department of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, USA.
| | - Babette S Zemel
- Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA; Department of Pediatrics, The University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Clara Nolan
- Fine Arts Department, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA; Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA
| | - Phillip Lin
- Stockdale High School, Bakersfield, CA, 93311, USA
| | - Matthew W Tocheri
- Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario, P7B 5E1, Canada; Human Origins Program, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 20013, USA; Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, NSW, 2522, Australia
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3
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Zhang Y, Westaway KE, Haberle S, Lubeek JK, Bailey M, Ciochon R, Morley MW, Roberts P, Zhao JX, Duval M, Dosseto A, Pan Y, Rule S, Liao W, Gully GA, Lucas M, Mo J, Yang L, Cai Y, Wang W, Joannes-Boyau R. The demise of the giant ape Gigantopithecus blacki. Nature 2024; 625:535-539. [PMID: 38200315 PMCID: PMC10794149 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-06900-0] [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: 12/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
The largest ever primate and one of the largest of the southeast Asian megafauna, Gigantopithecus blacki1, persisted in China from about 2.0 million years until the late middle Pleistocene when it became extinct2-4. Its demise is enigmatic considering that it was one of the few Asian great apes to go extinct in the last 2.6 million years, whereas others, including orangutan, survived until the present5. The cause of the disappearance of G. blacki remains unresolved but could shed light on primate resilience and the fate of megafauna in this region6. Here we applied three multidisciplinary analyses-timing, past environments and behaviour-to 22 caves in southern China. We used 157 radiometric ages from six dating techniques to establish a timeline for the demise of G. blacki. We show that from 2.3 million years ago the environment was a mosaic of forests and grasses, providing ideal conditions for thriving G. blacki populations. However, just before and during the extinction window between 295,000 and 215,000 years ago there was enhanced environmental variability from increased seasonality, which caused changes in plant communities and an increase in open forest environments. Although its close relative Pongo weidenreichi managed to adapt its dietary preferences and behaviour to this variability, G. blacki showed signs of chronic stress and dwindling populations. Ultimately its struggle to adapt led to the extinction of the greatest primate to ever inhabit the Earth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Kira E Westaway
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
| | - Simon Haberle
- School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Juliën K Lubeek
- School of Natural Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Marian Bailey
- GARG, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Russell Ciochon
- Department of Anthropology and Museum of Natural History, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA
| | - Mike W Morley
- College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Patrick Roberts
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- School of Social Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jian-Xin Zhao
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- National Research Centre on Human Evolution CENIEH, Burgos, Spain
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution (ARCHE), Griffith University, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Anthony Dosseto
- Wollongong Isotope Geochronology Laboratory, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Yue Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Sue Rule
- School of Culture, History and Languages, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
| | - Wei Liao
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Grant A Gully
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Mary Lucas
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Jinyou Mo
- Natural History Museum of Guangxi, Nanning, China
| | - Liyun Yang
- Chongzuo Zhuang Ethnological Musuem, Chongzuo, China
| | - Yanjun Cai
- Institute of Global Environmental Change, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- GARG, Southern Cross University, Lismore, New South Wales, Australia.
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa.
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Xing S, Zanolli C, Zhang Y. Introduction to special issue: Pleistocene hominid diversity and evolution in Asia-A tribute to Pan Lei. J Hum Evol 2023; 182:103416. [PMID: 37598633 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103416] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/22/2023]
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.
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600 Pessac, France.
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- 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
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Pan Y, Zhang Y, Yang L, Takai M, Harrison T, Westaway K, Jin C. Preliminary description of a late Middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna prior to the extinction of Gigantopithecus blacki from the Yixiantian Cave, Guangxi ZAR, South China. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2023. [PMID: 37515385 DOI: 10.1002/ar.25200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, nearly 20 cave sites with rich assemblages of mammalian fossils have been found and excavated in the Chongzuo area, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Their ages are distributed throughout the entire Pleistocene Epoch. These discoveries have greatly facilitated our understanding of the evolution of the Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna and the environmental context of human evolution in southern China. Here, we present a preliminary report on a diverse late Middle Pleistocene mammalian fauna from the Yixiantian Cave in southern China, which is a typical representative of the Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna (sensu lato). The fossil mammals are represented by isolated dental remains only. In 2010 and 2011, two seasons of systematic excavations at the Yixiantian Cave yielded a total of 4,958 identifiable mammalian teeth. They were identified as belonging to 37 species and 6 orders of mammals. In addition, the tooth type of all the teeth representing each species was also determined where possible. A single fragmentary molar was identified as belonging to Gigantopithecus blacki, indicating that its population had declined sharply at this time and was on the brink of extinction. Description of the Yixiantian fauna will not only help better characterize the composition of the Stegodon-Ailuropoda fauna during the late Middle Pleistocene, but also clarify our understanding of the paleoenvironmental context at a time just prior to the extinction of G. blacki.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Pan
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Liyun Yang
- Zhuang Ethnological Museum of Chongzuo, Chongzuo, China
| | - Masanaru Takai
- The Kyoto University Museum, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, New York, USA
| | - Kira Westaway
- Traps' Luminescence Dating Facility, School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Changzhu Jin
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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Estimates of absolute crown strength and bite force in the lower postcanine dentition of Gigantopithecus blacki. J Hum Evol 2023; 175:103313. [PMID: 36709569 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103313] [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: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 12/18/2022] [Accepted: 12/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Gigantopithecus blacki is hypothesized to have been capable of processing mechanically challenging foods, which likely required this species to have high dental resistance to fracture and/or large bite force. To test this hypothesis, we used two recently developed approaches to estimate absolute crown strength and bite force of the lower postcanine dentition. Sixteen Gigantopithecus mandibular permanent cheek teeth were scanned by micro-computed tomography. From virtual mesial cross-sections, we measured average enamel thickness and bi-cervical diameter to estimate absolute crown strength, and cuspal enamel thickness and dentine horn angle to estimate bite force. We compared G. blacki with a sample of extant great apes (Pan, Pongo, and Gorilla) and australopiths (Australopithecus anamensis, Australopithecus afarensis, Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, and Paranthropus boisei). We also evaluated statistical differences in absolute crown strength and bite force between the premolars and molars for G. blacki. Results reveal that molar crown strength is absolutely greater, and molar bite force absolutely higher, in G. blacki than all other taxa except P. boisei, suggesting that G. blacki molars have exceptionally high resistance to fracture and the ability to generate exceptionally high bite force. In addition, G. blacki premolars have comparable absolute crown strength and larger bite force capabilities compared with its molars, implying possible functional specializations in premolars. The dental specialization of G. blacki could thus represent an adaptation to further facilitate the processing of mechanically challenging foods. While it is currently not possible to determine which types of foods were actually consumed by G. blacki through this study, direct evidence (e.g. dental chipping and microwear) left by the foods eaten by G. blacki could potentially lead to greater insights into its dietary ecology.
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Urciuoli A, Alba DM. Systematics of Miocene apes: State of the art of a neverending controversy. J Hum Evol 2023; 175:103309. [PMID: 36716680 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103309] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Hominoids diverged from cercopithecoids during the Oligocene in Afro-Arabia, initially radiating in that continent and subsequently dispersing into Eurasia. From the Late Miocene onward, the geographic range of hominoids progressively shrank, except for hominins, which dispersed out of Africa during the Pleistocene. Although the overall picture of hominoid evolution is clear based on available fossil evidence, many uncertainties persist regarding the phylogeny and paleobiogeography of Miocene apes (nonhominin hominoids), owing to their sparse record, pervasive homoplasy, and the decimated current diversity of this group. We review Miocene ape systematics and evolution by focusing on the most parsimonious cladograms published during the last decade. First, we provide a historical account of the progress made in Miocene ape phylogeny and paleobiogeography, report an updated classification of Miocene apes, and provide a list of Miocene ape species-locality occurrences together with an analysis of their paleobiodiversity dynamics. Second, we discuss various critical issues of Miocene ape phylogeny and paleobiogeography (hylobatid and crown hominid origins, plus the relationships of Oreopithecus) in the light of the highly divergent results obtained from cladistic analyses of craniodental and postcranial characters separately. We conclude that cladistic efforts to disentangle Miocene ape phylogeny are potentially biased by a long-branch attraction problem caused by the numerous postcranial similarities shared between hylobatids and hominids-despite the increasingly held view that they are likely homoplastic to a large extent, as illustrated by Sivapithecus and Pierolapithecus-and further aggravated by abundant missing data owing to incomplete preservation. Finally, we argue that-besides the recovery of additional fossils, the retrieval of paleoproteomic data, and a better integration between cladistics and geometric morphometrics-Miocene ape phylogenetics should take advantage of total-evidence (tip-dating) Bayesian methods of phylogenetic inference combining morphologic, molecular, and chronostratigraphic data. This would hopefully help ascertain whether hylobatid divergence was more basal than currently supported.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Urciuoli
- Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain; Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - David M Alba
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.
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Spengler RN, Kienast F, Roberts P, Boivin N, Begun DR, Ashastina K, Petraglia M. Bearing Fruit: Miocene Apes and Rosaceous Fruit Evolution. BIOLOGICAL THEORY 2023; 18:134-151. [PMID: 37214192 PMCID: PMC10191964 DOI: 10.1007/s13752-022-00413-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Extinct megafaunal mammals in the Americas are often linked to seed-dispersal mutualisms with large-fruiting tree species, but large-fruiting species in Europe and Asia have received far less attention. Several species of arboreal Maloideae (apples and pears) and Prunoideae (plums and peaches) evolved large fruits starting around nine million years ago, primarily in Eurasia. As evolutionary adaptations for seed dispersal by animals, the size, high sugar content, and bright colorful visual displays of ripeness suggest that mutualism with megafaunal mammals facilitated the evolutionary change. There has been little discussion as to which animals were likely candidate(s) on the late Miocene landscape of Eurasia. We argue that several possible dispersers could have consumed the large fruits, with endozoochoric dispersal usually relying on guilds of species. During the Pleistocene and Holocene, the dispersal guild likely included ursids, equids, and elephantids. During the late Miocene, large primates were likely also among the members of this guild, and the potential of a long-held mutualism between the ape and apple clades merits further discussion. If primates were a driving factor in the evolution of this large-fruit seed-dispersal system, it would represent an example of seed-dispersal-based mutualism with hominids millions of years prior to crop domestication or the development of cultural practices, such as farming.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert N. Spengler
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Frank Kienast
- Senckenberg Research Station of Quaternary, Palaeontology, Weimar, Germany
| | - Patrick Roberts
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- isoTROPIC Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Nicole Boivin
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- School of Social Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada
| | - David R. Begun
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
| | - Kseniia Ashastina
- Department of Archaeology, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
- Domestication and Anthropogenic Evolution Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Geoanthropology, Jena, Germany
| | - Michael Petraglia
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC USA
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland Australia
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Ji X, Harrison T, Zhang Y, Wu Y, Zhang C, Hu J, Wu D, Hou Y, Li S, Wang G, Wang Z. The earliest hylobatid from the Late Miocene of China. J Hum Evol 2022; 171:103251. [PMID: 36113226 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103251] [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: 06/06/2022] [Revised: 08/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Yuanmoupithecus xiaoyuan, a small catarrhine from the Late Miocene of Yunnan in southern China, was initially suggested to be related to Miocene proconsuloids or dendropithecoids from East Africa, but subsequent reports indicated that it might be more closely related to hylobatids. Here, detailed comparisons of the material, including seven newly discovered teeth and a partial lower face of a juvenile individual, provide crucial evidence to help establish its phylogenetic relationships. Yuanmoupithecus exhibits a suite of synapomorphies that support a close phylogenetic relationship with extant hylobatids. Furthermore, based on the retention of several primitive features of the dentition, Yuanmoupithecus can be shown to be the sister taxon of crown hylobatids. The contention that Kapi ramnagarensis from the Middle Miocene of India might represent an earlier species of hylobatid is not supported here. Instead, Kapi is inferred to be a specialized pliopithecoid more closely related to Krishnapithecus krishnaii from the Late Miocene of India. Currently then, Yuanmoupithecus represents the earliest known definitively identified hylobatid and the only member of the clade predating the Pleistocene. It extends the fossil record of hylobatids back to 7-8 Ma and fills a critical gap in the evolutionary history of hominoids that has up until now remained elusive. Even so, molecular estimates of a divergence date of hylobatids from other hominoids at about 17-22 Ma signifies that there is still a substantial gap in the fossil record of more than 10 million years that needs to be filled in order to document the biogeographic origins and early evolution of hylobatids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xueping Ji
- Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China; Department of Paleoanthropology, Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming, 650118, China
| | - Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Yun Wu
- Department of Paleoanthropology, Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology, Kunming, 650118, China; School of History, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China
| | - Chunxia Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China; College of Earth Science and Engineering, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China
| | - Jinming Hu
- Institute of International Rivers and Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China
| | - Dongdong Wu
- Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yemao Hou
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Song Li
- Kunming Natural History Museum of Zoology, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Guofu Wang
- Chuxiong Prefectural Museum, Chuxiong, 657000, China
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Chai H. On the evolution of the morphology and resilience of molar cusps in fossil hominid teeth. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater 2022; 133:105357. [PMID: 35841750 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmbbm.2022.105357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2022] [Revised: 06/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
Teeth play an important role in evolutionary studies due to their good preservation and direct link to diet. The present work makes use of a previously generated database on molar teeth of fossil hominids which consists of cuspal enamel thickness dc, dentin horn angle φ and section width D, all measured on a given histological tooth section. These data are here interpreted with the aid of "fracture stress" QF = PF/D2 and geological age t, where PF is the occlusal force needed to cause cusp failure as determined from dc and φ. QF is virtually a constant in non-hominins ("apes") while monotonically increasing toward present time in hominins. These two trends intersect at t = ts = 4.5 (0.11) mya, a value similar to other divergence estimates. QF was fitted with a function f(t) which is proportional to (dc/D)2. The monotonic variation of QF and in turn dc/D with t contrasts the more complex behavior generally characterizing other physical entities of fossil hominids. The increase in dc/D in hominins promotes tooth resilience and in turn life span. Finally, it is suggested that PF provides an upper bound to the maximum bite force produced by the jaw structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herzl Chai
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Israel.
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11
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Lopatin AV, Maschenko EN, Dac LX. Gigantopithecus blacki (Primates, Ponginae) from the Lang Trang Cave (Northern Vietnam): The Latest Gigantopithecus in the Late Pleistocene? DOKLADY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES : PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE USSR, BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES SECTIONS 2022; 502:6-10. [PMID: 35298746 DOI: 10.1134/s0012496622010069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 09/21/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
The dental remains of Gigantopithecus blacki von Koenigswald, 1935 (a complete right m2 with roots and distal fragment of left m2 crown) from the Upper Pleistocene deposits of the Lang Trang cave in northern Vietnam (Thanh Hoa Province) are described. It is the first record of Gigantopithecus in the Upper Pleistocene of Vietnam and, apparently, the second one in the Upper Pleistocene in general (considering material from Shuangtan cave in southern China). Probably, the extinction of G. blacki was confined to the Middle-Late Pleistocene transition, and the specimens from the Lang Trang cave belong to one of the latest relict populations of Gigantopithecus.
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Affiliation(s)
- A V Lopatin
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia.
| | - E N Maschenko
- Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, 117647, Moscow, Russia.,Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Le Xuan Dac
- Institute of Tropical Ecology, Joint Russian-Vietnamese Tropical Scientific and Technological Center, Hanoi, Vietnam
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12
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Pugh KD. Phylogenetic analysis of Middle-Late Miocene apes. J Hum Evol 2022; 165:103140. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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13
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Canine sexual dimorphism in Ardipithecus ramidus was nearly human-like. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2116630118. [PMID: 34853174 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116630118] [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] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Body and canine size dimorphism in fossils inform sociobehavioral hypotheses on human evolution and have been of interest since Darwin's famous reflections on the subject. Here, we assemble a large dataset of fossil canines of the human clade, including all available Ardipithecus ramidus fossils recovered from the Middle Awash and Gona research areas in Ethiopia, and systematically examine canine dimorphism through evolutionary time. In particular, we apply a Bayesian probabilistic method that reduces bias when estimating weak and moderate levels of dimorphism. Our results show that Ar. ramidus canine dimorphism was significantly weaker than in the bonobo, the least dimorphic and behaviorally least aggressive among extant great apes. Average male-to-female size ratios of the canine in Ar. ramidus are estimated as 1.06 and 1.13 in the upper and lower canines, respectively, within modern human population ranges of variation. The slightly greater magnitude of canine size dimorphism in the lower than in the upper canines of Ar. ramidus appears to be shared with early Australopithecus, suggesting that male canine reduction was initially more advanced in the behaviorally important upper canine. The available fossil evidence suggests a drastic size reduction of the male canine prior to Ar. ramidus and the earliest known members of the human clade, with little change in canine dimorphism levels thereafter. This evolutionary pattern indicates a profound behavioral shift associated with comparatively weak levels of male aggression early in human evolution, a pattern that was subsequently shared by Australopithecus and Homo.
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14
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Harrison T, Zhang Y, Yang L, Yuan Z. Evolutionary trend in dental size in fossil orangutans from the Pleistocene of Chongzuo, Guangxi, southern China. J Hum Evol 2021; 161:103090. [PMID: 34781087 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 09/24/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
More than 800 isolated teeth of fossil Pongo have been recovered from cave sites in the vicinity of Chongzuo in Guangxi, southern China, ranging from the Early to Late Pleistocene (2.0-0.1 Ma). These collections provide a unique regional window into the evolutionary history of orangutans over a two-million-year period at the northernmost extent of their former geographic range. Here we investigate the nature and timing of the evolutionary change in the dental size of fossil orangutans from Chongzuo. Fossil tooth size (mesiodistal length∗buccolingual breadth) was compared against an extant Pongo pygmaeus standard (n = 106 individuals). During the course of the Pleistocene, orangutans from southern China exhibited a progressive reduction in overall dental size. Early Pleistocene Pongo has cheek teeth with occlusal areas that are 38.1% larger than those of extant P. pygmaeus. Those from the Middle and Late Pleistocene are 25.2% and 18.9% larger, respectively. Previously, the size difference in dentition between the Early to Middle Pleistocene and Middle to Late Pleistocene samples was used to differentiate time-successive species of Pongo, namely Pongo weidenreichi and Pongo devosi. However, with access to larger samples and better representation of populations through time, the evidence in support of this taxonomic arrangement requires reconsideration. Diminution of the teeth now appears to be a gradual evolutionary transformation rather than a punctuated event. Moreover, the morphological features that distinguish the Chongzuo fossil orangutans from extant Pongo spp. remain uniform throughout the Pleistocene. Retaining P. weidenreichi and P. devosi as anagenetic species remains an option, but, given the current evidence, we consider it preferable to assign all of the fossil orangutans from Chongzuo to P. weidenreichi. Beyond resolving questions of alpha taxonomy, the study of fossil orangutan dental size provides a basis for estimating body mass, which has implications for interpreting the paleobiology of Pleistocene Pongo in southern China.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA.
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key 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
| | - Liyun Yang
- Zhuang Ethnological Museum of Chongzuo, Chongzuo, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
| | - Zengjian Yuan
- Zhuang Ethnological Museum of Chongzuo, Chongzuo, Guangxi, People's Republic of China
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15
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Amorim CEG, Dasari M, Durgavich L, Hinde K, Kissel M, Lewton KL, Loewen T. Integrative approaches to dispersing science: A case study of March Mammal Madness. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34 Suppl 1:e23659. [PMID: 34358377 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 07/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Public engagement is increasingly viewed as an important pillar of scientific scholarship. For early career and established scholars, navigating the mosaic landscape of public education and science communication, noted for rapid "ecological" succession, can be daunting. Moreover, academics are characterized by diverse skills, motivations, values, positionalities, and temperaments that may differentially incline individuals to particular public translation activities. METHODS Here we briefly contextualize engagement activities within a scholarly portfolio, describe the use of one public education program-March Mammal Madness (MMM)- to highlight approaches to science communication, and explore essential elements and practical considerations for creating and sustaining outreach pursuits in tandem with other scholarly activities. RESULTS MMM, an annual simulated tournament of living and fossil animal taxa, has reached hundreds of thousands of learners since 2013. This program has provided a platform to communicate research findings from biology and anthropology and showcase numerous scholars in these fields. MMM has leveraged tournament devices to intentionally address topics of climate change, capitalist environmental degradation, academic sexism, and racist settler-colonialism. The tournament, however, has also perpetuated implicit biases that need disrupting. CONCLUSIONS By embracing reflexive, self-interrogative, and growth attitudes, the tournament organizers iteratively refine and improve this public science education program to better align our activities with our values and goals. Our experiences with MMM suggest that dispersing science is most sustainable when we combine ancestral adaptations for cooperation, community, and storytelling with good-natured competition in the context of shared experiences and shared values.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mauna Dasari
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Lara Durgavich
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Katie Hinde
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
| | - Marc Kissel
- Department of Anthropology, Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, USA
| | - Kristi L Lewton
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Tisa Loewen
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA
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16
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Jiang Q, Zhao L, Guo L, Hu Y. First direct evidence of conservative foraging ecology of early Gigantopithecus blacki (~2 Ma) in Guangxi, southern China. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 176:93-108. [PMID: 33964022 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2020] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Gigantopithecus blacki, the largest hominoid known, is one of the representative Pleistocene mammals in southern China and northern Southeast Asia. Here we investigate the feeding ecology of G. blacki in its core habitat (Guangxi, Southern China) during the early Early Pleistocene, which was the early period in its evolution. MATERIALS AND METHODS The stable isotopic (C, O) analysis of tooth enamel of the fauna associated with G. blacki (n = 58), including the largest number of G. blacki teeth (n = 12) to date from the Liucheng Gigantopithecus Cave (~2 Ma), Guangxi, China, is undertaken. RESULTS The δ13 C values of Liucheng fauna range from -12.9 to -19.0‰ with an average of -16.1 ± 1.3‰ (n = 58) and the δ18 O values range from -4.3 to -9.6‰ with an average of -6.9 ± 1.2‰ (n = 58). The δ13 C values of G. blacki range from -15.9‰ to -17.0‰ with an average of -16.5 ± 0.4‰ (n = 12), and the δ18 O values vary from -5.9‰ to -7.5‰ with an average of -6.6 ± 0.5‰ (n = 12). CONCLUSIONS The isotopic data show Guangxi was characterized by closed C3 forest and humid climate in the early Early Pleistocene. Niche partitioning is found among G. blacki, Sinomastodon, Ailuropoda and Stegodon, the typical megafauna in South China in the early Early Pleistocene. This could be one of the important factors for them to co-exist until the Middle Pleistocene. Smallest isotopic variations of G. blacki are found compared with those of contemporary animals, indicating a conservative foraging ecology i.e., limited foraging area and/or narrow dietary flexibility. Furthermore, the more confined foraging ecology of G. blacki is also seen in comparison with fossil and extant large-bodied primates. However, the unique dietary pattern of G. blacki does not seem to have hindered its survival. The environment in Guangxi during the early Early Pleistocene offered the suitable conditions for G. blacki to become one of the typical species in the faunal assemblages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quyi Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Archaeology and Anthropology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Zhejiang Provincial Office of Cultural Relics Authentication, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lingxia Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Lin Guo
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China.,College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yaowu Hu
- Department of Cultural Heritage and Museology, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.,Institute of Archaeological Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
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17
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Yi Z, Zanolli C, Liao W, Wang W. A deep-learning-based workflow to assess taxonomic affinity of hominid teeth with a test on discriminating Pongo and Homo upper molars. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2021; 175:931-942. [PMID: 33860534 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24286] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Revised: 01/18/2021] [Accepted: 03/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Convolutional neural network (CNN) is a state-of-art deep learning (DL) method with superior performance in image classification. Here, a CNN-based workflow is proposed to discriminate hominid teeth. Our hope is that this method could help confirm otherwise questionable records of Homo from Pleistocene deposits where there is a standing risk of mis-attributing molars of Pongo to Homo. METHODS AND MATERIALS A two-step workflow was designed. The first step is converting the enamel-dentine junction (EDJ) into EDJ card, that is, a two-dimensional image conversion of the three-dimensional EDJ surface. In this step, researchers must carefully orient the teeth according to the cervical plane. The second step is training the CNN learner with labeled EDJ cards. A sample consisting of 53 fossil Pongo and 53 Homo (modern human and Neanderthal) was adopted to generate EDJ cards, which were then separated into training set (n = 84) and validation set (n = 22). To assess the feasibility of this workflow, a Pongo-Homo classifier was trained from the aforementioned EDJ card set, and then the classifier was used to predict the taxonomic affinities of six samples (test set) from von Koenigswald's Chinese Apothecary collection. RESULTS Results show that EDJ cards in validation set are classified accurately by the CNN learner. More importantly, taxonomic predictions for six specimens in test set match well with the diagnosis results deduced from multiple lines of evidence, implying the great potential of CNN method. DISCUSSION This workflow paves a way for future studies using CNN to address taxonomic complexity (e.g., distinguishing Pongo and Homo teeth from the Pleistocene of Asia). Further improvements include visual interpretation and extending the applicability to moderately worn teeth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhixing Yi
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China.,School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
| | - Wei Liao
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
| | - Wei Wang
- Institute of Cultural Heritage, Shandong University, Qingdao, China
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18
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TAKAI MASANARU, NYO KHIN, KONO REIKOT, HTIKE THAUNG, KUSUHASHI NAO, THEIN ZINMAUNGMAUNG. New hominoid mandible from the early Late Miocene Irrawaddy Formation in Tebingan area, central Myanmar. ANTHROPOL SCI 2021. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.2012131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
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19
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Harrison T, Zhang Y, Wei G, Sun C, Wang Y, Liu J, Tong H, Huang B, Xu F. A new genus of pliopithecoid from the late Early Miocene of China and its implications for understanding the paleozoogeography of the Pliopithecoidea. J Hum Evol 2020; 145:102838. [PMID: 32659499 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2020] [Revised: 05/26/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
A diversity of pliopithecoids is known from Miocene localities in Europe, but until recently, this group was relatively poorly represented in China. However, new discoveries have shown that Chinese pliopithecoids were taxonomically diverse and geographically widespread. The earliest pliopithecoids in China (and Eurasia) are Dionysopithecus and Platodontopithecus from the Early Miocene of Sihong, Jiangsu (∼19-18 Ma). During the Middle Miocene (∼15-12 Ma), several species of pliopithecoids are recorded at localities in Gansu Province (Laogou), Inner Mongolia (Damiao), Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (Tieersihabahe), and Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (Tongxin). Finally, a late-surviving anapithecine crouzeliid, Laccopithecus robustus, is known from the Late Miocene (∼7 Ma) of Shihuiba in Yunnan, which postdates the extinction of pliopithecoids in Europe (during MN 10). Paleontological investigations at a late Early Miocene locality near Fanchang in Anhui Province have yielded a large sample of isolated teeth (more than one hundred) of a previously unknown species of pliopithecoid. The associated micromammals indicate an age contemporaneous with the Shanwang Formation in Shandong Province (MN 3-4, ∼18-17 Ma). All of the permanent teeth are represented except for I2. With its unique suite of dental features, the Fanchang pliopithecoid can be attributed to a new species and genus. Shared derived features of the lower molars confirm that the Fanchang pliopithecoid has its closest affinities with European crouzeliids, but a number of primitive traits indicate that it is a stem member of the clade. The evidence points to China as an important center for the early diversification of pliopithecoids. Contrary to previous zoogeographic scenarios, the occurrence of an early crouzeliid in China implies that the Pliopithecidae and Crouzeliidae may have diverged from a stem pliopithecoid in Asia during the Early Miocene before their arrival in Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY, 10003, USA
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key 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.
| | - Guangbiao Wei
- Chongqing Institute of Geological Survey, Chongqing, 401122, People's Republic of China
| | - Chengkai Sun
- Division of Natural History, Shandong Museum, Jinan, 250014, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuan Wang
- Key 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
| | - Jinyi Liu
- Key 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
| | - Haowen Tong
- Key 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
| | - Baiting Huang
- Cultural Heritage Administration of Fanchang County, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, Wuhu, 241200, People's Republic of China
| | - Fan Xu
- Cultural Heritage Administration of Fanchang County, Wuhu City, Anhui Province, Wuhu, 241200, People's Republic of China
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20
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Chai H. Determining primates bite force from histological tooth sections. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 171:683-703. [PMID: 31912901 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 10/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The ability to accurately estimate bite force (BF) in extant and fossil primates is valuable to biological anthropologists. BF is generally evaluated using complex jaw musculature and lever arm analyses employing numerous assumptions and requiring complete cranial morphology. Here, a simple method to determine BF from data measured on histological sections of fossil teeth is proposed. METHODS Published sections of molar teeth encompassing 27 different extinct and extant primates dating back to as early as 17 million years ago were examined. Focusing on the cusp region, the extracted data include characteristic enamel thickness dc and dentin horn angle φ. The occlusal force needed to fracture a cusp, PF , was determined from these variables with the aid of a finite element stress analysis similarly to a previous study on postcanine human teeth. The bite force was obtained by linking BF to PF using a universal constant. RESULTS The measured variables dc and φ are conclusively linked. This link produces a virtually constant fracture force PF and in turn bite force BF for all cusps in the molar row. An explicit formula tying BF to dc and φ was derived. For nonhominin taxa the bite force, molar crown area, and body mass are found to be intimately related. The case of hominins is more involved. The so determined BF is gender-averaged, with the bite force of males estimated to be ≈12% greater than that of females. CONCLUSIONS The use of "fracture mechanics" concepts from mechanics of materials facilitates determination of critical bite force in primates based on characteristic enamel thickness dc and dentin horn angle φ as extracted from histological sections of molar teeth. This novel approach enables quantitative insight into the role played by crown area, body mass and bite force on evolutionary trends. The conclusive link between cuspal enamel thickness and dentin horn angle facilitates optimal food processing without hindering cusp resilience. The proposed approach may be extended to mammals having asymmetric cusp structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Herzl Chai
- School of Mechanical Engineering, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel
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21
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Enamel proteome shows that Gigantopithecus was an early diverging pongine. Nature 2019; 576:262-265. [PMID: 31723270 PMCID: PMC6908745 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1728-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 10/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Gigantopithecus blacki was a giant hominid that inhabited densely forested environments of Southeast Asia during the Pleistocene1. Its evolutionary relationships to other great ape species, and their divergence during the Middle and Late Miocene (16-5.3 Mya), remains disputed2,3. Hypotheses regarding relationships between Gigantopithecus and extinct and extant hominids are difficult to substantiate because of its highly derived dentognathic morphology and the absence of cranial and post-cranial remains1,3-6. Therefore, proposed hypotheses on the phylogenetic position of Gigantopithecus among hominids have been wide-ranging, but none have received independent molecular validation. We retrieved dental enamel proteome sequences from a 1.9 million years (Mya) old Gigantopithecus blacki molar found in Chuifeng Cave, China7,8. The thermal age of these protein sequences is approximately five times older than any previously published mammalian proteome or genome. We demonstrate that Gigantopithecus is a sister clade to orangutans (genus Pongo) with a common ancestor about 10-12 Mya, implying that the Gigantopithecus divergence from Pongo is part of the Miocene radiation of great apes. Additionally, we hypothesize that the expression of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG), which has not been observed in enamel proteomes previously, had a role in the biomineralization of the thick enamel crowns that characterize the large molars in the genus9,10. The survival of an Early Pleistocene dental enamel proteome in the subtropics further expands the scope of palaeoproteomic analysis into geographic areas and time periods previously considered incompatible with genetic preservation.
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22
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Yaxley KJ, Foley RA. Reconstructing the ancestral phenotypes of great apes and humans (Homininae) using subspecies-level phylogenies. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Owing to their close affinity, the African great apes are of interest in the study of human evolution. Although numerous researchers have described the ancestors we share with these species with reference to extant great apes, few have done so with phylogenetic comparative methods. One obstacle to the application of these techniques is the within-species phenotypic variation found in this group. Here, we leverage this variation, modelling common ancestors using ancestral state reconstructions (ASRs) with reference to subspecies-level trait data. A subspecies-level phylogeny of the African great apes and humans was estimated from full-genome mitochondrial DNA sequences and used to implement ASRs for 14 continuous traits known to vary between great ape subspecies. Although the inclusion of within-species phenotypic variation increased the phylogenetic signal for our traits and improved the performance of our ASRs, whether this was done through the inclusion of subspecies phylogeny or through the use of existing methods made little difference. Our ASRs corroborate previous findings that the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees and bonobos was a chimp-like animal, but also suggest that the last common ancestor of humans, chimpanzees, bonobos and gorillas was an animal unlike any extant African great ape.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Robert A Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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23
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Ortiz A, Bailey SE, Delgado M, Zanolli C, Demeter F, Bacon A, Nguyen TMH, Nguyen AT, Zhang Y, Harrison T, Hublin J, Skinner MM. A distinguishing feature of
Pongo
upper molars and its implications for the taxonomic identification of isolated hominid teeth from the Pleistocene of Asia. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 170:595-612. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Ortiz
- Department of Anthropology New York University New York New York
- Institute of Human Origins, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University Tempe Arizona
| | - Shara E. Bailey
- Department of Anthropology New York University New York New York
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Miguel Delgado
- División Antropología, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo Universidad Nacional de La Plata La Plata República Argentina
- Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas CONICET Buenos Aires República Argentina
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Contemporary Anthropology and Collaborative Innovation Center of Genetics and Development School of Life Sciences and Human Phenome Institute, Fudan University Shanghai People's Republic of China
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS Université de Bordeaux Bordeaux France
| | - Fabrice Demeter
- Musée de l'Homme, UMR7206 Département Homme et Environnement Paris France
- Lundbeck Foundation GeoGenetics Centre, Globe Institute University of Copenhagen Copenhagen Denmark
| | - Anne‐Marie Bacon
- Laboratoire BABEL, Faculté de Chirurgie Dentaire FRE 2029 CNRS, Université Paris Descartes Montrouge France
| | - Thi M. H. Nguyen
- Anthropological and Palaeoenvironmental Department The Institute of Archaeology Hanoi Vietnam
| | - Anh T. Nguyen
- Anthropological and Palaeoenvironmental Department The Institute of Archaeology Hanoi Vietnam
| | - Yingqi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology Chinese Academy of Sciences Nanjing People's Republic of China
| | - Terry Harrison
- Department of Anthropology New York University New York New York
| | - Jean‐Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
| | - Matthew M. Skinner
- Department of Human Evolution Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology Leipzig Germany
- School of Anthropology and Conservation University of Kent Canterbury United Kingdom
- Evolutionary Studies Institute University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
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Evidence for increased hominid diversity in the Early to Middle Pleistocene of Indonesia. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:755-764. [PMID: 30962558 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0860-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Since the first discovery of Pithecanthropus (Homo) erectus by E. Dubois at Trinil in 1891, over 200 hominid dentognathic remains have been collected from the Early to Middle Pleistocene deposits of Java, Indonesia, forming the largest palaeoanthropological collection in South East Asia. Most of these fossils are currently attributed to H. erectus. However, because of the substantial morphological and metric variation in the Indonesian assemblage, some robust specimens, such as the partial mandibles Sangiran 5 and Sangiran 6a, were formerly variably allocated to other taxa (Meganthropus palaeojavanicus, Pithecanthropus dubius, Pongo sp.). To resolve the taxonomic uncertainty surrounding these and other contentious Indonesian hominid specimens, we used occlusal fingerprint analysis (OFA) to reconstruct their chewing kinematics; we also used various morphometric approaches based on microtomography to examine the internal dental structures. Our results confirm the presence of Meganthropus as a Pleistocene Indonesian hominid distinct from Pongo, Gigantopithecus and Homo, and further reveal that Dubois's H. erectus paratype molars from 1891 are not hominin (human lineage), but instead are more likely to belong to Meganthropus.
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