1
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Kaifu Y, Kurniawan I, Mizushima S, Sawada J, Lague M, Setiawan R, Sutisna I, Wibowo UP, Suwa G, Kono RT, Sasaki T, Brumm A, van den Bergh GD. Early evolution of small body size in Homo floresiensis. Nat Commun 2024; 15:6381. [PMID: 39107275 PMCID: PMC11303730 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-50649-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 07/18/2024] [Indexed: 08/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Recent discoveries of Homo floresiensis and H. luzonensis raise questions regarding how extreme body size reduction occurred in some extinct Homo species in insular environments. Previous investigations at Mata Menge, Flores Island, Indonesia, suggested that the early Middle Pleistocene ancestors of H. floresiensis had even smaller jaws and teeth. Here, we report additional hominin fossils from the same deposits at Mata Menge. An adult humerus is estimated to be 9 - 16% shorter and thinner than the type specimen of H. floresiensis dated to ~60,000 years ago, and is smaller than any other Plio-Pleistocene adult hominin humeri hitherto reported. The newly recovered teeth are both exceptionally small; one of them bears closer morphological similarities to early Javanese H. erectus. The H. floresiensis lineage most likely evolved from early Asian H. erectus and was a long-lasting lineage on Flores with markedly diminutive body size since at least ~700,000 years ago.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousuke Kaifu
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Iwan Kurniawan
- Center for Geological Survey, Geological Agency, Bandung, Indonesia.
| | - Soichiro Mizushima
- Department of Anatomy, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Junmei Sawada
- Institute of Physical Anthropology, Niigata University of Health and Welfare, Niigata, Japan
| | - Michael Lague
- School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Stockton University, Stockton, NJ, USA
| | - Ruly Setiawan
- Center for Geological Survey, Geological Agency, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Indra Sutisna
- Geology Museum Bandung, Geological Agency, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Unggul P Wibowo
- Geology Museum Bandung, Geological Agency, Bandung, Indonesia
| | - Gen Suwa
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Reiko T Kono
- Faculty of Letters, Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan
| | | | - Adam Brumm
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - Gerrit D van den Bergh
- Centre for Archaeological Science, School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
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2
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González-Forero M. Evolutionary-developmental (evo-devo) dynamics of hominin brain size. Nat Hum Behav 2024; 8:1321-1333. [PMID: 38802541 PMCID: PMC11272587 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01887-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
Brain size tripled in the human lineage over four million years, but why this occurred remains uncertain. Here, to study what caused this brain expansion, I mathematically model the evolutionary and developmental (evo-devo) dynamics of hominin brain size. The model recovers (1) the evolution of brain and body sizes of seven hominin species starting from brain and body sizes of the australopithecine scale, (2) the evolution of the hominin brain-body allometry and (3) major patterns of human development and evolution. I show that the brain expansion recovered is not caused by direct selection for brain size but by its genetic correlation with developmentally late preovulatory ovarian follicles. This correlation is generated over development if individuals experience a challenging ecology and seemingly cumulative culture, among other conditions. These findings show that the evolution of exceptionally adaptive traits may not be primarily caused by selection for them but by developmental constraints that divert selection.
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3
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Tattersall I. Endocranial volumes and human evolution. F1000Res 2023; 12:565. [PMID: 37744765 PMCID: PMC10517302 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.131636.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Enlarging brains have been held up as the classic (if not the only) example of a consistent long-term trend in human evolution. And hominin endocranial volumes certainly expanded four-fold over the subfamily's seven-million-year history, while on a very coarse scale later hominids showed a strong tendency to have larger brains than earlier ones. However, closer scrutiny of this apparent trend reveals that it was extremely episodic and irregular, a fact that argues against the notion that it was driven by social interactions internal to the hominin clade. In addition, an overall tendency to brain volume increase was expressed independently and concurrently within at least three separate lineages of the genus Homo - suggesting that, whatever the exact influences were that promoted this global trend, they need to be sought among stimuli that acted comprehensively over the entire vast range of periods, geographies and environments that members of our subfamily occupied. Significantly, though, the dramatic recent shrinkage of the brain within the species Homo sapiens implies that the emergence of modern human cognition (via the adoption of the symbolic information processing mode, likely driven by the spontaneous invention of language in an exaptively enabled brain) was not the culmination of the overall hominin trend towards brain enlargement, but rather a departure from it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Tattersall
- Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, 10014, USA
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4
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Pérez-Claros JA, Palmqvist P. Heterochronies and allometries in the evolution of the hominid cranium: a morphometric approach using classical anthropometric variables. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13991. [PMID: 36042865 PMCID: PMC9420405 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
This article studies the evolutionary change of allometries in the relative size of the two main cranial modules (neurocranium and splanchnocranium) in the five living hominid species and a diverse sample of extinct hominins. We use six standard craniometric variables as proxies for the length, width and height of each cranial module. Factor analysis and two-block partial least squares (2B-PLS) show that the great apes and modern humans share a pervasive negative ontogenetic allometry in the neurocranium and a positive one in the splanchnocranium. This developmental constraint makes it possible to interpret the cranial heterochronies in terms of ontogenetic scaling processes (i.e., extensions or truncations of the ancestral ontogenetic trajectory) and lateral transpositions (i.e., parallel translations of the entire trajectory starting from a different shape for a given cranial size). We hypothesize that ontogenetic scaling is the main evolutionary modality in the australopithecines while in the species of Homo it is also necessary to apply transpositions. Both types of processes are coordinated in Homo, which result in an evolutionary trend toward an increase in brain size and in the degree of paedomorphosis from the earliest habilines.
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5
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Gingerich PD. Pattern and rate in the Plio-Pleistocene evolution of modern human brain size. Sci Rep 2022; 12:11216. [PMID: 35780143 PMCID: PMC9250492 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15481-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Fourteen studies of brain size evolution in Plio-Pleistocene hominins published over the past fifty years show substantial long-term increase in endocranial volume (ECV) for the broad lineage leading to modern humans. The median generation-to-generation step rate for a consensus time series of ECV values, h0 = 0.15 standard deviations per generation, is almost identical to the median step rate observed in modern biological field studies. When specimens are aggregated in a series of 100 k.y. time bins to reflect the precision of their geological ages, temporal scaling identifies four successive phases of stasis and change that are significantly different from random. Phase I from about 3.2 to 2.0 million years before present is an initial phase of relative stasis. Phase II from 2.0 to 1.5 m.y. is a phase of directional brain size increase. Phase III from 1.5 to 0.7 m.y. is a second phase of stasis. Finally, Phase IV from about 0.7 m.y. to 10 k.y. is a second phase of directional increase. The tempo (rate) and the mode (stasis, random, or directional change) of an evolutionary time series are related to each other, and both are related to the time scale appropriate for analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D Gingerich
- Museum of Paleontology, Research Museum Center, University of Michigan, 3600 Varsity Drive, Ann Arbor, MI, 48108-2228, USA.
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6
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Abstract
Abstract
Creation and subsequent abandonment of a number of earlier species considered human ancestors: Eoanthropus dawsoni, Hesperopithecus haroldcooki, Homo gardarensis and Ramapithecus punjabicus is presented using cases from the history of science. This review indicates that the fossil evidence for these species has been questionable from the beginning but that mental images – memes – they invoked were attractive to students of human evolution and as such persisted even if not confirmed by further finds, with new research still being disputed. Against this background the status of the recent construction of the hominin species “Homo floresiensis” is discussed showing that despite dubious interpretations of the objective data and a relatively long time of non-confirmation due to paucity of newly discovered skeletal remains, the “species” still exists in minds of scholars and in the scientific literature extending into textbooks.
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7
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Ponce de León MS, Bienvenu T, Marom A, Engel S, Tafforeau P, Alatorre Warren JL, Lordkipanidze D, Kurniawan I, Murti DB, Suriyanto RA, Koesbardiati T, Zollikofer CPE. The primitive brain of early Homo. Science 2021; 372:165-171. [PMID: 33833119 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz0032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2019] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
The brains of modern humans differ from those of great apes in size, shape, and cortical organization, notably in frontal lobe areas involved in complex cognitive tasks, such as social cognition, tool use, and language. When these differences arose during human evolution is a question of ongoing debate. Here, we show that the brains of early Homo from Africa and Western Asia (Dmanisi) retained a primitive, great ape-like organization of the frontal lobe. By contrast, African Homo younger than 1.5 million years ago, as well as all Southeast Asian Homo erectus, exhibited a more derived, humanlike brain organization. Frontal lobe reorganization, once considered a hallmark of earliest Homo in Africa, thus evolved comparatively late, and long after Homo first dispersed from Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcia S Ponce de León
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Thibault Bienvenu
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Assaf Marom
- Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 31096, Israel
| | - Silvano Engel
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Paul Tafforeau
- European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, 38043 Grenoble, France
| | - José Luis Alatorre Warren
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland.,Fetal Neonatal Neuroimaging and Developmental Science Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.,Division of Newborn Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | | | - Iwan Kurniawan
- Museum of Geology, Jln. Diponegoro 57, Bandung 40122, Indonesia
| | - Delta Bayu Murti
- Department of Anthropology, Airlangga University, Surabaya, 60115 Jawa Timur, Indonesia
| | - Rusyad Adi Suriyanto
- Laboratory of Bioanthropology and Paleoanthropology, Gadjah Mada University, Yogyakarta 55281, Indonesia
| | | | - Christoph P E Zollikofer
- Department of Anthropology and Anthropological Museum, University of Zurich, CH-8052 Zurich, Switzerland.
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8
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Divergence-time estimates for hominins provide insight into encephalization and body mass trends in human evolution. Nat Ecol Evol 2021; 5:808-819. [PMID: 33795855 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-021-01431-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Quantifying speciation times during human evolution is fundamental as it provides a timescale to test for the correlation between key evolutionary transitions and extrinsic factors such as climatic or environmental change. Here, we applied a total evidence dating approach to a hominin phylogeny to estimate divergence times under different topological hypotheses. The time-scaled phylogenies were subsequently used to perform ancestral state reconstructions of body mass and phylogenetic encephalization quotient (PEQ). Our divergence-time estimates are consistent with other recent studies that analysed extant species. We show that the origin of the genus Homo probably occurred between 4.30 and 2.56 million years ago. The ancestral state reconstructions show a general trend towards a smaller body mass before the emergence of Homo, followed by a trend towards a greater body mass. PEQ estimations display a general trend of gradual but accelerating encephalization evolution. The obtained results provide a rigorous temporal framework for human evolution.
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9
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Scardia G, Neves WA, Tattersall I, Blumrich L. What kind of hominin first left Africa? Evol Anthropol 2020; 30:122-127. [PMID: 32893976 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21863] [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: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Recent discoveries of stone tools from Jordan (2.5 Ma) and China (2.1 Ma) document hominin presence in Asia at the beginning of the Pleistocene, well before the conventional Dmanisi datum at 1.8 Ma. Although no fossil hominins documenting this earliest Out of Africa phase have been found, on chronological grounds a pre-Homo erectus hominin must be considered the most likely maker of those artifacts. If so, this sheds new light on at least two disputed subjects in paleoanthropology, namely the remarkable variation among the five Dmanisi skulls, and the ancestry of Homo floresiensis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giancarlo Scardia
- Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), Instituto de Geociências e Ciências Exatas, Rio Claro, Brazil
| | - Walter A Neves
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Ian Tattersall
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, New York, USA
| | - Lukas Blumrich
- Universidade de São Paulo (USP), Instituto de Estudos Avançados, São Paulo, Brazil
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10
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Mitogenomics of macaques (Macaca) across Wallace's Line in the context of modern human dispersals. J Hum Evol 2020; 146:102852. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 06/28/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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11
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VanSickle C, Cofran Z, Hunt D. Did Neandertals have large brains? Factors affecting endocranial volume comparisons. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 173:768-775. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Revised: 06/23/2020] [Accepted: 07/08/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Caroline VanSickle
- Department of Anatomy A.T. Still University, Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine Kirksville Missouri USA
| | - Zachary Cofran
- Anthropology Department Vassar College Poughkeepsie New York USA
| | - David Hunt
- Smithsonian Institution Washington District of Columbia USA
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12
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Murphy E. No Country for Oldowan Men: Emerging Factors in Language Evolution. Front Psychol 2019; 10:1448. [PMID: 31275219 PMCID: PMC6594215 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 06/06/2019] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Language evolution has long been researched. I will review a number of broad, emerging research directions which arguably have the potential to contribute to our understanding of language evolution. Emerging topics in genomics and neurolinguistics are explored, and human-specific levels of braincase globularity - and the broader process of self-domestication within which globularity seems capable of being encapsulated - will be argued to be the central pillars of any satisfactory and interdisciplinary model of language evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliot Murphy
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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13
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Lyras GA. Brain Changes during Phyletic Dwarfing in Elephants and Hippos. BRAIN, BEHAVIOR AND EVOLUTION 2019; 92:167-181. [PMID: 30943507 DOI: 10.1159/000497268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 01/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Of all known insular mammals, hippos and elephants present the extremes of body size decrease, reducing to 4 and a mere 2% of their ancestral mainland size, respectively. Despite the numerous studies on these taxa, what happens to their relative brain size during phyletic dwarfing is not well known, and results are sometimes conflicting. For example, relative brain size increase has been noted in the Sicilian dwarf elephant, Palaeoloxodon falconeri, whereas relative brain size decrease has been postulated for Malagasy dwarf hippos. Here, I perform an analysis of brain, skull, and body size of 3 insular elephants (Palaeoloxodon "mnaidriensis," P. tiliensis, and P. falconeri) and 3 insular hippos (Hippopotamus madagascariensis, H. lemerlei, and H. minor) to address this issue and to test whether relative brain size in phyletic dwarf species can be predicted. The results presented here show that the encephalization of all insular elephants and hippos is higher than that of their continental relatives. P. falconeri in particular has an enormous encephalization increase, which has so far not been reported in any other insular mammal. Insular brain size cannot be reliably predicted using either static allometric or ontogenetic scaling models. The results of this study indicate that insular dwarf species follow brain-body allometric relationships different from the expected patterns seen for their mainland relatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- George A Lyras
- Department of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece,
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14
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Poza-Rey EM, Gómez-Robles A, Arsuaga JL. Brain size and organization in the Middle Pleistocene hominins from Sima de los Huesos. Inferences from endocranial variation. J Hum Evol 2019; 129:67-90. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Revised: 12/19/2018] [Accepted: 01/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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15
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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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16
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Abstract
The new species Homo naledi was discovered in 2013 in a remote cave chamber of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. This species survived until between 226,000 and 335,000 y ago, placing it in continental Africa at the same time as the early ancestors of modern humans were arising. Yet, H. naledi was strikingly primitive in many aspects of its anatomy, including the small size of its brain. Here, we have provided a description of endocast anatomy of this primitive species. Despite its small brain size, H. naledi shared some aspects of human brain organization, suggesting that innovations in brain structure were ancestral within the genus Homo. Hominin cranial remains from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, represent multiple individuals of the species Homo naledi. This species exhibits a small endocranial volume comparable to Australopithecus, combined with several aspects of external cranial anatomy similar to larger-brained species of Homo such as Homo habilis and Homo erectus. Here, we describe the endocast anatomy of this recently discovered species. Despite the small size of the H. naledi endocasts, they share several aspects of structure in common with other species of Homo, not found in other hominins or great apes, notably in the organization of the inferior frontal and lateral orbital gyri. The presence of such structural innovations in a small-brained hominin may have relevance to behavioral evolution within the genus Homo.
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17
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Kaifu Y. Archaic Hominin Populations in Asia before the Arrival of Modern Humans. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1086/694318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
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18
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Beaudet A, Dumoncel J, de Beer F, Durrleman S, Gilissen E, Oettlé A, Subsol G, Thackeray JF, Braga J. The endocranial shape of Australopithecus africanus: surface analysis of the endocasts of Sts 5 and Sts 60. J Anat 2017; 232:296-303. [PMID: 29148040 DOI: 10.1111/joa.12745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Assessment of global endocranial morphology and regional neuroanatomical changes in early hominins is critical for the reconstruction of evolutionary trajectories of cerebral regions in the human lineage. Early evidence of cortical reorganization in specific local areas (e.g. visual cortex, inferior frontal gyrus) is perceptible in the non-human South African hominin fossil record. However, to date, little information is available regarding potential global changes in the early hominin brain. The introduction of non-invasive imaging techniques opens up new perspectives for the study of hominin brain evolution. In this context, our primary aim in this study is to explore the organization of the Australopithecus africanus endocasts, and highlight the nature and extent of the differences distinguishing A. africanus from the extant hominids at both local and global scales. By means of X-ray-based imaging techniques, we investigate two A. africanus specimens from Sterkfontein Member 4, catalogued as Sts 5 and Sts 60, respectively a complete cranium and a partial cranial endocast. Endocrania were virtually reconstructed and compared by using a landmark-free registration method based on smooth and invertible surface deformation. Both local and global information provided by our deformation-based approach are used to perform statistical analyses and topological mapping of inter-specific variation. Statistical analyses indicate that the endocranial shape of Sts 5 and Sts 60 approximates the Pan condition. Furthermore, our study reveals substantial differences with respect to the extant human condition, particularly in the parietal regions. Compared with Pan, the endocranial shape of the fossil specimens differs in the anterior part of the frontal gyri.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Jean Dumoncel
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), Toulouse Cedex, France.,Institut de Recherche en Informatique de Toulouse, UMR 5505 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), Toulouse Cedex, France
| | - Frikkie de Beer
- Radiation Science Department, South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), Pelindaba, South Africa
| | - Stanley Durrleman
- Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière, Aramis Team, INRIA Paris, Sorbonne Universités, UPMC Université Paris 06 UMR S 1127, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France
| | - Emmanuel Gilissen
- Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium.,Laboratory of Histology and Neuropathology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Anna Oettlé
- Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.,Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Gérard Subsol
- Montpellier Laboratory of Informatics, Robotics and Microelectronics, UMR 5506 CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| | - John Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - José Braga
- Laboratoire d'Anthropologie Moléculaire et Imagerie de Synthèse, UMR 5288 CNRS-Université de Toulouse (Paul Sabatier), Toulouse Cedex, France.,Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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19
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Garvin HM, Elliott MC, Delezene LK, Hawks J, Churchill SE, Berger LR, Holliday TW. Body size, brain size, and sexual dimorphism in Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber. J Hum Evol 2017; 111:119-138. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2016] [Revised: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 06/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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20
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Diniz-Filho JAF, Raia P. Island Rule, quantitative genetics and brain-body size evolution in Homo floresiensis. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:20171065. [PMID: 28637851 PMCID: PMC5489739 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2017] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Colonization of islands often activate a complex chain of adaptive events that, over a relatively short evolutionary time, may drive strong shifts in body size, a pattern known as the Island Rule. It is arguably difficult to perform a direct analysis of the natural selection forces behind such a change in body size. Here, we used quantitative evolutionary genetic models, coupled with simulations and pattern-oriented modelling, to analyse the evolution of brain and body size in Homo floresiensis, a diminutive hominin species that appeared around 700 kya and survived up to relatively recent times (60-90 kya) on Flores Island, Indonesia. The hypothesis of neutral evolution was rejected in 97% of the simulations, and estimated selection gradients are within the range found in living natural populations. We showed that insularity may have triggered slightly different evolutionary trajectories for body and brain size, which means explaining the exceedingly small cranial volume of H. floresiensis requires additional selective forces acting on brain size alone. Our analyses also support previous conclusions that H. floresiensis may be most likely derived from an early Indonesian H. erectus, which is coherent with currently accepted biogeographical scenario for Homo expansion out of Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho
- Departamento de Ecologia e PPG em Ecologia and Evolução, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Goiania, GO, Brazil
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli Federico II, Napoli, Italy
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21
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Argue D, Groves CP, Lee MS, Jungers WL. The affinities of Homo floresiensis based on phylogenetic analyses of cranial, dental, and postcranial characters. J Hum Evol 2017; 107:107-133. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 76] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2016] [Revised: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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22
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Hawks J, Elliott M, Schmid P, Churchill SE, Ruiter DJD, Roberts EM, Hilbert-Wolf H, Garvin HM, Williams SA, Delezene LK, Feuerriegel EM, Randolph-Quinney P, Kivell TL, Laird MF, Tawane G, DeSilva JM, Bailey SE, Brophy JK, Meyer MR, Skinner MM, Tocheri MW, VanSickle C, Walker CS, Campbell TL, Kuhn B, Kruger A, Tucker S, Gurtov A, Hlophe N, Hunter R, Morris H, Peixotto B, Ramalepa M, Rooyen DV, Tsikoane M, Boshoff P, Dirks PH, Berger LR. New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28483039 PMCID: PMC5423776 DOI: 10.7554/elife.24232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 58] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to Homo naledi. Further exploration led to the discovery of hominin material, now comprising 131 hominin specimens, within a second chamber, the Lesedi Chamber. The Lesedi Chamber is far separated from the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave system, and represents a second depositional context for hominin remains. In each of three collection areas within the Lesedi Chamber, diagnostic skeletal material allows a clear attribution to H. naledi. Both adult and immature material is present. The hominin remains represent at least three individuals based upon duplication of elements, but more individuals are likely present based upon the spatial context. The most significant specimen is the near-complete cranium of a large individual, designated LES1, with an endocranial volume of approximately 610 ml and associated postcranial remains. The Lesedi Chamber skeletal sample extends our knowledge of the morphology and variation of H. naledi, and evidence of H. naledi from both recovery localities shows a consistent pattern of differentiation from other hominin species.
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Affiliation(s)
- John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
| | - Marina Elliott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Peter Schmid
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zürich, Winterthurerstr, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Steven E Churchill
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, United States
| | - Darryl J de Ruiter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
| | - Eric M Roberts
- Geosciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Hannah Hilbert-Wolf
- Geosciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Heather M Garvin
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology/Archaeology, Mercyhurst University, Erie, United States.,Department of Applied Forensic Sciences, Mercyhurst University, Erie, United States
| | - Scott A Williams
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, United States
| | - Lucas K Delezene
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, United States
| | - Elen M Feuerriegel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, United States
| | - Patrick Randolph-Quinney
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, South Africa.,School of Forensic and Applied Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, United Kingdom
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Myra F Laird
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, United States
| | - Gaokgatlhe Tawane
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Jeremy M DeSilva
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States
| | - Shara E Bailey
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States.,New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, United States
| | - Juliet K Brophy
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
| | - Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, United States
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew W Tocheri
- Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada.,Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, United States
| | - Caroline VanSickle
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States.,Department of Anthropology, Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr, United States
| | - Christopher S Walker
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, United States.,Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, United States
| | - Timothy L Campbell
- Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
| | - Brian Kuhn
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ashley Kruger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Steven Tucker
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Alia Gurtov
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States
| | - Nompumelelo Hlophe
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Rick Hunter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Hannah Morris
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, University of Georgia, Athens, United States
| | - Becca Peixotto
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, American University, Washington, United States
| | - Maropeng Ramalepa
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Dirk van Rooyen
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Mathabela Tsikoane
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Pedro Boshoff
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Paul Hgm Dirks
- Geosciences, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Lee R Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
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23
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Churchill SE, Vansickle C. Pelvic Morphology in Homo erectus
and Early Homo. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2017; 300:964-977. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2016] [Revised: 01/20/2017] [Accepted: 02/03/2017] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Steven Emilio Churchill
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; Durham North Carolina
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand; Wits South Africa
| | - Caroline Vansickle
- Department of Anthropology; Bryn Mawr College; Bryn Mawr Pennsylvania
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand; Wits South Africa
- Department of Anthropology; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Wisconsin
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24
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Laird MF, Schroeder L, Garvin HM, Scott JE, Dembo M, Radovčić D, Musiba CM, Ackermann RR, Schmid P, Hawks J, Berger LR, de Ruiter DJ. The skull of Homo naledi. J Hum Evol 2017; 104:100-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Revised: 09/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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25
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Schroeder L, Scott JE, Garvin HM, Laird MF, Dembo M, Radovčić D, Berger LR, de Ruiter DJ, Ackermann RR. Skull diversity in the Homo lineage and the relative position of Homo naledi. J Hum Evol 2017; 104:124-135. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.09.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2015] [Revised: 09/26/2016] [Accepted: 09/27/2016] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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26
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Affiliation(s)
- Aida Gómez-Robles
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington DC 20052, USA
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27
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Baab KL, Brown P, Falk D, Richtsmeier JT, Hildebolt CF, Smith K, Jungers W. A Critical Evaluation of the Down Syndrome Diagnosis for LB1, Type Specimen of Homo floresiensis. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0155731. [PMID: 27275928 PMCID: PMC4898715 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2015] [Accepted: 05/03/2016] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The Liang Bua hominins from Flores, Indonesia, have been the subject of intense scrutiny and debate since their initial description and classification in 2004. These remains have been assigned to a new species, Homo floresiensis, with the partial skeleton LB1 as the type specimen. The Liang Bua hominins are notable for their short stature, small endocranial volume, and many features that appear phylogenetically primitive relative to modern humans, despite their late Pleistocene age. Recently, some workers suggested that the remains represent members of a small-bodied island population of modern Austro-Melanesian humans, with LB1 exhibiting clinical signs of Down syndrome. Many classic Down syndrome signs are soft tissue features that could not be assessed in skeletal remains. Moreover, a definitive diagnosis of Down syndrome can only be made by genetic analysis as the phenotypes associated with Down syndrome are variable. Most features that contribute to the Down syndrome phenotype are not restricted to Down syndrome but are seen in other chromosomal disorders and in the general population. Nevertheless, we re-evaluated the presence of those phenotypic features used to support this classification by comparing LB1 to samples of modern humans diagnosed with Down syndrome and euploid modern humans using comparative morphometric analyses. We present new data regarding neurocranial, brain, and symphyseal shape in Down syndrome, additional estimates of stature for LB1, and analyses of inter- and intralimb proportions. The presence of cranial sinuses is addressed using CT images of LB1. We found minimal congruence between the LB1 phenotype and clinical descriptions of Down syndrome. We present important differences between the phenotypes of LB1 and individuals with Down syndrome, and quantitative data that characterize LB1 as an outlier compared with Down syndrome and non-Down syndrome groups. Homo floresiensis remains a phenotypically unique, valid species with its roots in Plio-Pleistocene Homo taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen L. Baab
- Department of Anatomy, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University, 19555 N. 59th Avenue, Glendale, AZ, 85308, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Peter Brown
- Bioanthropology, School of Archaeology & Anthropology, Australian National University, Acton, ACT, 2601, Australia
| | - Dean Falk
- Department of Anthropology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306–7772, United States of America
- School for Advanced Research, Santa Fe, NM, 87505, United States of America
| | - Joan T. Richtsmeier
- Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, United States of America
| | - Charles F. Hildebolt
- Department of Radiology, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway, St. Louis, Missouri, 63110, United States of America
| | - Kirk Smith
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR, 72205, United States of America
| | - William Jungers
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, 11794–8081, United States of America
- Association Vahatra, BP 3972, Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
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28
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Grabowski M, Voje KL, Hansen TF. Evolutionary modeling and correcting for observation error support a 3/5 brain-body allometry for primates. J Hum Evol 2016; 94:106-16. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.03.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Revised: 02/29/2016] [Accepted: 03/01/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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29
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Dembo M, Matzke NJ, Mooers AØ, Collard M. Bayesian analysis of a morphological supermatrix sheds light on controversial fossil hominin relationships. Proc Biol Sci 2016. [PMID: 26202999 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The phylogenetic relationships of several hominin species remain controversial. Two methodological issues contribute to the uncertainty-use of partial, inconsistent datasets and reliance on phylogenetic methods that are ill-suited to testing competing hypotheses. Here, we report a study designed to overcome these issues. We first compiled a supermatrix of craniodental characters for all widely accepted hominin species. We then took advantage of recently developed Bayesian methods for building trees of serially sampled tips to test among hypotheses that have been put forward in three of the most important current debates in hominin phylogenetics--the relationship between Australopithecus sediba and Homo, the taxonomic status of the Dmanisi hominins, and the place of the so-called hobbit fossils from Flores, Indonesia, in the hominin tree. Based on our results, several published hypotheses can be statistically rejected. For example, the data do not support the claim that Dmanisi hominins and all other early Homo specimens represent a single species, nor that the hobbit fossils are the remains of small-bodied modern humans, one of whom had Down syndrome. More broadly, our study provides a new baseline dataset for future work on hominin phylogeny and illustrates the promise of Bayesian approaches for understanding hominin phylogenetic relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mana Dembo
- Human Evolutionary Studies Program, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Department of Archaeology,, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Matzke
- National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA
| | - Arne Ø Mooers
- Human Evolutionary Studies Program, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Mark Collard
- Human Evolutionary Studies Program, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Department of Archaeology,, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada Department of Archaeology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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30
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Balzeau A, Charlier P. What do cranial bones of LB1 tell us about Homo floresiensis? J Hum Evol 2016; 93:12-24. [PMID: 27086053 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.12.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2014] [Revised: 11/04/2015] [Accepted: 12/09/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Cranial vault thickness (CVT) of Liang Bua 1, the specimen that is proposed to be the holotype of Homo floresiensis, has not yet been described in detail and compared with samples of fossil hominins, anatomically modern humans or microcephalic skulls. In addition, a complete description from a forensic and pathological point of view has not yet been carried out. It is important to evaluate scientifically if features related to CVT bring new information concerning the possible pathological status of LB1, and if it helps to recognize affinities with any hominin species and particularly if the specimen could belong to the species Homo sapiens. Medical examination of the skull based on a micro-CT examination clearly brings to light the presence of a sincipital T (a non-metrical variant of normal anatomy), a scar from an old frontal trauma without any evident functional consequence, and a severe bilateral hyperostosis frontalis interna that may have modified the anterior morphology of the endocranium of LB1. We also show that LB1 displays characteristics, related to the distribution of bone thickness and arrangements of cranial structures, that are plesiomorphic traits for hominins, at least for Homo erectus s.l. relative to Homo neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. All the microcephalic skulls analyzed here share the derived condition of anatomically modern H. sapiens. Cranial vault thickness does not help to clarify the definition of the species H. floresiensis but it also does not support an attribution of LB1 to H. sapiens. We conclude that there is no support for the attribution of LB1 to H. sapiens as there is no evidence of systemic pathology and because it does not have any of the apomorphic traits of our species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antoine Balzeau
- Équipe de Paléontologie Humaine, UMR 7194 du CNRS, Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium.
| | - Philippe Charlier
- Section of Medical and Forensic Anthropology, UFR of Health Sciences (UVSQ/Paris-Descartes University, AP-HP), Montigny-Le-Bretonneux, France
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31
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Grabowski M. Bigger Brains Led to Bigger Bodies?: The Correlated Evolution of Human Brain and Body Size. CURRENT ANTHROPOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1086/685655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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32
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Kaifu Y, Kono RT, Sutikna T, Saptomo EW, Jatmiko, Due Awe R. Unique Dental Morphology of Homo floresiensis and Its Evolutionary Implications. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141614. [PMID: 26624612 PMCID: PMC4651360 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141614] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2015] [Accepted: 10/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Homo floresiensis is an extinct, diminutive hominin species discovered in the Late Pleistocene deposits of Liang Bua cave, Flores, eastern Indonesia. The nature and evolutionary origins of H. floresiensis' unique physical characters have been intensively debated. Based on extensive comparisons using linear metric analyses, crown contour analyses, and other trait-by-trait morphological comparisons, we report here that the dental remains from multiple individuals indicate that H. floresiensis had primitive canine-premolar and advanced molar morphologies, a combination of dental traits unknown in any other hominin species. The primitive aspects are comparable to H. erectus from the Early Pleistocene, whereas some of the molar morphologies are more progressive even compared to those of modern humans. This evidence contradicts the earlier claim of an entirely modern human-like dental morphology of H. floresiensis, while at the same time does not support the hypothesis that H. floresiensis originated from a much older H. habilis or Australopithecus-like small-brained hominin species currently unknown in the Asian fossil record. These results are however consistent with the alternative hypothesis that H. floresiensis derived from an earlier Asian Homo erectus population and experienced substantial body and brain size dwarfism in an isolated insular setting. The dentition of H. floresiensis is not a simple, scaled-down version of earlier hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yousuke Kaifu
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Reiko T. Kono
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Thomas Sutikna
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Emanuel Wahyu Saptomo
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Jatmiko
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - Rokus Due Awe
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta, Indonesia
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33
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Reply to Westaway et al.: Mandibular misrepresentations fail to support the invalid species Homo floresiensis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2015; 112:E606. [PMID: 25659744 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1422176112] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
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34
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KAIFU YOUSUKE, KONO REIKOT, SUTIKNA THOMAS, SAPTOMO EWAHYU, JATMIKO, AWE ROKUSDUE, BABA HISAO. Descriptions of the dental remains of Homo floresiensis. ANTHROPOL SCI 2015. [DOI: 10.1537/ase.150501] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- YOUSUKE KAIFU
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba-shi
- Department of Biological Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo
| | - REIKO T. KONO
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba-shi
| | - THOMAS SUTIKNA
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta
| | - E. WAHYU SAPTOMO
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta
| | - JATMIKO
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta
| | - ROKUS DUE AWE
- Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong
- The National Research and Development Centre for Archaeology, Jakarta
| | - HISAO BABA
- Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tsukuba-shi
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35
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Balzeau A, Gilissen E, Holloway RL, Prima S, Grimaud-Hervé D. Variations in size, shape and asymmetries of the third frontal convolution in hominids: Paleoneurological implications for hominin evolution and the origin of language. J Hum Evol 2014; 76:116-28. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2013] [Revised: 06/10/2014] [Accepted: 06/16/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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36
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37
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Henneberg M, Eckhardt RB, Chavanaves S, Hsü KJ. Evolved developmental homeostasis disturbed in LB1 from Flores, Indonesia, denotes Down syndrome and not diagnostic traits of the invalid species Homo floresiensis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2014; 111:11967-72. [PMID: 25092311 PMCID: PMC4143021 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1407382111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Human skeletons from Liang Bua Cave, Flores, Indonesia, are coeval with only Homo sapiens populations worldwide and no other previously known hominins. We report here for the first time to our knowledge the occipitofrontal circumference of specimen LB1. This datum makes it possible to link the 430-mL endocranial volume of LB1 reported by us previously, later confirmed independently by other investigators, not only with other human skeletal samples past and present but also with a large body of clinical data routinely collected on patients with developmental disorders. Our analyses show that the brain size of LB1 is in the range predicted for an individual with Down syndrome (DS) in a normal small-bodied population from the geographic region that includes Flores. Among additional diagnostic signs of DS and other skeletal dysplasiae are abnormally short femora combined with disproportionate flat feet. Liang Bua Cave femora, known only for LB1, match interlimb proportions for DS. Predictions based on corrected LB1 femur lengths show a stature normal for other H. sapiens populations in the region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maciej Henneberg
- School of Medical Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
| | - Robert B Eckhardt
- Laboratory for the Study of Morphology, Mechanics and Molecules, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; and
| | - Sakdapong Chavanaves
- Laboratory for the Study of Morphology, Mechanics and Molecules, Department of Kinesiology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802; and
| | - Kenneth J Hsü
- Kenneth J. Hsü Center for Integrated Hydrological Circuits Development, National Institutes of Earth Sciences, Beijing 100871, China
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38
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Antón SC, Potts R, Aiello LC. Evolution of earlyHomo: An integrated biological perspective. Science 2014; 345:1236828. [DOI: 10.1126/science.1236828] [Citation(s) in RCA: 339] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Integration of evidence over the past decade has revised understandings about the major adaptations underlying the origin and early evolution of the genusHomo. Many features associated withHomo sapiens, including our large linear bodies, elongated hind limbs, large energy-expensive brains, reduced sexual dimorphism, increased carnivory, and unique life history traits, were once thought to have evolved near the origin of the genus in response to heightened aridity and open habitats in Africa. However, recent analyses of fossil, archaeological, and environmental data indicate that such traits did not arise as a single package. Instead, some arose substantially earlier and some later than previously thought. From ~2.5 to 1.5 million years ago, three lineages of earlyHomoevolved in a context of habitat instability and fragmentation on seasonal, intergenerational, and evolutionary time scales. These contexts gave a selective advantage to traits, such as dietary flexibility and larger body size, that facilitated survival in shifting environments.
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de Sousa AA, Proulx MJ. What can volumes reveal about human brain evolution? A framework for bridging behavioral, histometric, and volumetric perspectives. Front Neuroanat 2014; 8:51. [PMID: 25009469 PMCID: PMC4069365 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2014.00051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2013] [Accepted: 06/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
An overall relationship between brain size and cognitive ability exists across primates. Can more specific information about neural function be gleaned from cortical area volumes? Numerous studies have found significant relationships between brain structures and behaviors. However, few studies have speculated about brain structure-function relationships from the microanatomical to the macroanatomical level. Here we address this problem in comparative neuroanatomy, where the functional relevance of overall brain size and the sizes of cortical regions have been poorly understood, by considering comparative psychology, with measures of visual acuity and the perception of visual illusions. We outline a model where the macroscopic size (volume or surface area) of a cortical region (such as the primary visual cortex, V1) is related to the microstructure of discrete brain regions. The hypothesis developed here is that an absolutely larger V1 can process more information with greater fidelity due to having more neurons to represent a field of space. This is the first time that the necessary comparative neuroanatomical research at the microstructural level has been brought to bear on the issue. The evidence suggests that as the size of V1 increases: the number of neurons increases, the neuron density decreases, and the density of neuronal connections increases. Thus, we describe how information about gross neuromorphology, using V1 as a model for the study of other cortical areas, may permit interpretations of cortical function.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Michael J Proulx
- Crossmodal Cognition Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Bath Bath, UK
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Social cognition in fishes. Trends Cogn Sci 2014; 18:465-71. [PMID: 24815200 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2013] [Revised: 04/07/2014] [Accepted: 04/11/2014] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Brain evolution has often been correlated with the cognitive demands of social life. Further progress depends on our ability to link cognitive processes to corresponding brain part sizes and structures, and, ultimately, to demonstrate causality. Recent research suggests that fishes are suitable to test general hypotheses about vertebrate social cognition and its evolution: brain structure and physiology are rather conserved among vertebrates, and fish are able to perform complex decisions in social context. Here, we outline the opportunities for experimentation and comparative studies using fish as model systems, as well as some current shortcomings in fish social cognition research.
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Williams AC, Dunbar RIM. Big brains, meat, tuberculosis and the nicotinamide switches: co-evolutionary relationships with modern repercussions on longevity and disease? Med Hypotheses 2014; 83:79-87. [PMID: 24767939 DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2014.04.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Accepted: 04/01/2014] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Meat eating has been an important trigger for human evolution however the responsible component in meat has not been clearly identified. Here we propose that the limiting factors for expanding brains and increasing longevity were the micronutrient nicotinamide (vitamin B3) and the metabolically related essential amino-acid, tryptophan. Meat offers significant sourcing challenges and lack causes a deficiency of nicotinamide and tryptophan and consequently the energy carrier nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) that gets consumed in regulatory circuits important for survival, resulting in premature ageing, poor cognition and brain atrophy. If a trophic supply of dietary nicotinamide/tryptophan is so essential for building brains, constraining their size and connectivity, we hypothesise that back-up mechanisms to ensure the supply evolved. One strategy may be increasing the reliance on gut symbionts to break down celluloses that produces NADH and only nicotinamide indirectly, and may cause diarrhoea. We suggest that a direct supplier was the chronic mycobacterial infection tuberculosis (TB) that is a surprise candidate but it co-evolved early, does not inevitably cause disease (90-95% of those infected are healthy), and secretes (and is inhibited by) nicotinamide. We hypothesise that TB evolved first as a symbiont that enabled humans to cope with short-lived shortages of meat and only later behaved as a pathogen when the supply deteriorated chronically, for those in poverty. (TB immunology and epidemiology is riddled with paradoxes for a conventional pathogen). We test this in pilot data showing that sharp declines in TB (and diarrhoea) - `environmental enteropathy' strongly correlate with increasing meat consumption and therefore nicotinamide exposure, unlike later onset cancers and Parkinson's disease that increased in incidence, perhaps - as we propose a hypothetical hypervitaminosis B3 (to include obesity and the metabolic syndrome) - as the trade-off for increased brain power and longevity, a recently evolved human characteristic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian C Williams
- Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford OX2 6PN, UK.
| | - Robin I M Dunbar
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, South Parks Rd, Oxford OX1 3UD, UK
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Buckner RL, Krienen FM. The evolution of distributed association networks in the human brain. Trends Cogn Sci 2013; 17:648-65. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2013.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 475] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2013] [Revised: 09/28/2013] [Accepted: 09/30/2013] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
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Haslam M. 'Captivity bias' in animal tool use and its implications for the evolution of hominin technology. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2013; 368:20120421. [PMID: 24101629 PMCID: PMC4027414 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2012.0421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals in captive or laboratory settings may outperform wild animals of the same species in both frequency and diversity of tool use, a phenomenon here termed 'captivity bias'. Although speculative at this stage, a logical conclusion from this concept is that animals whose tool-use behaviour is observed solely under natural conditions may be judged cognitively or physically inferior than if they had also been tested or observed under controlled captive conditions. In turn, this situation creates a potential problem for studies of the behaviour of extinct members of the human family tree-the hominins-as hominin cognitive abilities are often judged on material evidence of tool-use behaviour left in the archaeological record. In this review, potential factors contributing to captivity bias in primates (including increased contact between individuals engaged in tool use, guidance or shaping of tool-use behaviour by other tool-users and increased free time and energy) are identified and assessed for their possible effects on the behaviour of the Late Pleistocene hominin Homo floresiensis. The captivity bias concept provides one way to uncouple hominin tool use from cognition, by considering hominins as subject to the same adaptive influences as other tool-using animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Haslam
- Research Laboratory for Archaeology and the History of Art, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3QY, UK
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Williams AC, Dunbar RIM. Big brains, meat, tuberculosis, and the nicotinamide switches: co-evolutionary relationships with modern repercussions? Int J Tryptophan Res 2013; 6:73-88. [PMID: 24250227 PMCID: PMC3825668 DOI: 10.4137/ijtr.s12838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Meat-eating was a game changer for human evolution. We suggest that the limiting factors for expanding brains earlier were scarcities of nicotinamide and tryptophan. In humans and some other omnivores, lack of meat causes these deficiencies. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) is necessary to synthesize adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via either glycolysis or via the mitochondrial respiratory chain. NAD consumption is also necessary for developmental and repair circuits. Inadequate supplies result in "de-evolutionary" brain atrophy, as seen with pellagra. If trophic nicotinamide/tryptophan was a "prime mover" in building bigger brains, back-up mechanisms should have evolved. One strategy may be to recruit extra gut symbionts that produce NADH precursors or export nicotinamide (though this may cause diarrhea). We propose a novel supplier TB that co-evolved early, which did not originally and does not now inevitably cause disease. TB has highly paradoxical immunology for a pathogen, and secretes and is inhibited by nicotinamide and its analogue, isoniazid. Sharp declines in TB and diarrhea correlated with increased meat intake in the past, suggesting that dietary vitamin B3 and tryptophan deficiencies (also associated with poor cognition and decreased lifespans) are still common where meat is unaffordable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adrian C Williams
- Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, 64 Banbury Road, Oxford, OX2 6PN, UK
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'Hobbit' brains not so small. Nature 2013. [DOI: 10.1038/496401a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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