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Hill H, Mirazón Lahr M, Beaudet A. Brain evolution and language: A comparative 3D analysis of Wernicke's area in extant and fossil hominids. PROGRESS IN BRAIN RESEARCH 2023; 275:117-142. [PMID: 36841566 DOI: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2022.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
The spoken word does not fossilize. Despite this, scientists have long sought to unearth the origins of language within the human lineage. One of the lines of evidence they have pursued is functional brain areas, such as Broca's and Wernicke's areas, which are associated with speech production and comprehension, respectively. Sulcal layout of Broca's area clearly differs between humans and our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, enabling its homolog in fossil hominins to be deemed more chimpanzee-like (i.e., closer to the ancestral form) or more human-like (i.e., derived form) with relative ease. Yet, no such differences have been found for Wernicke's area. This study compares sulcal and gyral organization of Wernicke's area across extant human brains (n=4), extant chimpanzee brains (n=5) and fossil hominin endocasts (n=4). Some chimpanzee brains had indications of leftward Wernicke's area asymmetry in the form of a shorter Sylvian fissure and/or caudal superior temporal gyral bulging in the left hemisphere. Overlap between the superior and middle temporal sulci in human but not chimpanzee brains may be due to a relatively larger Wernicke's area in humans. Fragmentation of the main body of the superior temporal sulcus exclusively in human left hemispheres was ascribed to a leftward Wernicke's area asymmetry in this species. Endocast examination found that, while Paranthropus robustus exhibit human-like overlap between the superior and middle temporal sulci, Australopithecus africanus do not, although they do exhibit chimpanzee-like caudal superior temporal gyral bulging. Such findings signal, albeit loosely, a more human-like Wernicke's area in Paranthropus than Australopithecus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harmony Hill
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Marta Mirazón Lahr
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
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Velez AD, Quam R, Conde-Valverde M, Martínez I, Lorenzo C, Arsuaga JL. Geometric morphometric analysis of the bony labyrinth of the Sima de los Huesos hominins. J Hum Evol 2023; 174:103280. [PMID: 36455404 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103280] [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: 10/03/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The bony labyrinth contains phylogenetic information that can be used to determine interspecific differences between fossil hominins. The present study conducted a comparative 3D geometric morphometric analysis on the bony labyrinth of the Middle Pleistocene Sima de los Huesos (SH) hominins. The findings of this study corroborate previous multivariate analyses of the SH hominin bony labyrinth. The analysis of the semicircular canals revealed the SH hominin canal morphologies appear closer to those of the Neandertals than to those of Homo sapiens. This is attributable to a Neandertal-like ovoid anterior canal, and mediolaterally expanded, circular posterior canal. However, the SH hominins lack the increased torsion in the anterior canal and the inferior orientation of the lateral canal seen in Neandertals. The results of the cochlear analysis indicated that, although there is some overlap, there are notable differences between the SH hominins and the Neandertals. In particular, the SH hominin cochlea appears more constricted than in Neandertals in the first and second turns. A principal component analysis of the full bony labyrinth separated most SH hominins from the Neandertals, which largely clustered with modern humans. A covariance ratio analysis found a significant degree of modularity within the bony labyrinth of all three groups, with the SH hominins and Neandertals displaying the highest modularity. This modular signal in the bony labyrinth may be attributable to different selective pressures related to locomotion and audition. Overall, the results of this study confirm previous suggestions that the semicircular canals in the SH hominins are somewhat derived toward Neandertals, while their cochlea is largely primitive within the genus Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alex D Velez
- Department of Anthropology, State University of New York at Oswego, Oswego, NY 13126, USA; Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA.
| | - Rolf Quam
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA; Centro Mixto (UCM-ISCIII) de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Universidad de Alcalá, Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Campus Universitario, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West, 79th St., New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Mercedes Conde-Valverde
- Universidad de Alcalá, Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Campus Universitario, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Francisco Javier Muñiz, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Calle Paraguay 2155, Primer piso, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 1121, Argentina; Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, USA
| | - Ignacio Martínez
- Centro Mixto (UCM-ISCIII) de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Universidad de Alcalá, Cátedra de Otoacústica Evolutiva y Paleoantropología (HM Hospitales-Universidad de Alcalá), Departamento de Ciencias de la Vida, Campus Universitario, Ctra. Madrid-Barcelona Km 33,600, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación Francisco Javier Muñiz, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Calle Paraguay 2155, Primer piso, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 1121, Argentina
| | - Carlos Lorenzo
- Centro de Investigación Francisco Javier Muñiz, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Calle Paraguay 2155, Primer piso, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, 1121, Argentina; Àrea de Prehistòria, Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Av. Catalunya 35, 43002 Tarragona, Spain; Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Campus Sescelades URV, Zona Educacional 4, 43007 Tarragona, Spain
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto (UCM-ISCIII) de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Avda. Monforte de Lemos 5, 28029 Madrid, Spain; Departamento de Geodinámica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain
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Urciuoli A, Kubat J, Schisanowski L, Schrenk F, Zipfel B, Tawane M, Bam L, Alba DM, Kullmer O. Cochlear morphology of Indonesian Homo erectus from Sangiran. J Hum Evol 2022; 165:103163. [PMID: 35299091 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103163] [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: 08/30/2021] [Revised: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Homo erectus s.l. is key for deciphering the origin and subsequent evolution of genus Homo. However, the characterization of this species is hindered by the existence of multiple variants in both mainland and insular Asia, as a result of divergent chronogeographical evolutionary trends, genetic isolation, and interbreeding with other human species. Previous research has shown that cochlear morphology embeds taxonomic and phylogenetic information that may help infer the phylogenetic relationships among hominin species. Here we describe the cochlear morphology of two Indonesian H. erectus individuals (Sangiran 2 and 4), and compare it with a sample of australopiths, Middle to Late Pleistocene humans, and extant humans by means of linear measurements and both principal components and canonical variates analyses performed on shape ratios. Our results indicate that H. erectus displays a mosaic morphology that combines plesiomorphic (australopithlike) features (such as a chimplike round cochlear cross section and low cochlear thickness), with derived characters of later humans (a voluminous and long cochlea, possibly related to hearing abilities)-consistent with the more basal position of H. erectus. Our results also denote substantial variation between the two studied individuals, particularly in the length and radius of the first turn, as well as cross-sectional shape. Given the small size of the available sample, it is not possible to discern whether such differences merely reflect intraspecific variation among roughly coeval H. erectus individuals or whether they might result from greater age differences between them than currently considered. However, our results demonstrate that most characters found in later humans were already present in Indonesian H. erectus, with the exception of Neanderthals, which display an autapomorphic condition relative to other Homo species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Urciuoli
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain.
| | - Jülide Kubat
- CNRS UMR 8045 Babel, Université de Paris, Faculté de chirurgie dentaire, 1 rue Maurice Arnoux, Montrouge, 92120, France; Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Lisa Schisanowski
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Friedemann Schrenk
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Mirriam Tawane
- Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Lunga Bam
- Department of Radiation Science, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - David M Alba
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, 08193, Spain
| | - Ottmar Kullmer
- Division of Palaeoanthropology, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany; Department of Paleobiology and Environment, Institute of Ecology, Evolution, and Diversity, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
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Braga J, Samir C, Fradi A, Feunteun Y, Jakata K, Zimmer VA, Zipfel B, Thackeray JF, Macé M, Wood BA, Grine FE. Cochlear shape distinguishes southern African early hominin taxa with unique auditory ecologies. Sci Rep 2021; 11:17018. [PMID: 34426640 PMCID: PMC8382707 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-96543-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Insights into potential differences among the bony labyrinths of Plio-Pleistocene hominins may inform their evolutionary histories and sensory ecologies. We use four recently-discovered bony labyrinths from the site of Kromdraai to significantly expand the sample for Paranthropus robustus. Diffeomorphometry, which provides detailed information about cochlear shape, reveals size-independent differences in cochlear shape between P. robustus and Australopithecus africanus that exceed those among modern humans and the African apes. The cochlea of P. robustus is distinctive and relatively invariant, whereas cochlear shape in A. africanus is more variable, resembles that of early Homo, and shows a degree of morphological polymorphism comparable to that evinced by modern species. The curvature of the P. robustus cochlea is uniquely derived and is consistent with enhanced sensitivity to low-frequency sounds. Combined with evidence for selection, our findings suggest that sound perception shaped distinct ecological adaptations among southern African early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Braga
- grid.15781.3a0000 0001 0723 035XCentre d’Anthropobiologie et de Génomique de Toulouse, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, Faculté de Médecine Purpan, 37 allées Jules Guesde, Toulouse, France ,grid.11951.3d0000 0004 1937 1135Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
| | - C. Samir
- grid.503317.30000 0000 9971 4898LIMOS, UMR 6158 CNRS-Université Clermont Auvergne, 63173 Aubière, France
| | - A. Fradi
- grid.503317.30000 0000 9971 4898LIMOS, UMR 6158 CNRS-Université Clermont Auvergne, 63173 Aubière, France
| | - Y. Feunteun
- grid.503317.30000 0000 9971 4898LIMOS, UMR 6158 CNRS-Université Clermont Auvergne, 63173 Aubière, France
| | - K. Jakata
- grid.11951.3d0000 0004 1937 1135Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
| | - V. A. Zimmer
- grid.6936.a0000000123222966Faculty of Informatics, Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - B. Zipfel
- grid.11951.3d0000 0004 1937 1135Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
| | - J. F. Thackeray
- grid.11951.3d0000 0004 1937 1135Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, PO WITS, Johannesburg, 2050 South Africa
| | - M. Macé
- Véto 31, 73 Avenue du Général de Gaulle, 47000 Agen, France
| | - B. A. Wood
- grid.253615.60000 0004 1936 9510Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052 USA
| | - F. E. Grine
- grid.36425.360000 0001 2216 9681Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA ,grid.36425.360000 0001 2216 9681Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794 USA
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Reassessment of the phylogenetic relationships of the late Miocene apes Hispanopithecus and Rudapithecus based on vestibular morphology. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2015215118. [PMID: 33495351 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2015215118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Late Miocene great apes are key to reconstructing the ancestral morphotype from which earliest hominins evolved. Despite consensus that the late Miocene dryopith great apes Hispanopithecus laietanus (Spain) and Rudapithecus hungaricus (Hungary) are closely related (Hominidae), ongoing debate on their phylogenetic relationships with extant apes (stem hominids, hominines, or pongines) complicates our understanding of great ape and human evolution. To clarify this question, we rely on the morphology of the inner ear semicircular canals, which has been shown to be phylogenetically informative. Based on microcomputed tomography scans, we describe the vestibular morphology of Hispanopithecus and Rudapithecus, and compare them with extant hominoids using landmark-free deformation-based three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses. We also provide critical evidence about the evolutionary patterns of the vestibular apparatus in living and fossil hominoids under different phylogenetic assumptions for dryopiths. Our results are consistent with the distinction of Rudapithecus and Hispanopithecus at the genus rank, and further support their allocation to the Hominidae based on their derived semicircular canal volumetric proportions. Compared with extant hominids, the vestibular morphology of Hispanopithecus and Rudapithecus most closely resembles that of African apes, and differs from the derived condition of orangutans. However, the vestibular morphologies reconstructed for the last common ancestors of dryopiths, crown hominines, and crown hominids are very similar, indicating that hominines are plesiomorphic in this regard. Therefore, our results do not conclusively favor a hominine or stem hominid status for the investigated dryopiths.
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Urciuoli A, Zanolli C, Beaudet A, Dumoncel J, Santos F, Moyà-Solà S, Alba DM. The evolution of the vestibular apparatus in apes and humans. eLife 2020; 9:e51261. [PMID: 32122463 PMCID: PMC7054002 DOI: 10.7554/elife.51261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 01/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Phylogenetic relationships among extinct hominoids (apes and humans) are controversial due to pervasive homoplasy and the incompleteness of the fossil record. The bony labyrinth might contribute to this debate, as it displays strong phylogenetic signal among other mammals. However, the potential of the vestibular apparatus for phylogenetic reconstruction among fossil apes remains understudied. Here we test and quantify the phylogenetic signal embedded in the vestibular morphology of extant anthropoids (monkeys, apes and humans) and two extinct apes (Oreopithecus and Australopithecus) as captured by a deformation-based 3D geometric morphometric analysis. We also reconstruct the ancestral morphology of various hominoid clades based on phylogenetically-informed maximum likelihood methods. Besides revealing strong phylogenetic signal in the vestibule and enabling the proposal of potential synapomorphies for various hominoid clades, our results confirm the relevance of vestibular morphology for addressing the controversial phylogenetic relationships of fossil apes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Urciuoli
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel CrusafontUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del VallèsBarcelonaSpain
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de BordeauxPessacFrance
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of the WitwatersrandJohannesburgSouth Africa
- Department of AnatomyUniversity of PretoriaPretoriaSouth Africa
| | - Jean Dumoncel
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université de ToulouseToulouseFrance
| | - Frédéric Santos
- Laboratoire PACEA, UMR 5199 CNRS, Université de BordeauxPessacFrance
| | - Salvador Moyà-Solà
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel CrusafontUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del VallèsBarcelonaSpain
- Institució Catalana de Recerca i Estudis Avançats (ICREA)BarcelonaSpain
- Unitat d’Antropologia (Departament de Biologia Animal, Biologia Vegetal i Ecologia)Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del VallèsBarcelonaSpain
| | - David M Alba
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel CrusafontUniversitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Cerdanyola del VallèsBarcelonaSpain
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Zanolli C, Schillinger B, Kullmer O, Schrenk F, Kelley J, Rössner GE, Macchiarelli R. When X-Rays Do Not Work. Characterizing the Internal Structure of Fossil Hominid Dentognathic Remains Using High-Resolution Neutron Microtomographic Imaging. Front Ecol Evol 2020. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
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