1
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Schuurman T, Bruner E. An inclusive anatomical network analysis of human craniocerebral topology. J Anat 2024. [PMID: 38822698 DOI: 10.1111/joa.14068] [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: 02/09/2024] [Revised: 04/19/2024] [Accepted: 05/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/03/2024] Open
Abstract
The human brain's complex morphology is spatially constrained by numerous intrinsic and extrinsic physical interactions. Spatial constraints help to identify the source of morphological variability and can be investigated by employing anatomical network analysis. Here, a model of human craniocerebral topology is presented, based on the bony elements of the skull at birth and a previously designed model of the brain. The goal was to investigate the topological components fundamental to the craniocerebral geometric balance, to identify underlying phenotypic patterns of spatial arrangement, and to understand how these patterns might have influenced the evolution of human brain morphology. Analysis of the craniocerebral network model revealed that the combined structure of the body and lesser wings of the sphenoid bone, the parahippocampal gyrus, and the parietal and ethmoid bones are susceptible to sustain and apply major spatial constraints that are likely to limit or channel their morphological evolution. The results also showcase a high level of global integration and efficient diffusion of biomechanical forces across the craniocerebral system, a fundamental aspect of morphological variability in terms of plasticity. Finally, community detection in the craniocerebral system highlights the concurrence of a longitudinal and a vertical modular partition. The former reflects the distinct morphogenetic environments of the three endocranial fossae, while the latter corresponds to those of the basicranium and calvaria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Schuurman
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- Centro Nacional de Investigación Sobre la Evolución Humana, Burgos, Spain
- Alzheimer's Centre Reina Sofía-CIEN Foundation-ISCIII, Madrid, Spain
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2
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Wilder L, Semendeferi K. Infant Brain Development and Plasticity from an Evolutionary Perspective. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-76000-7_3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022] Open
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3
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Markov AV, Markov MA. Coevolution of Brain, Culture, and Lifespan: Insights from Computer Simulations. BIOCHEMISTRY. BIOKHIMIIA 2021; 86:1503-1525. [PMID: 34937531 DOI: 10.1134/s0006297921120014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Humans possess a number of traits that are rare or absent in other primates, including large brain size, culture, language, extended lifespan (LS), and long post-reproductive period. Here, we use a computer model, TribeSim, originally designed to explore the autocatalytic coevolution of the hominin brain and culture within the framework of the "cultural drive" theory, to find out how culture and brain could coevolve with LS (or aging rate). We show that in the absence of culture, the evolution of LS depends on the intensity of the between-group competition (BGC): strong BGC results in shorter LS. Culture, however, favors genetic evolution of longer LS even if the BGC is strong. Extended LS, in turn, enhances cultural development, thus creating positive feedback. Cultural evolution of LS (accumulation of survival-enhancing or survival-impairing knowledge) differs from the genetic evolution of the same trait, partially because "memes" (ideas, skills, and behaviors) that reduce the risk of death tend to spread in the meme pool even if it is not beneficial to genes. Consequently, cultural evolution of aging tends to result in longer LS than genetic evolution of the same trait. If LS evolves both genetically and culturally, the typical result is a society in which young individuals, due to their genetic predisposition, lead a riskier lifestyle in exchange for a chance to gain additional resources, but accumulate survival-enhancing knowledge with age. Simulations also showed that cultural evolution of adaptive behaviors can contribute to the genetic evolution of a long post-reproductive period, e.g., if the presence of knowledgeable long-livers increases the competitiveness of the group.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander V Markov
- Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russia. .,Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 117997, Russia
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4
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Le Cabec A, Colard T, Charabidze D, Chaussain C, Di Carlo G, Gaudzinski-Windheuser S, Hublin JJ, Melis RT, Pioli L, Ramirez-Rozzi F, Mussi M. Insights into the palaeobiology of an early Homo infant: multidisciplinary investigation of the GAR IVE hemi-mandible, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23087. [PMID: 34845260 PMCID: PMC8630034 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02462-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Childhood is an ontogenetic stage unique to the modern human life history pattern. It enables the still dependent infants to achieve an extended rapid brain growth, slow somatic maturation, while benefitting from provisioning, transitional feeding, and protection from other group members. This tipping point in the evolution of human ontogeny likely emerged from early Homo. The GAR IVE hemi-mandible (1.8 Ma, Melka Kunture, Ethiopia) represents one of the rarely preserved early Homo infants (~ 3 years at death), recovered in a richly documented Oldowan archaeological context. Yet, based on the sole external inspection of its teeth, GAR IVE was diagnosed with a rare genetic disease-amelogenesis imperfecta (AI)-altering enamel. Since it may have impacted the child's survival, this diagnosis deserves deeper examination. Here, we reassess and refute this diagnosis and all associated interpretations, using an unprecedented multidisciplinary approach combining an in-depth analysis of GAR IVE (synchrotron imaging) and associated fauna. Some of the traits previously considered as diagnostic of AI can be better explained by normal growth or taphonomy, which calls for caution when diagnosing pathologies on fossils. We compare GAR IVE's dental development to other fossil hominins, and discuss the implications for the emergence of childhood in early Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adeline Le Cabec
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103, Leipzig, Germany. .,Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, 33600, Pessac, France.
| | - Thomas Colard
- grid.410463.40000 0004 0471 8845Department of Orthodontics, University of Lille, Lille University Hospital, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Damien Charabidze
- grid.503422.20000 0001 2242 6780UMR 8025, Centre d’Histoire Judiciaire, University of Lille, 59000 Lille, France
| | - Catherine Chaussain
- grid.508487.60000 0004 7885 7602UR 2496 Orofacial Pathologies, Imaging and Biotherapies. Dental School Université de Paris, AP-HP- Hôpital Bretonneau - Service Odontologie CRMR Métabolisme du Phosphore et du Calcium (OSCAR, ERN Bond), Paris, France
| | - Gabriele Di Carlo
- grid.7841.aDepartment of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, Unit of Pediatric Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabine Gaudzinski-Windheuser
- grid.461784.80000 0001 2181 3201MONREPOS Archaeological Research Centre and Museum for Human Behavioural Evolution, Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut Für Archäologie and Institute of Ancient Studies, Johannes Gutenberg–University Mainz, Schloss Monrepos, 56567 Neuwied, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- grid.419518.00000 0001 2159 1813Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Rita T. Melis
- Italian Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Rome, Italy ,grid.7763.50000 0004 1755 3242Dipartimento Di Scienze Chimiche E Geologiche, Università Degli Studi Di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Laura Pioli
- grid.7763.50000 0004 1755 3242Dipartimento Di Scienze Chimiche E Geologiche, Università Degli Studi Di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato (CA), Italy
| | - Fernando Ramirez-Rozzi
- grid.508487.60000 0004 7885 7602UR 2496 Orofacial Pathologies, Imaging and Biotherapies. Dental School Université de Paris, AP-HP- Hôpital Bretonneau - Service Odontologie CRMR Métabolisme du Phosphore et du Calcium (OSCAR, ERN Bond), Paris, France ,grid.420021.50000 0001 2153 6793UMR 7206 CNRS MNHN UP Ecoanthropologie Musée de l’Homme, Paris, France
| | - Margherita Mussi
- Italian Archaeological Mission at Melka Kunture and Balchit, Rome, Italy. .,Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Piazzale A. Moro 5, 00185, Rome, Italy.
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5
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Frémondière P, Thollon L, Marchal F. Pelvic and neonatal size correlations in light of evolutionary hypotheses. Am J Hum Biol 2021; 34:e23619. [PMID: 34028115 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/03/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to analyze the correlations between maternal size, neonatal size, and gestational variables. METHODS Our sample comprises 131 mother-infant dyads. We investigated correlations between five neonatal traits (gestational age, birthweight, head, suboccipito-brematic, and abdominal girths), three maternal traits (height, BMI, and uterus height), and three pelvic variables (conjugate, inter-spinous diameters, and sub-pubic angle) using computed tomography pelvimetry. RESULTS We found that the five neonatal traits were significantly intercorrelated. BMI was not correlated with neonatal traits while maternal height was correlated with birthweight, suboccipito-brematic, and abdominal girth. In the multiple regression models, gestational age was correlated with birthweight, head, and abdominal girth. Among the neonatal and pelvimetry correlations, conjugate diameter was slightly correlated with suboccipito-bregmatic girth, but inter-spinous and sub-pubic angle were not correlated with neonatal traits. Uterus height predicted all neonatal variables, but it was not correlated with gestational age. DISCUSSION Our results suggest that fetal growth is shaped by maternal phenotype rather than external ecological factors. The association of the inlet size with suboccipito-bregmatic girth reflects the tight fit between the neonatal brain and the maternal pelvis dimensions, an adaptation that would reduce the risk of cephalo-pelvic disproportion, while the absence of tight fit at the midplane and outlet could be due to the effect of the pelvic relaxation. Uterus distention is not the only mechanism involved in the initiation of parturition. Birth and pregnancy are complex processes and we suggest that maternal-neonatal associations are the result of a combination of multiple obstetric tradeoffs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pierre Frémondière
- Aix Marseille Univ, School of Midwifery, Faculty of Medical and Paramedical Sciences, Marseille, France.,Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, EFS, ADES, Marseille, France
| | - Lionel Thollon
- Applied Biomechanics Laboratory (UMR-T24), Marseille, France
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6
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Burleson MH, Quigley KS. Social interoception and social allostasis through touch: Legacy of the Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:92-102. [PMID: 31810428 PMCID: PMC7299836 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1702095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
John Cacioppo and colleagues' Somatovisceral Afference Model of Emotion (SAME) highlighted the importance of interoception in emotional experience. Here we compare how the SAME and the more recent theory of constructed emotion (TCE) view the role of interoceptive signals in creating emotional experiences. We describe the characteristics of touch sensations that are carried by thin, unmyelinated fibers called C-tactile afferents (CTs) to the posterior insula, and are thus deemed interoceptive despite their typically social (external) origin. We explore how this social interoceptive input might contribute to the emotion-related effects of social touch more generally, and speculate that all social touch, with or without CT afferent stimulation, can directly influence allostasis, or the predictive regulation of short- and long-term energy resources required by the body. Finally, we describe several features of CT-optimal touch that make it a potentially useful tool to help illuminate basic interoceptive mechanisms, emotion-related phenomena, and disorders involving atypical affect or somatosensation. These proposed ideas demonstrate the long intellectual reach of John Cacioppo and Gary Berntson's highly productive scientific collaboration, which was formative for the fields of social neuroscience, social psychophysiology, and affective neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary H Burleson
- School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Arizona State University , Phoenix, AZ, USA
| | - Karen S Quigley
- Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research (CHOIR) and Social and Community Reintegration Research (SoCRR) Program, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial VA , Bedford, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University , Boston, MA, USA
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7
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Assessment of Executive Functions after Treatment of Childhood Acute Lymphoid Leukemia: a Systematic Review. Neuropsychol Rev 2020; 30:386-406. [PMID: 32720195 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-020-09446-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Individuals treated for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have a high survival rate. This fact, however, may lead to neurocognitive impairments in survivors, as shown in some studies. The prefrontal cortex and executive functions seem to be particularly vulnerable due to the late maturation in the development process. Executive impairments have been associated with poorer quality of life in childhood cancer survivors. A systematic review was carried out with studies that assessed executive functions in childhood ALL survivors.\ Studies were collected from five electronic databases: MEDLINE (PubMed); PsycInfo; WebOfScience; LILACS and IBECS. Eighty-four studies were retrieved from the database search, of which 50 were read in full and 26 met the inclusion criteria. The studies were heterogeneous as to the instruments used to assess executive function, the skills assessed and the comparison methods. Despite some discrepancies, ALL survivors seem to exhibit poorer executive functioning than typical controls, but this result did not hold true when subjects were compared to normative mean. Changes in brain structure and dynamics resulting from the disease itself, the toxicity of the treatment and difficulties in coping with the stress during treatment may be related to executive impairments in ALL survivors. Discussion proposed standardized methods and measures for assessing executive functioning in children during and after ALL treatment.
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8
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Sansalone G, Allen K, Ledogar JA, Ledogar S, Mitchell DR, Profico A, Castiglione S, Melchionna M, Serio C, Mondanaro A, Raia P, Wroe S. Variation in the strength of allometry drives rates of evolution in primate brain shape. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200807. [PMID: 32635870 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Large brains are a defining feature of primates, as is a clear allometric trend between body mass and brain size. However, important questions on the macroevolution of brain shape in primates remain unanswered. Here we address two: (i), does the relationship between the brain size and its shape follow allometric trends and (ii), is this relationship consistent over evolutionary time? We employ three-dimensional geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic comparative methods to answer these questions, based on a large sample representing 151 species and most primate families. We found two distinct trends regarding the relationship between brain shape and brain size. Hominoidea and Cercopithecinae showed significant evolutionary allometry, whereas no allometric trends were discernible for Strepsirrhini, Colobinae or Platyrrhini. Furthermore, we found that in the taxa characterized by significant allometry, brain shape evolution accelerated, whereas for taxa in which such allometry was absent, the evolution of brain shape decelerated. We conclude that although primates in general are typically described as large-brained, strong allometric effects on brain shape are largely confined to the order's representatives that display more complex behavioural repertoires.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Sansalone
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
| | - K Allen
- Department of Neuroscience, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO, USA.,Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St Louis, Washington, MO, USA
| | - J A Ledogar
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708, USA
| | - S Ledogar
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia.,Department of Archaeology and Palaeoanthropology, School of Humanities, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
| | - D R Mitchell
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia.,Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Old Main 330, Fayetteville, AR 72701, USA
| | - A Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy
| | - S Castiglione
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - M Melchionna
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - C Serio
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.,Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - A Mondanaro
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.,Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
| | - P Raia
- Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - S Wroe
- Function, Evolution and Anatomy Research Lab, Zoology Division, School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, NSW 2351, Armidale, Australia
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9
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Markov AV, Markov MA. Runaway brain-culture coevolution as a reason for larger brains: Exploring the "cultural drive" hypothesis by computer modeling. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6059-6077. [PMID: 32607213 PMCID: PMC7319167 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6350] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Scale and tempo of brain expansion in the course of human evolution implies that this process was driven by a positive feedback. The "cultural drive" hypothesis suggests a possible mechanism for the runaway brain-culture coevolution wherein high-fidelity social learning results in accumulation of cultural traditions which, in turn, promote selection for still more efficient social learning. Here we explore this evolutionary mechanism by means of computer modeling. Simulations confirm its plausibility in a social species in a socio-ecological situation that makes the sporadic invention of new beneficial and cognitively demanding behaviors possible. The chances for the runaway brain-culture coevolution increase when some of the culturally transmitted behaviors are individually beneficial while the others are group-beneficial. In this case, "cultural drive" is possible under varying levels of between-group competition and migration. Modeling implies that brain expansion can receive additional boost if the evolving mechanisms of social learning are costly in terms of brain expansion (e.g., rely on complex neuronal circuits) and tolerant to the complexity of information transferred, that is, make it possible to transfer complex skills and concepts easily. Human language presumably fits this description. Modeling also confirms that the runaway brain-culture coevolution can be accelerated by additional positive feedback loops via population growth and life span extension, and that between-group competition and cultural group selection can facilitate the propagation of group-beneficial behaviors and remove maladaptive cultural traditions from the population's culture, which individual selection is unable to do.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander V. Markov
- Faculty of BiologyMoscow State UniversityMoscowRussia
- Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
| | - Mikhail A. Markov
- Faculty of BiologyMoscow State UniversityMoscowRussia
- Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of SciencesMoscowRussia
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10
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Babiszewska M. Effects of energy and essential fatty acids content in breast milk on infant's head dimensions. Am J Hum Biol 2020; 32:e23418. [PMID: 32307819 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.23418] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2019] [Revised: 03/01/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Essential fatty acids (EFA), including linoleic acid (LA) and alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), are indispensable for proper brain growth especially in the first months after birth when it develops most rapidly. Since fats, especially EFA, in breast milk are highly variable between mothers, we indirectly examined whether milk energy, LA and ALA content in breast milk affect volume and shape of the infant's head. METHODS The study encompassed 60 mothers and their healthy term-born infants between the third and sixth month of lactation. The percentage of macronutrients and dry matter in human milk samples was assessed using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and LA and ALA concentrations in breast milk were determined using gas chromatography (GC). Infant head measurements were taken using standard anthropometric equipment and methods. RESULTS LA content in breast milk was found to be positively associated with head volume in boys. Furthermore, ALA content was positively associated with the head height-to-length ratio thus with more arched head in infants irrespective of sex. No relationship was found between milk energy content in mothers' milk and infant head dimensions. CONCLUSIONS This is the first study to demonstrate a relationship between EFA concentration in human milk and infant head dimensions. Given that LA and ALA in human milk are variable in women and due to the extremely rapid growth of nerve tissue in the first months of life, adequate supply of EFA in breast milk should attract the attention of public health sciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Magdalena Babiszewska
- Department of Anthropology, Ludwik Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wrocław, Poland
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11
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Moving Beyond the Obstetrical Dilemma Hypothesis: Birth, Weaning and Infant Care in the Plio-Pleistocene. THE MOTHER-INFANT NEXUS IN ANTHROPOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-27393-4_10] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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12
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Langley MC, Benítez‐Burraco A, Kempe V. Playing with language, creating complexity: Has play contributed to the evolution of complex language? Evol Anthropol 2019; 29:29-40. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2018] [Revised: 07/16/2019] [Accepted: 10/23/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michelle C. Langley
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research InstituteGriffith University Brisbane Queensland Australia
| | - Antonio Benítez‐Burraco
- Department of Spanish, Linguistics, and Theory of Literature (Linguistics), Faculty of PhilologyUniversity of Seville Seville Spain
| | - Vera Kempe
- Division of Psychology, School of Applied SciencesAbertay University Dundee UK
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13
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Karban ME. Occipital hemi-bun development and shape covariation in a longitudinal extant human growth sample. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 172:123-134. [PMID: 31797354 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 11/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Although the homology of the Neanderthal occipital bun and anatomically modern human "hemi-bun" has long been debated, little is known about the developmental timing and patterning of these two patterns of prominent occipital squama convexity. In this study, occipital hemi-bun ontogeny and cranial shape covariation are assessed in a comparative extant human sample. MATERIALS AND METHODS Two-dimensional geometric morphometric methods were used to investigate hemi-bun development in a longitudinal sample of growth study cephalograms representing extant human subjects predominantly of European ancestry. Subjects were each measured at three distinct age points, ranging from 3.0 to 20.4 years, and two-block partial least squares analysis was used to assess patterns of covariation between midsagittal occipital bone morphology and other aspects of craniofacial shape. RESULTS Occipital hemi-bun morphology, when present, was found to develop early in ontogeny, in association with anteroposterior elongation of the frontal and parietal bones. No significant pattern of covariation was found between occipital hemi-bun shape and cranial/basicranial breadth, basicranial length, basicranial angle, or midfacial prognathism. DISCUSSION This study suggests that the occipital hemi-bun, at least in this extant human population, should not be considered an independent trait, as its development is closely linked to shape variation in the frontal and parietal bones. Importantly, these results suggest that occipital hemi-bun morphology is not significantly influenced by basicranial morphology during development, but instead covaries with changes in midsagittal neurocranial vault shape.
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14
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Multiple Components of Phylogenetic Non-stationarity in the Evolution of Brain Size in Fossil Hominins. Evol Biol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s11692-019-09471-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023]
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15
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Haworth S, Shapland CY, Hayward C, Prins BP, Felix JF, Medina-Gomez C, Rivadeneira F, Wang C, Ahluwalia TS, Vrijheid M, Guxens M, Sunyer J, Tachmazidou I, Walter K, Iotchkova V, Jackson A, Cleal L, Huffmann J, Min JL, Sass L, Timmers PRHJ, Davey Smith G, Fisher SE, Wilson JF, Cole TJ, Fernandez-Orth D, Bønnelykke K, Bisgaard H, Pennell CE, Jaddoe VWV, Dedoussis G, Timpson N, Zeggini E, Vitart V, St Pourcain B. Low-frequency variation in TP53 has large effects on head circumference and intracranial volume. Nat Commun 2019; 10:357. [PMID: 30664637 PMCID: PMC6341110 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-07863-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Cranial growth and development is a complex process which affects the closely related traits of head circumference (HC) and intracranial volume (ICV). The underlying genetic influences shaping these traits during the transition from childhood to adulthood are little understood, but might include both age-specific genetic factors and low-frequency genetic variation. Here, we model the developmental genetic architecture of HC, showing this is genetically stable and correlated with genetic determinants of ICV. Investigating up to 46,000 children and adults of European descent, we identify association with final HC and/or final ICV + HC at 9 novel common and low-frequency loci, illustrating that genetic variation from a wide allele frequency spectrum contributes to cranial growth. The largest effects are reported for low-frequency variants within TP53, with 0.5 cm wider heads in increaser-allele carriers versus non-carriers during mid-childhood, suggesting a previously unrecognized role of TP53 transcripts in human cranial development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Haworth
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Chin Yang Shapland
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Caroline Hayward
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Bram P Prins
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Janine F Felix
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Carolina Medina-Gomez
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fernando Rivadeneira
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Carol Wang
- School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, 2308, Australia
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Tarunveer S Ahluwalia
- COPSAC, Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2820, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Martine Vrijheid
- ISGlobal, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - Mònica Guxens
- ISGlobal, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus University Medical Centre-Sophia Children's Hospital, P.O. Box 2060, Rotterdam, 3000 CB, The Netherlands
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- ISGlobal, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- IMIM Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
| | - Ioanna Tachmazidou
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Klaudia Walter
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Valentina Iotchkova
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
- MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 9DS, UK
| | - Andrew Jackson
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Louise Cleal
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Jennifer Huffmann
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
- Center for Population Genomics, Boston VA Healthcare System, 150 S. Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain, MA, 02130, USA
| | - Josine L Min
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Lærke Sass
- COPSAC, Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2820, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Paul R H J Timmers
- Centre for Global Health Research, Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - James F Wilson
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
- Centre for Global Health Research, Usher Institute for Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK
| | - Tim J Cole
- Faculty of Population Health Sciences, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, London, WC1N 1EH, UK
| | - Dietmar Fernandez-Orth
- ISGlobal, 08003, Barcelona, Spain
- Pompeu Fabra University, Barcelona, 08003, Spain
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, 28029, Spain
| | - Klaus Bønnelykke
- COPSAC, Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2820, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Hans Bisgaard
- COPSAC, Copenhagen Prospective Studies on Asthma in Childhood, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, University of Copenhagen, 2820, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Craig E Pennell
- School of Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, NSW, 2308, Australia
- Division of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
| | - Vincent W V Jaddoe
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, 3000 CA, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - George Dedoussis
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, 17671, Athens, Greece
| | - Nicholas Timpson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Eleftheria Zeggini
- Wellcome Sanger Institute, Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, CB10 1SA, UK
| | - Veronique Vitart
- MRC Human Genetics Unit, MRC Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, 6525 XD, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University, 6525 EN, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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Lesciotto KM, Richtsmeier JT. Craniofacial skeletal response to encephalization: How do we know what we think we know? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2019; 168 Suppl 67:27-46. [PMID: 30680710 PMCID: PMC6424107 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23766] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2018] [Revised: 11/16/2018] [Accepted: 11/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Dramatic changes in cranial capacity have characterized human evolution. Important evolutionary hypotheses, such as the spatial packing hypothesis, assert that increases in relative brain size (encephalization) have caused alterations to the modern human skull, resulting in a suite of traits unique among extant primates, including a domed cranial vault, highly flexed cranial base, and retracted facial skeleton. Most prior studies have used fossil or comparative primate data to establish correlations between brain size and cranial form, but the mechanistic basis for how changes in brain size impact the overall shape of the skull resulting in these cranial traits remains obscure and has only rarely been investigated critically. We argue that understanding how changes in human skull morphology could have resulted from increased encephalization requires the direct testing of hypotheses relating to interaction of embryonic development of the bones of the skull and the brain. Fossil and comparative primate data have thoroughly described the patterns of association between brain size and skull morphology. Here we suggest complementing such existing datasets with experiments focused on mechanisms responsible for producing the observed patterns to more thoroughly understand the role of encephalization in shaping the modern human skull.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate M Lesciotto
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Joan T Richtsmeier
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
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17
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Scott NA, Strauss A, Hublin JJ, Gunz P, Neubauer S. Covariation of the endocranium and splanchnocranium during great ape ontogeny. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0208999. [PMID: 30566462 PMCID: PMC6300334 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/28/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
That great ape endocranial shape development persists into adolescence indicates that the splanchnocranium succeeds brain growth in driving endocranial development. However, the extent of this splanchnocranial influence is unknown. We applied two-block partial least squares analyses of Procrustes shape variables on an ontogenetic series of great ape crania to explore the covariation of the endocranium (the internal braincase) and splanchnocranium (face, or viscerocranium). We hypothesized that a transition between brain growth and splanchnocranial development in the establishment of final endocranial form would be manifest as a change in the pattern of shape covariation between early and adolescent ontogeny. Our results revealed a strong pattern of covariation between endocranium and splanchnocranium, indicating that chimpanzees, gorillas, and orangutans share a common tempo and mode of morphological integration from the eruption of the deciduous dentition onwards to adulthood: a reflection of elongating endocranial shape and continuing splanchnocranial prognathism. Within this overarching pattern, we noted that species variation exists in magnitude and direction, and that the covariation between the splanchnocranium and endocranium is somewhat weaker in early infancy compared to successive age groups. When correcting our covariation analyses for allometry, we found that an ontogenetic signal remains, signifying that allometric variation alone is insufficient to account for all endocranial-splanchnocranial developmental integration. Finally, we assessed the influence of the cranial base, which acts as the interface between the face and endocranium, on the shape of the vault using thin-plate spline warping. We found that not all splanchnocranial shape changes during development are tightly integrated with endocranial shape. This suggests that while the developmental expansion of the brain is the main driver of endocranial shape during early ontogeny, endocranial development from infancy onwards is moulded by the splanchnocranium in conjunction with the neurocranium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadia A. Scott
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Martinstrasse, Klosterneuburg, Austria
| | - André Strauss
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz, Leipzig, Germany
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18
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Neubauer S, Gunz P, Leakey L, Leakey M, Hublin JJ, Spoor F. Reconstruction, endocranial form and taxonomic affinity of the early Homo calvaria KNM-ER 42700. J Hum Evol 2018; 121:25-39. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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19
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Assessing the significance of Palaeolithic engraved cortexes. A case study from the Mousterian site of Kiik-Koba, Crimea. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0195049. [PMID: 29718916 PMCID: PMC5931501 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0195049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2017] [Accepted: 03/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Twenty-Seven Lower and Middle Paleolithic sites from Europe and the Middle East are reported in the literature to have yielded incised stones. At eleven of these sites incisions are present on flint cortexes. Even when it is possible to demonstrate that the engravings are ancient and human made, it is often difficult to distinguish incisions resulting from functional activities such as butchery or use as a cutting board, from those produced deliberately, and even more difficult to identify the scope of the latter. In this paper we present results of the analysis of an engraved cortical flint flake found at Kiik-Koba, a key Mousterian site from Crimea, and create an interpretative framework to guide the interpretation of incised cortexes. The frame of inference that we propose allows for a reasoned evaluation of the actions playing a role in the marking process and aims at narrowing down the interpretation of the evidence. The object comes from layer IV, the same layer in which a Neanderthal child burial was unearthed, which contains a para-Micoquian industry of Kiik-Koba type dated to between c.35 and 37 cal kyr BP. The microscopic analysis and 3D reconstruction of the grooves on the cortex of this small flint flake, demonstrate that the incisions represent a deliberate engraving made by a skilled craftsman, probably with two different points. The lines are nearly perfectly framed into the cortex, testifying of well controlled motions. This is especially the case considering the small size of the object, which makes this a difficult task. The production of the engraving required excellent neuromotor and volitional control, which implies focused attention. Evaluation of the Kiik-Koba evidence in the light of the proposed interpretative framework supports the view that the engraving was made with a representational intent.
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20
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Marck A, Antero J, Berthelot G, Saulière G, Jancovici JM, Masson-Delmotte V, Boeuf G, Spedding M, Le Bourg É, Toussaint JF. Are We Reaching the Limits of Homo sapiens? Front Physiol 2017; 8:812. [PMID: 29123486 PMCID: PMC5662890 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2017.00812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Echoing scientific and industrial progress, the Twentieth century was an unprecedented period of improvement for human capabilities and performances, with a significant increase in lifespan, adult height, and maximal physiological performance. Analyses of historical data show a major slow down occurring in the most recent years. This triggered large and passionate debates in the academic scene within multiple disciplines; as such an observation could be interpreted as our upper biological limits. Such a new phase of human history may be related to structural and functional limits determined by long term evolutionary constraints, and the interaction between complex systems and their environment. In this interdisciplinary approach, we call into question the validity of subsequent forecasts and projections through innovative and related biomarkers such as sport, lifespan, and height indicators. We set a theoretical framework based on biological and environmental relevance rather than using a typical single-variable forecasting approach. As demonstrated within the article, these new views will have major social, economical, and political implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrien Marck
- Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.,Laboratoire Matière et Systèmes Complexes, UMR 7057 Université Paris Diderot, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Juliana Antero
- Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | - Geoffroy Berthelot
- Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.,Group Adaptation and Prospective, High Council of Public Health, Paris, France.,Research Laboratory for Interdisciplinary Studies, Paris, France
| | - Guillaume Saulière
- Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France
| | | | - Valérie Masson-Delmotte
- Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et l'Environnement, Institut Pierre Simon Laplace, CEA-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin en Yvelines, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Gilles Boeuf
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Sorbonne Universités, Paris, France
| | | | - Éric Le Bourg
- Centre de Recherches sur la Cognition Animale, Centre de Biologie Intégrative, Université de Toulouse, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier, Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-François Toussaint
- Institut de Recherche bio-Médicale et d'Epidémiologie du Sport (IRMES) EA 7329, Institut National du Sport, de l'Expertise et de la Performance, Université Paris Descartes, Université Sorbonne Paris Cité, Paris, France.,Group Adaptation and Prospective, High Council of Public Health, Paris, France.,Centre d'Investigations en Médecine du Sport (CIMS), Hôtel-Dieu de Paris, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
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21
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Hardy A, Benford D, Halldorsson T, Jeger MJ, Knutsen HK, More S, Naegeli H, Noteborn H, Ockleford C, Ricci A, Rychen G, Schlatter JR, Silano V, Solecki R, Turck D, Bresson JL, Dusemund B, Gundert-Remy U, Kersting M, Lambré C, Penninks A, Tritscher A, Waalkens-Berendsen I, Woutersen R, Arcella D, Court Marques D, Dorne JL, Kass GE, Mortensen A. Guidance on the risk assessment of substances present in food intended for infants below 16 weeks of age. EFSA J 2017; 15:e04849. [PMID: 32625502 PMCID: PMC7010120 DOI: 10.2903/j.efsa.2017.4849] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Following a request from the European Commission to EFSA, the EFSA Scientific Committee (SC) prepared a guidance for the risk assessment of substances present in food intended for infants below 16 weeks of age. In its approach to develop this guidance, the EFSA SC took into account, among others, (i) an exposure assessment based on infant formula as the only source of nutrition; (ii) knowledge of organ development in human infants, including the development of the gut, metabolic and excretory capacities, the brain and brain barriers, the immune system, the endocrine and reproductive systems; (iii) the overall toxicological profile of the substance identified through the standard toxicological tests, including critical effects; (iv) the relevance for the human infant of the neonatal experimental animal models used. The EFSA SC notes that during the period from birth up to 16 weeks, infants are expected to be exclusively fed on breast milk and/or infant formula. The EFSA SC views this period as the time where health-based guidance values for the general population do not apply without further considerations. High infant formula consumption per body weight is derived from 95th percentile consumption. The first weeks of life is the time of the highest relative consumption on a body weight basis. Therefore, when performing an exposure assessment, the EFSA SC proposes to use the high consumption value of 260 mL/kg bw per day. A decision tree approach is proposed that enables a risk assessment of substances present in food intended for infants below 16 weeks of age. The additional information needed when testing substances present in food for infants below 16 weeks of age and the approach to be taken for the risk assessment are on a case-by-case basis, depending on whether the substance is added intentionally to food and is systemically available.
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22
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Majkić A, Evans S, Stepanchuk V, Tsvelykh A, d’Errico F. A decorated raven bone from the Zaskalnaya VI (Kolosovskaya) Neanderthal site, Crimea. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0173435. [PMID: 28355292 PMCID: PMC5371307 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0173435] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/09/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
We analyze a radius bone fragment of a raven (Corvus corax) from Zaskalnaya VI rock shelter, Crimea. The object bears seven notches and comes from an archaeological level attributed to a Micoquian industry dated to between 38 and 43 cal kyr BP. Our study aims to examine the degree of regularity and intentionality of this set of notches through their technological and morphometric analysis, complemented by comparative experimental work. Microscopic analysis of the notches indicate that they were produced by the to-and-fro movement of a lithic cutting edge and that two notches were added to fill in the gap left between previously cut notches, probably to increase the visual consistency of the pattern. Multivariate analysis of morphometric data recorded on the archaeological notches and sets of notches cut by nine modern experimenters on radii of domestic turkeys shows that the variations recorded on the Zaskalnaya set are comparable to experimental sets made with the aim of producing similar, parallel, equidistant notches. Identification of the Weber Fraction, the constant that accounts for error in human perception, for equidistant notches cut on bone rods and its application to the Zaskalnaya set of notches and thirty-six sets of notches incised on seventeen Upper Palaeolithic bone objects from seven sites indicate that the Zaskalnaya set falls within the range of variation of regularly spaced experimental and Upper Palaeolithic sets of notches. This suggests that even if the production of the notches may have had a utilitarian reason the notches were made with the goal of producing a visually consistent pattern. This object represents the first instance of a bird bone from a Neanderthal site bearing modifications that cannot be explained as the result of butchery activities and for which a symbolic argument can be built on direct rather than circumstantial evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Majkić
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5199 - PACEA, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
- * E-mail: (AM); (FdE)
| | - Sarah Evans
- Division of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | | | | | - Francesco d’Errico
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UMR 5199 - PACEA, Université de Bordeaux, Pessac, France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Palaeosciences, School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- * E-mail: (AM); (FdE)
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23
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Hublin JJ, Neubauer S, Gunz P. Brain ontogeny and life history in Pleistocene hominins. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 370:20140062. [PMID: 25602066 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0062] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A high level of encephalization is critical to the human adaptive niche and emerged among hominins over the course of the past 2 Myr. Evolving larger brains required important adaptive adjustments, in particular regarding energy allocation and life history. These adaptations included a relatively small brain at birth and a protracted growth of highly dependent offspring within a complex social environment. In turn, the extended period of growth and delayed maturation of the brain structures of humans contribute to their cognitive complexity. The current palaeoanthropological evidence shows that, regarding life history and brain ontogeny, the Pleistocene hominin taxa display different patterns and that one cannot simply contrast an 'ape-model' to a 'human-model'. Large-brained hominins such as Upper Pleistocene Neandertals have evolved along their own evolutionary pathway and can be distinguished from modern humans in terms of growth pattern and brain development. The life-history pattern and brain ontogeny of extant humans emerged only recently in the course of human evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
| | - Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, Leipzig 04103, Germany
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24
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Schnorr SL, Crittenden AN, Venema K, Marlowe FW, Henry AG. Assessing digestibility of Hadza tubers using a dynamic in-vitro model. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 158:371-85. [PMID: 26174414 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2014] [Accepted: 06/15/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Bioaccessibility is a useful measure for assessing the biological value of a particular nutrient from food, especially foods such as tubers. The wild tubers exploited by Hadza foragers in Tanzania are of interest because they are nontoxic, consumed raw or briefly roasted, and entail substantial physical barriers to consumers. In this study, we attempted to elucidate the biological value of Hadza tubers by measuring the absorption of glucose through in-vitro digestion. METHODS We quantified digestibility using data from 24 experimental trials on four species of Hadza tuber using a dynamic in-vitro model that replicates digestion in the stomach and small intestine. Analysis of glucose in the input meal and output dialysate revealed the accessible glucose fraction. We also conducted assays for protein, vitamin, and mineral content on whole tubers and meal fractions. RESULTS Bioaccessibility of glucose varies depending on tuber species. Holding effects of chewing constant, brief roasting had negligible effects, but high intraspecific variation precludes interpretive power. Overall, Hadza tubers are very resistant to digestion, with between one- and two-thirds of glucose absorbed on average. Glucose absorption negatively correlated with glucose concentration of the tubers. CONCLUSIONS Roasting may provide other benefits such as ease of peeling and chewing to extract edible parenchymatous tissue. A powerful factor in glucose acquisition is tuber quality, placing emphasis on the skill of the forager. Other nutrient assays yielded unexpectedly high values for protein, iron, and iodine, making tubers potentially valuable resources beyond caloric content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie L Schnorr
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
| | - Alyssa N Crittenden
- Metabolism, Anthropometry, and Nutrition Laboratory, Department of Anthropology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89154-5003
| | - Koen Venema
- Department of Pharmacokinetics & Human Studies, TNO Healthy Living, Zeist, NL-3704 HE, The Netherlands
| | - Frank W Marlowe
- Division of Biological Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, Cb2 1TN, UK
| | - Amanda G Henry
- Plant Foods in Hominin Dietary Ecology Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany
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25
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Deviations from the expectable environment in early childhood and emerging psychopathology. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015; 40:154-70. [PMID: 24998622 PMCID: PMC4262894 DOI: 10.1038/npp.2014.165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 141] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2014] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/28/2014] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Current frameworks for understanding the link between early adverse childhood experiences and later negative life outcomes, including psychopathology, focus on the mediating negative impact on brain and biological systems in the developing child resulting broadly from stress and trauma. Although this approach is useful, we argue that the framework could be functionally extended by distinguishing the effects of two different types of abnormal input, both deviations from the expectable environment in early childhood. Specifically, we review the consequences of inadequate input (eg, neglect/deprivation) and harmful input (eg, abuse/trauma) on brain and biological development. We then review evidence on the differential links between each type of abnormal input to four selected domains of psychopathology (indiscriminate social behavior, posttraumatic stress disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and conduct problems), and consider potential mechanisms for inadequate and harmful input to lead to these outcomes. We conclude that the careful consideration of the type of deviation from the expected environment, while acknowledging the practical difficulties in assessing this, is likely to lead to clearer understanding of the mechanism of risk for psychopathology, and that tailored approaches to prevention and intervention may be informed by considering the unique consequences of inadequate and harmful input when experienced in early childhood.
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Weber GW. Virtual Anthropology. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156 Suppl 59:22-42. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Gerhard W. Weber
- Department of Anthropology; University of Vienna; A-1090 Vienna Austria
- Core Facility for Micro-Computed Tomography; University of Vienna; A-1090 Vienna Austria
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Neubauer S. Endocasts: possibilities and limitations for the interpretation of human brain evolution. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2014; 84:117-34. [PMID: 25247826 DOI: 10.1159/000365276] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Brains are not preserved in the fossil record but endocranial casts are. These are casts of the internal bony braincase, revealing approximate brain size and shape, and they are also informative about brain surface morphology. Endocasts are the only direct evidence of human brain evolution, but they provide only limited data ('paleoneurology'). This review discusses some new fossil endocasts and recent methodological advances that have allowed novel analyses of old endocasts, leading to intriguing findings and hypotheses. The interpretation of paleoneurological data always relies on comparative information from living species whose brains and behavior can be directly investigated. It is therefore important that future studies attempt to better integrate different approaches. Only then will we be able to gain a better understanding about hominin brain evolution. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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Cuthbert MO, Ashley GM. A spring forward for hominin evolution in East Africa. PLoS One 2014; 9:e107358. [PMID: 25207544 PMCID: PMC4160244 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0107358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2014] [Accepted: 08/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Groundwater is essential to modern human survival during drought periods. There is also growing geological evidence of springs associated with stone tools and hominin fossils in the East African Rift System (EARS) during a critical period for hominin evolution (from 1.8 Ma). However it is not known how vulnerable these springs may have been to climate variability and whether groundwater availability may have played a part in human evolution. Recent interdisciplinary research at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania, has documented climate fluctuations attributable to astronomic forcing and the presence of paleosprings directly associated with archaeological sites. Using palaeogeological reconstruction and groundwater modelling of the Olduvai Gorge paleo-catchment, we show how spring discharge was likely linked to East African climate variability of annual to Milankovitch cycle timescales. Under decadal to centennial timescales, spring flow would have been relatively invariant providing good water resource resilience through long droughts. For multi-millennial periods, modelled spring flows lag groundwater recharge by 100 s to 1000 years. The lag creates long buffer periods allowing hominins to adapt to new habitats as potable surface water from rivers or lakes became increasingly scarce. Localised groundwater systems are likely to have been widespread within the EARS providing refugia and intense competition during dry periods, thus being an important factor in natural selection and evolution, as well as a vital resource during hominin dispersal within and out of Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark O. Cuthbert
- Connected Waters Initiative Research Centre, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Gail M. Ashley
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey, United States of America
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Macho GA, Lee-Thorp JA. Niche partitioning in sympatric Gorilla and Pan from Cameroon: implications for life history strategies and for reconstructing the evolution of hominin life history. PLoS One 2014; 9:e102794. [PMID: 25054380 PMCID: PMC4108342 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2014] [Accepted: 06/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Factors influencing the hominoid life histories are poorly understood, and little is known about how ecological conditions modulate the pace of their development. Yet our limited understanding of these interactions underpins life history interpretations in extinct hominins. Here we determined the synchronisation of dental mineralization/eruption with brain size in a 20th century museum collection of sympatric Gorilla gorilla and Pan troglodytes from Central Cameroon. Using δ13C and δ15N of individuals' hair, we assessed whether and how differences in diet and habitat use may have impacted on ape development. The results show that, overall, gorilla hair δ13C and δ15N values are more variable than those of chimpanzees, and that gorillas are consistently lower in δ13C and δ15N compared to chimpanzees. Within a restricted, isotopically-constrained area, gorilla brain development appears delayed relative to dental mineralization/eruption [or dental development is accelerated relative to brains]: only about 87.8% of adult brain size is attained by the time first permanent molars come into occlusion, whereas it is 92.3% in chimpanzees. Even when M1s are already in full functional occlusion, gorilla brains lag behind those of chimpanzee (91% versus 96.4%), relative to tooth development. Both bootstrap analyses and stable isotope results confirm that these results are unlikely due to sampling error. Rather, δ15N values imply that gorillas are not fully weaned (physiologically mature) until well after M1 are in full functional occlusion. In chimpanzees the transition from infant to adult feeding appears (a) more gradual and (b) earlier relative to somatic development. Taken together, the findings are consistent with life history theory that predicts delayed development when non-density dependent mortality is low, i.e. in closed habitats, and with the "risk aversion" hypothesis for frugivorous species as a means to avert starvation. Furthermore, the results highlight the complexity and plasticity of hominoid/hominin development.
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Van Noordwijk MA, Kuzawa CW, Van Schaik CP. The evolution of the patterning of human lactation: A comparative perspective. Evol Anthropol 2013; 22:202-12. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21368] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanya M. Smith
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138;
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Gunz P, Bulygina E. The Mousterian child from Teshik-Tash is a Neanderthal: A geometric morphometric study of the frontal bone. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2012; 149:365-79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2012] [Accepted: 07/23/2012] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Abstract
The classic anthropological hypothesis known as the "obstetrical dilemma" is a well-known explanation for human altriciality, a condition that has significant implications for human social and behavioral evolution. The hypothesis holds that antagonistic selection for a large neonatal brain and a narrow, bipedal-adapted birth canal poses a problem for childbirth; the hominin "solution" is to truncate gestation, resulting in an altricial neonate. This explanation for human altriciality based on pelvic constraints persists despite data linking human life history to that of other species. Here, we present evidence that challenges the importance of pelvic morphology and mechanics in the evolution of human gestation and altriciality. Instead, our analyses suggest that limits to maternal metabolism are the primary constraints on human gestation length and fetal growth. Although pelvic remodeling and encephalization during hominin evolution contributed to the present parturitional difficulty, there is little evidence that pelvic constraints have altered the timing of birth.
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Neubauer S, Gunz P, Weber GW, Hublin JJ. Endocranial volume of Australopithecus africanus: new CT-based estimates and the effects of missing data and small sample size. J Hum Evol 2012; 62:498-510. [PMID: 22365336 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2012.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2011] [Revised: 01/12/2012] [Accepted: 01/19/2012] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Estimation of endocranial volume in Australopithecus africanus is important in interpreting early hominin brain evolution. However, the number of individuals available for investigation is limited and most of these fossils are, to some degree, incomplete and/or distorted. Uncertainties of the required reconstruction ('missing data uncertainty') and the small sample size ('small sample uncertainty') both potentially bias estimates of the average and within-group variation of endocranial volume in A. africanus. We used CT scans, electronic preparation (segmentation), mirror-imaging and semilandmark-based geometric morphometrics to generate and reconstruct complete endocasts for Sts 5, Sts 60, Sts 71, StW 505, MLD 37/38, and Taung, and measured their endocranial volumes (EV). To get a sense of the reliability of these new EV estimates, we then used simulations based on samples of chimpanzees and humans to: (a) test the accuracy of our approach, (b) assess missing data uncertainty, and (c) appraise small sample uncertainty. Incorporating missing data uncertainty of the five adult individuals, A. africanus was found to have an average adult endocranial volume of 454-461 ml with a standard deviation of 66-75 ml. EV estimates for the juvenile Taung individual range from 402 to 407 ml. Our simulations show that missing data uncertainty is small given the missing portions of the investigated fossils, but that small sample sizes are problematic for estimating species average EV. It is important to take these uncertainties into account when different fossil groups are being compared.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.
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