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Riga A, Profico A, Mori T, Frittitta R, Nava A, Mancini L, Dreossi D, Radovčić D, Rice H, Bondioli L, Marchi D. The Middle Pleistocene human metatarsal from Sedia del Diavolo (Rome, Italy). Sci Rep 2024; 14:6024. [PMID: 38472259 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-55045-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 02/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The peopling of Europe during the Middle Pleistocene is a debated topic among paleoanthropologists. Some authors suggest the coexistence of multiple human lineages in this period, while others propose a single evolving lineage from Homo heidelbergensis to Homo neanderthalensis. The recent reassessment of the stratigraphy at the Sedia del Diavolo (SdD) site (Latium, Italy), now dated to the beginning of marine isotope stage (MIS) 8, calls for a revision of the human fossils from the site. In this paper, we present the morphometric, biomechanical and palaeopathological study of the second right metatarsal SdD2, to both re-evaluate its taxonomical affinities and possibly determine the levels of physical activity experienced by the individual during lifetime. Results demonstrate the persistence of archaic features in SdD2 suggesting new insights into the technology and hunting strategies adopted by Homo between MIS 9 and MIS 8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Riga
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Tommaso Mori
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | | | - Alessia Nava
- Department of Odontostomatological and Maxillofacial Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Lucia Mancini
- ZAG-Slovenian National Building and Civil Engineering Institute, Ljubliana, Slovenia
| | - Diego Dreossi
- Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.P.A., Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Davorka Radovčić
- Department of Geology and Paleontology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Hannah Rice
- Department of Physical Performance, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, Oslo, Norway
| | - Luca Bondioli
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
- Service of Bioarchaeology, Museum of Civilizations, Rome, Italy
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Centre for the Exploration of Deep Human Journey, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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2
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Dierickx K, Oueslati T, Profico A. Geometric morphometric analysis of Pleuronectiformes vertebrae: A new tool to identify archaeological fish remains? J Anat 2023; 243:982-996. [PMID: 37492024 PMCID: PMC10641040 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13934] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/10/2023] [Indexed: 07/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Flatfish (Pleuronectiformes) vertebrae are difficult to identify to species due to the lack of diagnostic features. This has resulted in a lack of understanding of the species abundances across archaeological sites, hindering interpretations of historical fisheries in the North Sea area. We use a new approach, utilising a combined 2D landmark-based geometric morphometric analysis as an objective and non-destructive method for species identification of flatfish vertebrae from the North Sea area. Modern specimens were used as a reference to describe the morphological variation between taxa using principal component analysis (PCA) and to trial an automated classification using linear discriminant analysis. Although there is limited distinction between taxa using PCAs, the classification shows high accuracies, indicating that flatfish species identifications using geometric morphometrics are possible. Bone samples (n = 105) from two archaeological sites in the United Kingdom and France were analysed using this approach and their identifications were verified using collagen peptide mass fingerprinting. The success rate of species identification was usually less than 50%, indicating that this technique has limited applicability due to preservation/fragmentation of archaeological fish bone. Nonetheless, this could prove a valuable tool for modern and non-fragmented samples. Furthermore, the technique applied in this study can be easily adapted to work on other landmark datasets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrien Dierickx
- Department of ArchaeologyUniversity of YorkYorkUK
- Department of Archaeology and Cultural HistoryNTNU University MuseumTrondheimNorway
| | - Tarek Oueslati
- Centre National de la Recherche ScientifiqueUniversity of LilleLilleFrance
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3
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Augoyard M, Zanolli C, Santos F, Oettlé AC, L'Abbé EN, Le Luyer M, Cazenave M, Colard T, Hoffman J, Profico A, Bayle P. Evaluation of age, sex, and ancestry-related variation in cortical bone and dentine volumes in modern humans, and a preliminary assessment of cortical bone-dentine covariation in later Homo. J Anthropol Sci 2023; 100:143-169. [PMID: 37543983 DOI: 10.4436/jass.10019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Cortical bone and dentine share similarities in their embryological origin, development, and genetic background. Few analyses have combined the study of cortical bone and dentine to quantify their covariation relative to endogenous and exogenous factors. However, knowing how these tissues relate in individuals is of great importance to decipher the factors acting on their evolution, and ultimately to understand the mechanisms responsible for the different patterns of tissue proportions shown in hominins. The aims of this study are to examine age-, sex-, and ancestry-related variation in cortical bone and dentine volumes, and to preliminary assess the possible covariation between these tissues in modern humans and in five composite Neandertals. The modern analytical sample includes 12 immature individuals from France and 49 adults from France and South Africa. Three-dimensional tissue proportions were assessed from microtomographic records of radii and permanent maxillary canines. Results suggest ontogenic differences and a strong sexual dimorphism in cortical bone and dentine developments. The developmental pattern of dentine also seems to vary according to individual's ancestry. We measure a stronger covariation signal between cortical bone and dentine volumes than with any other dental tissue. A more complex covariation pattern is shown when splitting the modern sample by age, sex, and ancestry, as no signal is found in some subsamples while others show a covariation between cortical bone and either crown or radicular dentine. Finally, no difference in cortical bone volume is noticed between the modern young adults and the five young adult composite Neandertals from Marine Isotopic Stages (MIS) 5 and 3. Greater dentine Cortical bone and dentine (co)variation volumes are measured in the MIS 5 chimeric Neandertals whereas a strong interpopulation variation in dentine thickness is noticed in the MIS 3 chimeric Neandertals. Further research on the cortical bonedentine covariation will increase understanding of the impact of endogenous and exogenous factors on the development of the mineralized tissues.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France; Department of Maxillofacial and Oral Surgery, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Frédéric Santos
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France
| | - Anna C Oettlé
- Department of Anatomy and Histology, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Ga-Rankuwa, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Ericka N L'Abbé
- Forensic Anthropology Research Centre, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0031, South Africa
| | - Mona Le Luyer
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France; Center for Genomic Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
| | - Marine Cazenave
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA; Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Thomas Colard
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France; Department of Oral Radiology, University of Lille, Lille University Hospital, Lille, France
| | - Jakobus Hoffman
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd., Pelindaba, South Africa
| | | | - Priscilla Bayle
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France,
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Del Bove A, Menéndez L, Manzi G, Moggi-Cecchi J, Lorenzo C, Profico A. Mapping sexual dimorphism signal in the human cranium. Sci Rep 2023; 13:16847. [PMID: 37803023 PMCID: PMC10558540 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43007-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 10/08/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of sexual dimorphism in human crania has important applications in the fields of human evolution and human osteology. Current, the identification of sex from cranial morphology relies on manual visual inspection of identifiable anatomical features, which can lead to bias due to user's expertise. We developed a landmark-based approach to automatically map the sexual dimorphism signal on the human cranium. We used a sex-known sample of 228 individuals from different geographical locations to identify which cranial regions are most sexually dimorphic taking into account shape, form and size. Our results, which align with standard protocols, show that glabellar and supraciliary regions, the mastoid process and the nasal region are the most sexually dimorphic traits (with an accuracy of 73%). The accuracy increased to 77% if they were considered together. Surprisingly the occipital external protuberance resulted to be not sexually dimorphic but mainly related to variations in size. Our approach here applied could be expanded to map other variable signals on skeletal morphology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonietta Del Bove
- Department of History and History of Arts, University Rovira i Virgli, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain.
- Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain.
| | - Lumila Menéndez
- Department of Anthropology of the Americas, University of Bonn, Oxfordstraße 15, 53111, Bonn, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, 1030, Vienna, Austria
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Jacopo Moggi-Cecchi
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo, 12, 50122, Florence, Italy
| | - Carlos Lorenzo
- Department of History and History of Arts, University Rovira i Virgli, Avinguda de Catalunya 35, 43002, Tarragona, Spain
- Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA), Zona Educacional 4, Campus Sescelades URV (Edifici W3), 43007, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Luca Ghini, 13, 56126, Pisa, Italy
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5
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Liang C, Profico A, Buzi C, Khonsari RH, Johnson D, O'Higgins P, Moazen M. Normal human craniofacial growth and development from 0 to 4 years. Sci Rep 2023; 13:9641. [PMID: 37316540 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-36646-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Knowledge of human craniofacial growth (increase in size) and development (change in shape) is important in the clinical treatment of a range of conditions that affects it. This study uses an extensive collection of clinical CT scans to investigate craniofacial growth and development over the first 48 months of life, detail how the cranium changes in form (size and shape) in each sex and how these changes are associated with the growth and development of various soft tissues such as the brain, eyes and tongue and the expansion of the nasal cavity. This is achieved through multivariate analyses of cranial form based on 3D landmarks and semi-landmarks and by analyses of linear dimensions, and cranial volumes. The results highlight accelerations and decelerations in cranial form changes throughout early childhood. They show that from 0 to 12 months, the cranium undergoes greater changes in form than from 12 to 48 months. However, in terms of the development of overall cranial shape, there is no significant sexual dimorphism in the age range considered in this study. In consequence a single model of human craniofacial growth and development is presented for future studies to examine the physio-mechanical interactions of the craniofacial growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ce Liang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Costantino Buzi
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain
- Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Roman H Khonsari
- Department of Maxillofacial Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Necker - Enfants Malades Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
| | - David Johnson
- Oxford Craniofacial Unit, Oxford University Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK
| | - Mehran Moazen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.
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Shui W, Profico A, O’Higgins P. A Comparison of Semilandmarking Approaches in the Analysis of Size and Shape. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:ani13071179. [PMID: 37048435 PMCID: PMC10093231 DOI: 10.3390/ani13071179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Often, few landmarks can be reliably identified in analyses of form variation and covariation. Thus, ‘semilandmarking’ algorithms have increasingly been applied to surfaces and curves. However, the locations of semilandmarks depend on the investigator’s choice of algorithm and their density. In consequence, to the extent that different semilandmarking approaches and densities result in different locations of semilandmarks, they can be expected to yield different results concerning patterns of variation and co-variation. The extent of such differences due to methodology is, as yet, unclear and often ignored. In this study, the performance of three landmark-driven semilandmarking approaches is assessed, using two different surface mesh datasets (ape crania and human heads) with different degrees of variation and complexity, by comparing the results of morphometric analyses. These approaches produce different semilandmark locations, which, in turn, lead to differences in statistical results, although the non-rigid semilandmarking approaches are consistent. Morphometric analyses using semilandmarks must be interpreted with due caution, recognising that error is inevitable and that results are approximations. Further work is needed to investigate the effects of using different landmark and semilandmark templates and to understand the limitations and advantages of different semilandmarking approaches.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wuyang Shui
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, King’s Manor, York YO1 7EP, UK
- Correspondence:
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Via Derna 1, 56126 Pisa, Italy
| | - Paul O’Higgins
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, King’s Manor, York YO1 7EP, UK
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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Profico A, Buzi C, Di Vincenzo F, Boggioni M, Borsato A, Boschian G, Marchi D, Micheli M, Cecchi JM, Samadelli M, Tafuri MA, Arsuaga JL, Manzi G. Virtual excavation and analysis of the early Neanderthal cranium from Altamura (Italy). Commun Biol 2023; 6:316. [PMID: 36964200 PMCID: PMC10039001 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04644-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Complete Neanderthal skeletons are almost unique findings. A very well-preserved specimen of this kind was discovered in 1993 in the deepest recesses of a karstic system near the town of Altamura in Southern Italy. We present here a detailed description of the cranium, after we virtually extracted it from the surrounding stalagmites and stalactites. The morphology of the Altamura cranium fits within the Neanderthal variability, though it retains features occurring in more archaic European samples. Some of these features were never observed in Homo neanderthalensis, i.e. in fossil specimens dated between 300 and 40 ka. Considering the U-Th age we previously obtained (>130 ka), the morphology of Altamura suggests that the archaic traits it retains may have been originated by geographic isolation of the early Neanderthal populations from Southern Italy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, 56126, Italy
| | - Costantino Buzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
- Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, 43005, Spain
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, 43005, Spain
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
- Natural History Museum - Palazzo Nonfinito, University of Florence, Florence, 50122, Italy
| | - Marco Boggioni
- School of Paleoanthropology, University of Perugia, Perugia, 06123, Italy
| | - Andrea Borsato
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, 56126, Italy
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, P.O. Box 524, Johannesburg - Auckland Park, 2006, South Africa
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, 56126, Italy
- Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa
| | - Mario Micheli
- Department of Humanities, Roma Tre University, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | | | - Marco Samadelli
- Institute for Mummy Studies, EURAC Research, Bolzano, 39100, Italy
| | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, 28029, Spain
- Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, 28040, Spain
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, 00185, Italy.
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Buzi C, Profico A, Liang C, Khonsari RH, O'Higgins P, Moazen M, Harvati K. Icex: Advances in the automatic extraction and volume calculation of cranial cavities. J Anat 2023; 242:1172-1183. [PMID: 36774197 PMCID: PMC10184549 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2022] [Revised: 01/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
Abstract
The use of non-destructive approaches for digital acquisition (e.g. computerised tomography-CT) allows detailed qualitative and quantitative study of internal structures of skeletal material. Here, we present a new R-based software tool, Icex, applicable to the study of the sizes and shapes of skeletal cavities and fossae in 3D digital images. Traditional methods of volume extraction involve the manual labelling (i.e. segmentation) of the areas of interest on each section of the image stack. This is time-consuming, error-prone and challenging to apply to complex cavities. Icex facilitates rapid quantification of such structures. We describe and detail its application to the isolation and calculation of volumes of various cranial cavities. The R tool is used here to automatically extract the orbital volumes, the paranasal sinuses, the nasal cavity and the upper oral volumes, based on the coordinates of 18 cranial anatomical points used to define their limits, from 3D cranial surface meshes obtained by segmenting CT scans. Icex includes an algorithm (Icv) for the calculation of volumes by defining a 3D convex hull of the extracted cavity. We demonstrate the use of Icex on an ontogenetic sample (0-19 years) of modern humans and on the fossil hominin crania Kabwe (Broken Hill) 1, Gibraltar (Forbes' Quarry) and Guattari 1. We also test the tool on three species of non-human primates. In the modern human subsample, Icex allowed us to perform a preliminary analysis on the absolute and relative expansion of cranial sinuses and pneumatisations during growth. The performance of Icex, applied to diverse crania, shows the potential for an extensive evaluation of the developmental and/or evolutionary significance of hollow cranial structures. Furthermore, being open source, Icex is a fully customisable tool, easily applicable to other taxa and skeletal regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costantino Buzi
- DFG Centre of Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES-CERCA), Tarragona, Spain.,Departament d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain
| | | | - Ce Liang
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Roman H Khonsari
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Maxillo-Facial Surgery and Plastic Surgery, Necker - Enfants Malades University Hospital, Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, France
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK
| | - Mehran Moazen
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, University College London, London, UK
| | - Katerina Harvati
- DFG Centre of Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Micheletti Cremasco M, D'Amore G, Sparacello VS, Mussi M, Galland M, Profico A, Masali M, Di Marco S, Micciché R, Friess M, Sineo L. Multi-proxy analysis suggests Late Pleistocene affinities of human skeletal remains attributed to Balzi Rossi. J Anthropol Sci 2021; 99:19-60. [PMID: 34894396 DOI: 10.4436/jass.99014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
In two publications from 1967 and 1971, M. Masali described human skeletal remains presumed to have been found in the Balzi Rossi caves (Ventimiglia, Italy), based on a signed note dated to 1908. Since then, the remains - dubbed "Conio's Finds" and preserved at the University of Torino - had not been further studied. We performed a multidisciplinary investigation aimed at clarifying the geographical and chronological attribution of these specimens. Collagen extraction for AMS dating was unsuccessful, but we obtained two direct dates on the best- preserved crania via 231Pa/235U direct gamma-ray spectrometry (10,500±2,000 years BP and 12,500±2,500 years BP). We analyzed the metrics and morphology of the crania and femora by comparing them with samples belonging to the Upper Paleolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic periods, and evidenced that the "Conio's Finds" are morphologically more compatible with a Late Pleistocene rather than Holocene attribution. We analyzed the literature regarding the history of excavations at Balzi Rossi, and we propose that - if any credence should be given to the note accompanying the material - the remains may have been found in front of Grotta dei Fanciulli or Grotta del Caviglione, in the redeposited soil dug up during the installation of lime kilns carried out between the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. These hypotheses may be tested in the future by comparing the speleothem deposited on one of the crania and the remaining deposit at the site.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Micheletti Cremasco
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
| | - Giuseppe D'Amore
- I.S.A. - Istituto di Studi Archeo-Antropologici, Via delle Cascine 46, 50018 Scandicci (Firenze), Italy
| | - Vitale Stefano Sparacello
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e dell'Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria, 09042 Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy; PACEA, UMR 5199, CNRS, Univ. Bordeaux, 33615 Pessac, France
| | - Margherita Mussi
- Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichità, Università di Roma Sapienza, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Manon Galland
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environnement, UMR7206 du CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Antonio Profico
- Palaeohub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, UK
| | - Melchiorre Masali
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biologia dei Sistemi, Università di Torino, Via Accademia Albertina 13, 10123 Torino, Italy
| | - Sylvia Di Marco
- I.S.A. - Istituto di Studi Archeo-Antropologici, Via delle Cascine 46, 50018 Scandicci (Firenze), Italy
| | - Roberto Micciché
- STEBICEF, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy
| | - Martin Friess
- Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Département Homme et Environnement, UMR7206 du CNRS, Université Paris Diderot, 17 Place du Trocadéro, 75016 Paris, France
| | - Luca Sineo
- STEBICEF, Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche, Chimiche e Farmaceutiche, Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 18, 90123 Palermo, Italy,
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10
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Watanabe M, Risi R, Tafuri MA, Silvestri V, D'Andrea D, Raimondo D, Rea S, Di Vincenzo F, Profico A, Tuccinardi D, Sciuto R, Basciani S, Mariani S, Lubrano C, Cinti S, Ottini L, Manzi G, Gnessi L. Bone density and genomic analysis unfold cold adaptation mechanisms of ancient inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego. Sci Rep 2021; 11:23290. [PMID: 34857816 PMCID: PMC8639971 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-02783-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The Fuegians, ancient inhabitants of Tierra del Fuego, are an exemplary case of a cold-adapted population, since they were capable of living in extreme climatic conditions without any adequate clothing. However, the mechanisms of their extraordinary resistance to cold remain enigmatic. Brown adipose tissue (BAT) plays a crucial role in this kind of adaptation, besides having a protective role on the detrimental effect of low temperatures on bone structure. Skeletal remains of 12 adult Fuegians, collected in the second half of XIX century, were analyzed for bone mineral density and structure. We show that, despite the unfavorable climate, bone mineral density of Fuegians was close to that seen in modern humans living in temperate zones. Furthermore, we report significant differences between Fuegians and other cold-adapted populations in the frequency of the Homeobox protein Hox-C4 (HOXC4) rs190771160 variant, a gene involved in BAT differentiation, whose identified variant is predicted to upregulate HOXC4 expression. Greater BAT accumulation might therefore explain the Fuegians extreme cold-resistance and the protection against major cold-related damage. These results increase our understanding of how ecological challenges have been important drivers of human–environment interactions during Humankind history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mikiko Watanabe
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Renata Risi
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Daniel D'Andrea
- MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | - Domenico Raimondo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Sandra Rea
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Natural History Museum-University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Italian Institute of Human Paleontology (IsIPU), Anagni-Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Dario Tuccinardi
- Unit of Endocrinology and Diabetes, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, 00128, Rome, Italy
| | - Rosa Sciuto
- Nuclear Medicine Unit, IRCCS Regina Elena National Cancer Institute, Rome, Italy
| | - Sabrina Basciani
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Stefania Mariani
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Carla Lubrano
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Saverio Cinti
- Center of Obesity, Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy
| | - Laura Ottini
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Lucio Gnessi
- Section of Medical Pathophysiology, Food Science and Endocrinology, Department of Experimental Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
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11
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Davis CA, Profico A, Kappelman J. Digital restoration of the Wilson-Leonard 2 Paleoindian skull (~10,000 BP) from central Texas with comparison to other early American and modern crania. Am J Phys Anthropol 2021; 176:486-503. [PMID: 34338313 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24379] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Craniofacial morphology (CFM) is often used to address questions about the biological affinities of the earliest Americans, or Paleoindians, but resolution is complicated in part by a lack of well-preserved crania. The Wilson-Leonard 2 (WL-2) Paleoindian skull from Texas has never been fully analyzed because it is crushed and cannot be physically reconstructed. This study employs a digital restoration for comprehensive assessment and analysis of WL-2. MATERIALS AND METHODS High-resolution CT data and geometric morphometrics are used to restore the WL-2 skull and analyze its morphology using 65 craniometric measurements acquired on the restoration. These data allow for a full morphological description and multivariate (Mahalanobis Distance and Principal Component) comparisons to other Paleoindians and recent populations. RESULTS WL-2 has a long, narrow braincase, and a short, modestly prognathic face. Compared with other Paleoindians, she is individually similar to several skulls from Brazil, but aligns most closely with pooled samples from the US and Mexico. WL-2 is most similar to recent populations from Europe, Asia, and the Americas, and markedly different to those from Africa and Australia. DISCUSSION The overall morphology of WL-2 and her association with Asians and Europeans align well with trends identified in other CFM analyses. Her affinity to recent Amerindians contrasts with the findings of many previous CFM studies, but is seemingly consistent with molecular analyses suggesting a close relationship between some Paleoindians and modern American Indians. This study demonstrates the potential for using digital anthropological methods to study other Paleoindian crania whose data value is limited by physical destruction and/or deformation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher A Davis
- Paleocultural Research Group, Broomfield, Colorado, USA.,Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - John Kappelman
- Department of Anthropology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA.,Department of Geological Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas, USA
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12
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Hershkovitz I, May H, Sarig R, Pokhojaev A, Grimaud-Hervé D, Bruner E, Fornai C, Quam R, Arsuaga JL, Krenn VA, Martinón-Torres M, de Castro JMB, Martín-Francés L, Slon V, Albessard-Ball L, Vialet A, Schüler T, Manzi G, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Weber GW, Zaidner Y. A Middle Pleistocene
Homo
from Nesher Ramla, Israel. Science 2021. [DOI: 10.1126/science.abh3169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Israel Hershkovitz
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Hila May
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Rachel Sarig
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Oral Biology, the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Ariel Pokhojaev
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Oral Biology, the Goldschleger School of Dental Medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Dominique Grimaud-Hervé
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Emiliano Bruner
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
| | - Cinzia Fornai
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Rolf Quam
- Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA
| | - Juan Luis Arsuaga
- Centro UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain
- Departamento de Geodináica, Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Ciudad Universitaria s/n, 28040, Madrid, Spain
| | - Viktoria A. Krenn
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Maria Martinón-Torres
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - José María Bermúdez de Castro
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Laura Martín-Francés
- CENIEH (National Research Center on Human Evolution), Burgos, Spain
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Viviane Slon
- Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Shmunis Family Anthropology Institute, the Dan David Center for Human Evolution and Biohistory Research, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Department of Human Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Lou Albessard-Ball
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Amélie Vialet
- UMR7194, HNHP, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, UPVD, Paris, France
| | - Tim Schüler
- Thuringian State Office for the Preservation of Historical Monuments and Archaeology Weimar, Germany
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Gerhard W. Weber
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- Core Facility for Micro-Computed Tomography, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Yossi Zaidner
- Institute of Archaeology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
- Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Mount Carmel, Israel
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13
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Castiglione S, Serio C, Tamagnini D, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Di Febbraro M, Profico A, Piras P, Barattolo F, Raia P. Correction: A new, fast method to search for morphological convergence with shape data. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0252264. [PMID: 34015026 PMCID: PMC8136625 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0252264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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14
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Smith OAM, Duncan C, Pears N, Profico A, O'Higgins P. Growing old: Do women and men age differently? Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2021; 304:1800-1810. [PMID: 33432687 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24584] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Aging of the head and especially the face has been studied intensively, yet questions remain about the timing and rates of aging throughout adulthood and about the extent to which aging differs between men and women. Here we address these issues by developing statistical models of craniofacial aging to describe and compare aging through the life course in both sexes. We selected cranial surface meshes from 254 females and 252 males, aged from 20 to 90 years from the Headspace project, Liverpool, UK. Sixteen anatomical landmarks and 59 semilandmarks on curves and surfaces were used to parameterize these. Modes and degrees of aging throughout adulthood were assessed and compared among sexes using Procrustes-based geometric morphometric methods. Regression analyses of form through the whole age range indicate that age accounts for a small proportion of total variance in both sexes, but form is significantly related to age and males and females age in significantly different ways. Further analyses indicate that aging differs in character, timing, and rates in both sexes between early and later phases of adulthood. Sexual differences in aging are evident in the early and later phases of adulthood. The study adds to knowledge of the aging of adult craniofacial form and sexual dimorphism. It is based on a local population and so the findings are directly applicable to that population. Further studies are needed to assess generalizability and provide better data on population differences to facilitate clinical assessment and treatment planning.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Christian Duncan
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Alder-Hey Hospital, Liverpool, UK
| | - Nick Pears
- Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK.,PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
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15
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Mori T, Profico A, Reyes-Centeno H, Harvati K. Frontal bone virtual reconstruction and geometric morphometric analysis of the mid-Pleistocene hominin KNM-OG 45500 (Olorgesailie, Kenya). J Anthropol Sci 2020; 98:49-72. [PMID: 33341758 DOI: 10.4436/jass.98022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
KNM-OG 45500 is a hominin fossil composed of parts of a frontal bone, left temporal bone, and cranial vault pieces. Since its discovery along the Olorgesailie Formation (Kenya) in 2003, it has been associated with the Homo erectus hypodigm. The specimen, derived from a geological context dated to ca. 900 Ka BP, has been described as a very small individual of probable female sex. However, despite its status as an important hominin specimen, it has not been used in a quantitative comparative framework because of its fragmentary condition. Here, we undertake a virtual reconstruction of the better-preserved fragment, the frontal bone. We additionally apply geometric morphometric analyses, using a geographically diverse fossil and modern human sample, in order to investigate the morphological affinities of KNM-OG 45500. Our results show that the frontal shape of KNM-OG 45500 exhibits similarities with Early Pleistocene fossils from Eurasia and Africa that are assigned to H. erectus sensu lato (s.l.). Its size, on the other hand, is notably smaller than most other Homo erectus fossils and modern humans and similar to the specimens from Dmanisi (Georgia) and to Homo naledi. Taken together, our analyses of the frontal bone suggest a taxonomic attribution of KNM-OG 45500 to H. erectus s.l. and extend even further the range of size variability associated with this taxon around 900 Ka BP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tommaso Mori
- Paleoanthropology, Department of Geosciences, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany; Anthropology laboratory, Department of Biology, University of Florence, Via del Proconsolo 12, Florence, Italy,
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy; PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Hugo Reyes-Centeno
- DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools", University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany; Department of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 211 Lafferty Hall, Lexington, KY 40506 USA; William S. Webb Museum of Anthropology, University of Kentucky, 1020 Export St, Lexington, KY 40504, KY USA
| | - Katerina Harvati
- Paleoanthropology, Department of Geosciences, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72070, Germany; DFG Center for Advanced Studies "Words, Bones, Genes, Tools", University of Tübingen, Rümelinstrasse 23, D-72070 Tübingen, Germany
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16
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Smith OAM, Nashed YSG, Duncan C, Pears N, Profico A, O'Higgins P. 3D Modeling of craniofacial ontogeny and sexual dimorphism in children. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2020; 304:1918-1926. [PMID: 33336527 DOI: 10.1002/ar.24582] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The range of normal variation of growth and development of the craniofacial region is of direct clinical interest but incompletely understood. Here we develop a statistical model of craniofacial growth and development to compare craniofacial ontogeny between age groups and sexes and pilot an approach to modeling that is relatively straightforward to apply in the context of clinical research and assessment. METHODS The sample comprises head surface meshes captured using a 3dMD five-camera system from 65 males and 47 females (range 3-20 years) from the Headspace project, Liverpool, UK. The surface meshes were parameterized using 16 anatomical landmarks and 59 semilandmarks on curves and surfaces. Modes and degrees of growth and development were assessed and compared among ages and sexes using Procrustes based geometric morphometric methods. RESULTS Regression analyses indicate that 3-10 year olds undergo greater changes than 11-20 year olds and that craniofacial growth and development differs between these age groups. The analyses indicate that males extend growth allometrically into larger size ranges, contributing substantially to adult dimorphism. Comparisons of ontogenetic trajectories between sexes find no significant differences, yet when hypermorphosis is accounted for in the older age group there is a significant residual sexual dimorphism. CONCLUSIONS The study adds to knowledge of how adult craniofacial form and sexual dimorphism develop. It was carried out using readily available software which facilitates replication of this work in diverse populations to underpin clinical assessment of deformity and the outcomes of corrective interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Christian Duncan
- Department of Plastic Surgery, Alder-Hey Hospital, Liverpool, UK
| | - Nick Pears
- Department of Computer Science, University of York, York, UK
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- Hull York Medical School, University of York, York, UK.,PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
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17
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Riga A, Boggioni M, Papini A, Buzi C, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Marchi D, Moggi-Cecchi J, Manzi G. In situ observations on the dentition and oral cavity of the Neanderthal skeleton from Altamura (Italy). PLoS One 2020; 15:e0241713. [PMID: 33264306 PMCID: PMC7710085 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0241713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2020] [Accepted: 10/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The Neanderthal specimen from Lamalunga Cave, near Altamura (Apulia, Italy), was discovered during a speleological survey in 1993. The specimen is one of the most complete fossil hominins in Europe and its state of preservation is exceptional, although it is stuck in calcareous concretions and the bones are mostly covered by calcite depositions. Nevertheless, it is possible to carry out some observations on craniodental features that have not previously been described. In this work, we present an account of the oral cavity, made possible by the use of a videoscope, which allowed us to reach some hidden parts of the mandible and palate. This is the first detailed overview of the teeth and maxillary bones of the Neanderthal skeleton from Altamura. The dentition is almost complete. However, two teeth (upper right P3 and upper left M1) were lost ante mortem and four teeth (lower right I1 and P3 and lower left I1 and I2) were lost most probably post mortem. Dental wear is marked. The erupted M3s and the inversion of the compensating curve of Wilson in the M1s and M2s but not in the M3s suggest that the individual is fully adult, but not old. Although most of the teeth have their roots exposed for several millimeters, the periodontal bone appears to be in good condition overall, except in correspondence of the two ante-mortem tooth losses. X-rays of the anterior teeth show a periapical lesion, probably linked to the advanced dental wear. We also observed a weak expression of taurodontism in the posterior dentition and the presence of a retromolar space, features consistent with an attribution to the Neanderthal hypodigm; this attribution is also supported by aspects of the cranial morphology, the morphometric analysis of the scapula and preliminary mtDNA data. There is also a well-developed palatine torus, to the best of our knowledge a feature not previously described in Neanderthals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Riga
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
- Laboratory of Archaeoanthropology, SABAP-FI, Scandicci (FI), Italy
| | | | | | - Costantino Buzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
- Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
- Natural History Museum, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Roma, Italy
- Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Anagni, Roma, Italy
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18
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Buzi C, Micarelli I, Paine RR, Profico A, Messineo D, Tafuri MA, Manzi G. Digital imaging techniques applied to a case of concha bullosa from an early medieval funerary area in central Italy. Int J Paleopathol 2020; 31:71-78. [PMID: 33096378 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpp.2020.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 10/02/2020] [Accepted: 10/02/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Concha bullosa is a rather common condition of the nasal turbinates, rarely reported in archaeological skeletal collections. This paper examines a case of concha bullosa as seen in a female cranium from a burial in central Italy, dated to the Longobard domination in the Peninsula (mid-7th- early 8th century CE). MATERIALS The individual under investigation (T86/17) comes from the funerary area of Selvicciola, located near the town of Viterbo in northern Latium, Italy. METHODS The skeleton was macroscopically examined. We analyzed the CT-scans of the defect by applying innovative R-based virtual tools. RESULTS It was possible to calculate the inner volume of the concha bullosa and to provide a 3D visual assessment of its shape. CONCLUSIONS Its size and shape suggest that the individual had this condition for a considerable period of time, during which its presence may have had affected her daily activities and health status. SIGNIFICANCE An under-represented paleopathological defect is examined for the first time through a virtual approach aimed at visualizing its shape and the assessment of its volume. New methods of 3D based virtual assessment can increase the informative value of defects. SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH Techniques used in this assessment should be considered as an evaluative tool for other conditions when macroscopic and radiographic imaging are limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Costantino Buzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Ileana Micarelli
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.
| | - Robert R Paine
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, Wentworth Way, YO105DD, York, UK
| | - Daniela Messineo
- Department of Radiological, Oncological, and Anatomo-Pathological Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale del Policlinico, 155, 00161, Roma, Italy
| | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
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19
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Mondanaro A, Melchionna M, Di Febbraro M, Castiglione S, Holden PB, Edwards NR, Carotenuto F, Maiorano L, Modafferi M, Serio C, Diniz-Filho JAF, Rangel T, Rook L, O'Higgins P, Spikins P, Profico A, Raia P. A Major Change in Rate of Climate Niche Envelope Evolution during Hominid History. iScience 2020; 23:101693. [PMID: 33163945 PMCID: PMC7607486 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 10/13/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Homo sapiens is the only species alive able to take advantage of its cognitive abilities to inhabit almost all environments on Earth. Humans are able to culturally construct, rather than biologically inherit, their occupied climatic niche to a degree unparalleled within the animal kingdom. Precisely, when hominins acquired such an ability remains unknown, and scholars disagree on the extent to which our ancestors shared this same ability. Here, we settle this issue using fine-grained paleoclimatic data, extensive archaeological data, and phylogenetic comparative methods. Our results indicate that whereas early hominins were forced to live under physiologically suitable climatic conditions, with the emergence of H. heidelbergensis, the Homo climatic niche expanded beyond its natural limits, despite progressive harshening in global climates. This indicates that technological innovations providing effective exploitation of cold and seasonal habitats predated the emergence of Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens oversteps our ecological niche limits by means of culture The origin of Homo niche-construction ability is unknown We found Homo species other than H. sapiens were able to construct their own niche
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandro Mondanaro
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy.,Department of Earth Science. University of Florence, Florence 50121, Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Mirko Di Febbraro
- Department of Bioscience and Territory. University of Molise, Pesche, Isernia 86090, Italy
| | - Silvia Castiglione
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Philip B Holden
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6BJ, UK
| | - Neil R Edwards
- School of Environment, Earth and Ecosystem Sciences, The Open University, Milton Keynes MK7 6BJ, UK
| | - Francesco Carotenuto
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Luigi Maiorano
- Department of Biology and Biotechnologies Charles Darwin, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rome 00185, Italy
| | - Maria Modafferi
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
| | - Carmela Serio
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Josè A F Diniz-Filho
- Department of Ecology, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74968-755, Brasil
| | - Thiago Rangel
- Department of Ecology, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia 74968-755, Brasil
| | - Lorenzo Rook
- Department of Earth Science. University of Florence, Florence 50121, Italy
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Penny Spikins
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Archaeology and Hull York Medical School, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Department of Earth, Environmental and Resources Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Naples 80126, Italy
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20
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Del Bove A, Profico A, Riga A, Bucchi A, Lorenzo C. A geometric morphometric approach to the study of sexual dimorphism in the modern human frontal bone. Am J Phys Anthropol 2020; 173:643-654. [PMID: 33025582 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2019] [Revised: 08/28/2020] [Accepted: 09/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES We analyzed the main anatomical traits found in the human frontal bone by using a geometric morphometric approach. The objectives of this study are to explore how the frontal bone morphology varies between the sexes and to detect which part of the frontal bone are sexually dimorphic. MATERIALS AND METHODS The sample is composed of 161 skulls of European and North American individuals of known sex. For each cranium, we collected 3D landmarks and semilandmarks on the frontal bone, to examine the entire morphology and separate modules (frontal squama, supraorbital ridges, glabellar region, temporal lines, and mid-sagittal profile). We used Procrustes ANOVAs and LDAs (linear discriminant analyses) to evaluate the relation between frontal bone morphology and sexual dimorphism and to calculate precision and accuracy in the classification of sex. RESULTS All the frontal bone traits are influenced by sexual dimorphism, though each in a different manner. Variation in shape and size differs between the sexes, and this study confirmed that the supraorbital ridges and glabella are the most important regions for sex determination, although there is no covariation between them. The variable size does not contribute significantly to the discrimination between sexes. Thanks to a geometric morphometric analysis, it was found that the size variable is not an important element for the determination of sex in the frontal bone. CONCLUSION The usage of geometric morphometrics in analyzing the frontal bone has led to new knowledge on the morphological variations due to sexual dimorphism. The proposed protocol permits to quantify morphological covariation between modules, to calculate the shape variations related to sexual dimorphism including or omitting the variable size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonietta Del Bove
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.,Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution IPHES, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub-Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Alessandro Riga
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.,Laboratory of Archaeoanthropology, SABAP-FI, Scandicci, Italy
| | - Ana Bucchi
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.,Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution IPHES, Tarragona, Spain
| | - Carlos Lorenzo
- Àrea de Prehistòria, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain.,Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution IPHES, Tarragona, Spain
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21
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Profico A, Bondioli L, Raia P, O'Higgins P, Marchi D. morphomap: An R package for long bone landmarking, cortical thickness, and cross‐sectional geometry mapping. Am J Phys Anthropol 2020; 174:129-139. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24140] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 08/11/2020] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology University of York York UK
| | - Luca Bondioli
- Service of Bioarchaeology Service Museo delle Civiltà Rome Italy
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse Università di Napoli Federico II Naples Italy
| | - Paul O'Higgins
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology University of York York UK
- Hull York Medical School University of York York UK
- Centre for Forensic Anthropology University of Western Australia Perth Australia
| | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology University of Pisa Pisa Italy
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences University of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg‐Braamfontein South Africa
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22
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Landi F, Profico A, Veneziano A, De Groote I, Manzi G. Locomotion, posture, and the foramen magnum in primates: Reliability of indices and insights into hominin bipedalism. Am J Primatol 2020; 82:e23170. [PMID: 32639073 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2019] [Revised: 06/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
The position (FMP) and orientation (FMO) of the foramen magnum have been used as proxies for locomotion and posture in extant and extinct primates. Several indices have been designed to quantify FMP and FMO but their application has led to conflicting results. Here, we test six widely used indices and two approaches (univariate and multivariate) for their capability to discriminate between postural and locomotor types in extant primates and fossil hominins. We then look at the locomotion of australopithecines and Homo on the base of these new findings. The following measurements are used: the opisthocranion-prosthion (OP-PR) and the opisthocranion-glabella (OP-GL) indices, the basion-biporion (BA-BP) and basion-bicarotid chords, the foramen magnum angle (FMA), and the basion-sphenoccipital ratio. After exploring the indices variability using principal component analysis, pairwise comparisons are performed to test for the association between each index and the locomotor and postural habits. Cranial size and phylogeny are taken into account. Our analysis indicates that none of the indices or approaches provides complete discrimination across locomotor and postural categories, although some differences are highlighted. FMA and BA-BP distinguish respectively obligate and facultative bipeds from all other groups. For what concerns posture, orthogrades and pronogrades differ with respects to OP-PR, OP-GL, and FMA. Although the multivariate approach seems to have some discrimination power, the results are most likely driven by facial and neurocranial variability embedded in some of the indices. These results demonstrate that indices relying on the anteroposterior positioning of the foramen may not be appropriate proxies for locomotion among primates. The assumptions about locomotor and postural habits in fossil hominins based on foramen magnum indices should be revised in light of these new findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Landi
- CAHS, Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences, Hull York Medical School, York, UK
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Archaeology, PalaeoHub, University of York, York, UK
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- SYRMEP, SYnchrotron Radiation for MEdical Physics, Elettra-Sincrotrone Trieste S.C.p.A, Basovizza, Trieste, Italy
| | - Isabelle De Groote
- Department of Archaeology, Section Prehistory of Western Europe, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Mathematics Physics and Natural Sciences, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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23
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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: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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24
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Profico A, Buzi C, Melchionna M, Veneziano A, Raia P. Endomaker, a new algorithm for fully automatic extraction of cranial endocasts and the calculation of their volumes. Am J Phys Anthropol 2020; 172:511-515. [PMID: 32187657 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 01/14/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Reproducing cranial endocasts is a major goal of researchers interested in vertebrate brain evolution. We present a new R software, named endomaker, which allows the automatic extraction of endocasts from skull meshes along with the calculation of its volume. MATERIALS AND METHODS We applied endomaker on non-primate and primate skulls including the Australopithecus africanus specimen Sts-5. RESULTS We proved endomaker is faster, more feature-rich and possibly more accurate than competing software. DISCUSSION Endomaker is the only available program endowed with the possibility to process an entire mesh directory straight away, promising to expand the scope and phylogenetic breadth of comparative studies of brain evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- PalaeoHub, Department of Archaeology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Costantino Buzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli, Naples, Italy
| | | | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli, Naples, Italy
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25
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Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Serio C, Castiglione S, Di Febbraro M, Rook L, Diniz-Filho JAF, Manzi G, Profico A, Sansalone G, Raia P. Macroevolutionary trends of brain mass in Primates. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blz161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A distinctive trait in primate evolution is the expansion in brain mass. The potential drivers of this trend and how and whether encephalization influenced diversification dynamics in this group are hotly debated. We assembled a phylogeny accounting for 317 primate species, including both extant and extinct taxa, to identify macroevolutionary trends in brain mass evolution. Our findings show that Primates as a whole follow a macroevolutionary trend for an increase in body mass, relative brain mass and speciation rate over time. Although the trend for increased encephalization (brain mass) applies to all Primates, hominins stand out for their distinctly higher rates. Within hominins, this unique trend applies linearly over time and starts with Australopithecus africanus. The increases in both speciation rate and encephalization begin in the Oligocene, suggesting the two variables are causally associated. The substitution of early, stem Primates belonging to plesiadapiforms with crown Primates seems to be responsible for these macroevolutionary trends. However, our findings also suggest that cognitive capacities favoured speciation in hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
| | - A Mondanaro
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
| | - C Serio
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
| | - S Castiglione
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
| | - M Di Febbraro
- Dipartimento di Bioscienze e Territorio, University of Molise, C. da Fonte Lappone, 15, 86090 Pesche, IS, Italy
| | - L Rook
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Florence, Italy
| | - J A F Diniz-Filho
- Departamento de Ecologia, ICB, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Goiânia, GO, Brazil
| | - G Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - A Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
| | - G Sansalone
- Department of Environmental and Rural Sciences, FEARlab, University of New England, Armidale, 2351, NSW, Australia
| | - P Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell’Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Italy
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26
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Gunz P, Tilot AK, Wittfeld K, Teumer A, Shapland CY, van Erp TGM, Dannemann M, Vernot B, Neubauer S, Guadalupe T, Fernández G, Brunner HG, Enard W, Fallon J, Hosten N, Völker U, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Manzi G, Kelso J, St Pourcain B, Hublin JJ, Franke B, Pääbo S, Macciardi F, Grabe HJ, Fisher SE. Neandertal Introgression Sheds Light on Modern Human Endocranial Globularity. Curr Biol 2019; 29:895. [PMID: 30836076 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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27
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Profico A, Buzi C, Davis C, Melchionna M, Veneziano A, Raia P, Manzi G. A New Tool for Digital Alignment in Virtual Anthropology. Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2019; 302:1104-1115. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.24077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2018] [Revised: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 09/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Costantino Buzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Christopher Davis
- Department of Anthropology; University of Texas at Austin; Austin Texas
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology; John Moores University; Liverpool UK
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
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28
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Micarelli I, Paine R, Giostra C, Tafuri MA, Profico A, Boggioni M, Di Vincenzo F, Massani D, Papini A, Manzi G. Survival to amputation in pre-antibiotic era: a case study from a Longobard necropolis (6th-8th centuries AD). J Anthropol Sci 2018; 96:185-200. [PMID: 29717991 DOI: 10.4436/jass.96001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
The Longobard necropolis of Povegliano Veronese dates from the 6th to the 8th centuries AD. Among the 164 tombs excavated, the skeleton of an older male shows a well-healed amputated right forearm. The orientation of the forearm fracture suggests an angled cut by a single blow. Reasons why a forearm might be amputated include combat, medical intervention, and judicial punishment. As with other amputation cases reported in literature, this one exhibits both healing and osteoblastic response. We argue that the forelimb stump morphology suggests the use of a prosthesis. Moreover, dental modification of RI2 shows considerable wear and smoothing of the occlusal surface, which points to dental use in attaching the prosthesis to the limb. Other indications of how this individual adjusted to his amputated condition includes a slight change in the orientation of the right glenoid fossa surface, and thinning of right humeral cortical bone. This is a remarkable example in which an older male survived the loss of a forelimb in pre-antibiotic era. We link archaeological remains found in the tomb (buckle and knife) with the biological evidence to show how a combined bioarchaeological approach can provide a clearer interpretation of the life history of an individual.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ileana Micarelli
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichitá P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy; Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Robert Paine
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Caterina Giostra
- Universitá Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Dipartimento di Storia, archeologia e storia dell'arte, Lrg. Agostino Gemelli 1, 20123 Milano, Italy
| | - Mary Anne Tafuri
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy,
| | - Antonio Profico
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Marco Boggioni
- Scuola di Paleoantropologia, Piazza Universitá 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Danilo Massani
- Policlinico Umberto I, Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Diagnostica per immagini in emergenza e urgenza, DEA, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Andrea Papini
- Scuola di Paleoantropologia, Piazza Universitá 1, 06123 Perugia, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
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29
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Gunz P, Tilot AK, Wittfeld K, Teumer A, Shapland CY, van Erp TGM, Dannemann M, Vernot B, Neubauer S, Guadalupe T, Fernández G, Brunner HG, Enard W, Fallon J, Hosten N, Völker U, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Manzi G, Kelso J, St Pourcain B, Hublin JJ, Franke B, Pääbo S, Macciardi F, Grabe HJ, Fisher SE. Neandertal Introgression Sheds Light on Modern Human Endocranial Globularity. Curr Biol 2018; 29:120-127.e5. [PMID: 30554901 PMCID: PMC6380688 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.10.065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2018] [Revised: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 10/31/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
One of the features that distinguishes modern humans from our extinct relatives and ancestors is a globular shape of the braincase [1-4]. As the endocranium closely mirrors the outer shape of the brain, these differences might reflect altered neural architecture [4, 5]. However, in the absence of fossil brain tissue, the underlying neuroanatomical changes as well as their genetic bases remain elusive. To better understand the biological foundations of modern human endocranial shape, we turn to our closest extinct relatives: the Neandertals. Interbreeding between modern humans and Neandertals has resulted in introgressed fragments of Neandertal DNA in the genomes of present-day non-Africans [6, 7]. Based on shape analyses of fossil skull endocasts, we derive a measure of endocranial globularity from structural MRI scans of thousands of modern humans and study the effects of introgressed fragments of Neandertal DNA on this phenotype. We find that Neandertal alleles on chromosomes 1 and 18 are associated with reduced endocranial globularity. These alleles influence expression of two nearby genes, UBR4 and PHLPP1, which are involved in neurogenesis and myelination, respectively. Our findings show how integration of fossil skull data with archaic genomics and neuroimaging can suggest developmental mechanisms that may contribute to the unique modern human endocranial shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Gunz
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
| | - Amanda K Tilot
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Katharina Wittfeld
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Ellernholzstr. 1-2, 17489 Greifswald, Germany; German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Partner Site Rostock/Greifswald, Ellernholzstr. 1-2, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Alexander Teumer
- Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Walter-Rathenau Str. 48, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Chin Yang Shapland
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Theo G M van Erp
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, 5251 California Ave, Irvine, CA 92617, USA
| | - Michael Dannemann
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Benjamin Vernot
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Simon Neubauer
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tulio Guadalupe
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Guillén Fernández
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, 6500 GA, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Han G Brunner
- Department of Human Genetics, Radboud University Medical Center, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, 6500 GA, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department of Clinical Genetics and School for Oncology & Developmental Biology (GROW), Maastricht University Medical Center, 6202 AZ, Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Wolfgang Enard
- Anthropology and Human Genomics, Department Biology II, Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, Grosshaderner Str. 2, D-82152 Martinsried, Germany
| | - James Fallon
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Norbert Hosten
- Institute of Diagnostic Radiology and Neuroradiology, University Medicine, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Ferdinand-Sauerbruch-Str. 1, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Uwe Völker
- Interfaculty Institute of Genetics and Functional Genomics, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-University Greifswald, Felix-Hausdorff-Str. 8, 17475 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Antonio Profico
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy; Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi, 18, 00197, Roma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - Janet Kelso
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Beate St Pourcain
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Barbara Franke
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Departments of Human Genetics and Psychiatry, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Svante Pääbo
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Deutscher Platz 6, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Fabio Macciardi
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Sprague Hall - Room 312, Gillespie Neuroscience - Laboratory, Mail Code: 3960, Irvine, CA 92697, USA
| | - Hans J Grabe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Greifswald, Ellernholzstr. 1-2, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Simon E Fisher
- Language and Genetics Department, Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, P.O. Box 310, 6500 AH, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
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Buzi C, Micarelli I, Profico A, Conti J, Grassetti R, Cristiano W, Di Vincenzo F, Tafuri MA, Manzi G. Measuring the shape: performance evaluation of a photogrammetry improvement applied to the Neanderthal skull Saccopastore 1. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2018. [DOI: 10.21014/acta_imeko.v7i3.597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Several digital technologies are nowadays developed and applied to the study of the human fossil record. Here, we present a low-cost hardware implementation of the digital acquisition via photogrammetry, applied to a specimen of paleoanthropological interest: the Neanderthal skull Saccopastore 1. Such implementation has the purpose to semi-automatize the procedures of digital acquisition, by the introduction of an automatically rotating platform users can easily build on their own with minimum costs. We provide all the technical specifications, mostly based on the Arduino UNO™ microcontroller technology, and evaluate the performance and the resolution of the acquisition by comparing it with the CT-scan of the same specimen through the calculation of their shape differences. In our opinion, the replication of the automatic rotating platform, described in this work, may contribute to the improvement of the digital acquisition processes and may represent, in addition, a useful and affordable tool for both research and dissemination.
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Strani F, Profico A, Manzi G, Pushkina D, Raia P, Sardella R, DeMiguel D. MicroWeaR: A new R package for dental microwear analysis. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7022-7030. [PMID: 30073064 PMCID: PMC6065344 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4222] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 04/30/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Mastication of dietary items with different mechanical properties leaves distinctive microscopic marks on the surface of tooth enamel. The inspection of such marks (dental microwear analysis) is informative about the dietary habitus in fossil as well as in modern species. Dental microwear analysis relies on the morphology, abundance, direction, and distribution of these microscopic marks. We present a new freely available software implementation, MicroWeaR, that, compared to traditional dental microwear tools, allows more rapid, observer error free, and inexpensive quantification and classification of all the microscopic marks (also including for the first time different subtypes of scars). Classification parameters and graphical rendering of the output are fully settable by the user. MicroWeaR includes functions to (a) sample the marks, (b) classify features into categories as pits or scratches and then into their respective subcategories (large pits, coarse scratches, etc.), (c) generate an output table with summary information, and (d) obtain a visual surface-map where marks are highlighted. We provide a tutorial to reproduce the steps required to perform microwear analysis and to test tool functionalities. Then, we present two case studies to illustrate how MicroWeaR works. The first regards a Miocene great ape obtained from through environmental scanning electron microscope, and other a Pleistocene cervid acquired by a stereomicroscope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flavia Strani
- Dipartimento di Scienze della TerraSapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
- Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia UmanaRomeItaly
- Departamento de Ciencias de la TierraUniversidad de ZaragozaZaragozaSpain
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
| | - Diana Pushkina
- Department of Geosciences and GeographyUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della TerraUniversità di Napoli, Federico IINapoliItaly
| | - Raffaele Sardella
- Dipartimento di Scienze della TerraSapienza Università di RomaRomeItaly
- Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia UmanaRomeItaly
| | - Daniel DeMiguel
- Fundación ARAID/Universidad de ZaragozaZaragozaSpain
- Departamento de Ciencias de la TierraUniversidad de ZaragozaZaragozaSpain
- Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)BarcelonaSpain
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Garau M, Hampson G, Devlin N, Mazzanti NA, Profico A. Applying a Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) Approach to Elicit Stakeholders' Preferences in Italy: The Case of Obinutuzumab for Rituximab-Refractory Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (iNHL). Pharmacoecon Open 2018; 2:153-163. [PMID: 29623625 PMCID: PMC5972119 DOI: 10.1007/s41669-017-0048-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Healthcare decision makers need to make trade-offs between different elements of value of new treatments. Multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) provides a framework that can help decision makers to understand stakeholders' preferences and be explicit about the trade-offs that are being made. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to use MCDA to obtain preferences and views on decision criteria across three stakeholder groups (patients, clinicians and payers) in Italy and to use these to assess the performance of obinutuzumab for rituximab-refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL). METHODS We used EVIDEM V3.0, an MCDA framework, and collected participants' preferences via an online survey and structured meetings. RESULTS Patients and clinicians expressed a preference for interventions targeting severe conditions. Payers expressed preference for treatments targeting areas with an unmet need, which are cheaper than the comparator, and with high-quality evidence. Obinutuzumab in combination with bendamustine, compared with bendamustine alone, received high positive scores for the criteria 'disease severity' and 'type of therapeutic benefit' by all three groups, and negative scores on the economic-related criteria, according to all stakeholder groups. CONCLUSIONS MCDA can be used to elicit the views of different stakeholder groups and has the potential to structure and inform reimbursement decisions.
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Raia P, Boggioni M, Carotenuto F, Castiglione S, Di Febbraro M, Di Vincenzo F, Melchionna M, Mondanaro A, Papini A, Profico A, Serio C, Veneziano A, Vero VA, Rook L, Meloro C, Manzi G. Unexpectedly rapid evolution of mandibular shape in hominins. Sci Rep 2018; 8:7340. [PMID: 29743608 PMCID: PMC5943523 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-25309-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Accepted: 04/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Members of the hominins - namely the so-called 'australopiths' and the species of the genus Homo - are known to possess short and deep mandibles and relatively small incisors and canines. It is commonly assumed that this suite of traits evolved in early members of the clade in response to changing environmental conditions and increased consumption of though food items. With the emergence of Homo, the functional meaning of mandible shape variation is thought to have been weakened by technological advancements and (later) by the control over fire. In contrast to this expectation, we found that mandible shape evolution in hominins is exceptionally rapid as compared to any other primate clade, and that the direction and rate of shape change (from the ape ancestor) are no different between the australopiths and Homo. We deem several factors including the loss of honing complex, canine reduction, and the acquisition of different diets may have concurred in producing such surprisingly high evolutionary rates. This study reveals the evolution of mandibular shape in hominins has strong morpho-functional and ecological significance attached.
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Affiliation(s)
- P Raia
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.
| | - M Boggioni
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - F Carotenuto
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - S Castiglione
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - M Di Febbraro
- Università degli Studi del Molise, Department of Biosciences and The Territory, Contrada Fonte Lappone, 86090, Pesche, Isernia, Italy
| | - F Di Vincenzo
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy.,Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Via Ulisse Aldrovandi, 18, 00197, Roma, Italy
| | - M Melchionna
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - A Mondanaro
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy.,Università degli Studi di Firenze, Department of Earth Sciences, Via Giorgio La Pira, 4, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - A Papini
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - A Profico
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - C Serio
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - A Veneziano
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
| | - V A Vero
- Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, Department of Earth Sciences, Environment and Resources, L.go San Marcellino 10, 80138, Naples, Italy
| | - L Rook
- Università degli Studi di Firenze, Department of Earth Sciences, Via Giorgio La Pira, 4, 50121, Florence, Italy
| | - C Meloro
- Liverpool John Moores University, School of Natural Science and Psychology, Byrom Street, L3 3AF, Liverpool, UK
| | - G Manzi
- Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Department of Environmental Biology, Piazzale Aldo Moro, 5, 00185, Roma, Italy
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Veneziano A, Meloro C, Irish JD, Stringer C, Profico A, De Groote I. Neuromandibular integration in humans and chimpanzees: Implications for dental and mandibular reduction inHomo. Am J Phys Anthropol 2018; 167:84-96. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2017] [Revised: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 04/18/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Veneziano
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of Science; Liverpool John Moores University; Liverpool L3 3AF United Kingdom
- Centre for Anatomical and Human Sciences, Hull York Medical School; University of York; York YO10 5DD United Kingdom
| | - Carlo Meloro
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of Science; Liverpool John Moores University; Liverpool L3 3AF United Kingdom
| | - Joel D. Irish
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of Science; Liverpool John Moores University; Liverpool L3 3AF United Kingdom
| | - Chris Stringer
- Department of Earth Sciences; The Natural History Museum; London SW7 5BD United Kingdom
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Roma 00185 Italy
| | - Isabelle De Groote
- Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of Science; Liverpool John Moores University; Liverpool L3 3AF United Kingdom
- Department of Earth Sciences; The Natural History Museum; London SW7 5BD United Kingdom
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Profico A, Schlager S, Valoriani V, Buzi C, Melchionna M, Veneziano A, Raia P, Moggi‐Cecchi J, Manzi G. Reproducing the internal and external anatomy of fossil bones: Two new automatic digital tools. Am J Phys Anthropol 2018; 166:979-986. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23493] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 03/19/2018] [Accepted: 04/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRome Italy
| | - Stefan Schlager
- Department of Biological AnthropologyUniversity of Freiburg Germany
| | | | - Costantino Buzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRome Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle RisorseUniversità di Napoli, Federico IINaples Italy
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of ScienceJohn Moores UniversityLiverpool L3 3AF United Kingdom
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle RisorseUniversità di Napoli, Federico IINaples Italy
| | | | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRome Italy
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Schlager S, Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Manzi G. Retrodeformation of fossil specimens based on 3D bilateral semi-landmarks: Implementation in the R package "Morpho". PLoS One 2018; 13:e0194073. [PMID: 29554122 PMCID: PMC5858772 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0194073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2017] [Accepted: 02/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many fossil specimens exhibit deformations caused by taphonomic processes. Due to these deformations, even important specimens have to be excluded from morphometric analyses, impoverishing an already poor paleontological record. Techniques to retrodeform and virtually restore damaged (i.e. deformed) specimens are available, but these methods genenerally imply the use of a sparse set of bilateral landmarks, ignoring the fact that the distribution and amount of control points directly affects the result of the retrodeformation. We propose a method developed in the R environment and available in the R-package "Morpho" that, in addition to the landmark configurations, also allows using a set of semi-landmarks homogeneously distributed along curves and on surfaces. We evaluated the outcome of the retrodeformation, regarding the number of semi-landmarks used and its robustness against asymmetric noise, based on simulations using a virtually deformed gorilla cranium. Finally, we applied the method to a well-known Neanderthal cranium that exhibits signs of taphonomically induced asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Schlager
- Department Biological Anthropology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Antonio Profico
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Department of Environmental Biology, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
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Veneziano A, Landi F, Profico A. Surface smoothing, decimation, and their effects on 3D biological specimens. Am J Phys Anthropol 2018; 166:473-480. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23431] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Faculty of ScienceJohn Moores UniversityLiverpoolL3 3AF United Kingdom
- Centre for Anatomical and Human SciencesUniversity of YorkYorkYO10 5DD United Kingdom
| | - Federica Landi
- Centre for Anatomical and Human SciencesUniversity of YorkYorkYO10 5DD United Kingdom
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia AmbientaleSapienza Università di RomaRoma00185 Italy
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Profico A, Piras P, Buzi C, Di Vincenzo F, Lattarini F, Melchionna M, Veneziano A, Raia P, Manzi G. The evolution of cranial base and face in Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea: Modularity and morphological integration. Am J Primatol 2017; 79. [DOI: 10.1002/ajp.22721] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2017] [Revised: 10/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/10/2017] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Paolo Piras
- Dipartimento di Scienze Cardiovascolari, Respiratorie, Nefrologiche, Anestesiologiche e Geriatriche; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale e Geotecnica; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Costantino Buzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Flavio Lattarini
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
| | - Marina Melchionna
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli, Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology; John Moores University; Liverpool United Kingdom
| | - Pasquale Raia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse; Università di Napoli, Federico II; Naples Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; Sapienza Università di Roma; Rome Italy
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Di Vincenzo F, Profico A, Bernardini F, Cerroni V, Dreossi D, Schlager S, Zaio P, Benazzi S, Biddittu I, Rubini M, Tuniz C, Manzi G. Digital reconstruction of the Ceprano calvarium (Italy), and implications for its interpretation. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13974. [PMID: 29070804 PMCID: PMC5656598 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-14437-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The Ceprano calvarium was discovered in fragments on March 1994 near the town of Ceprano in southern Latium (Italy), embedded in Middle Pleistocene layers. After reconstruction, its morphological features suggests that the specimen belongs to an archaic variant of H. heidelbergensis, representing a proxy for the last common ancestor of the diverging clades that respectively led to H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens. Unfortunately, the calvarium was taphonomically damaged. The postero-lateral vault, in particular, appears deformed and this postmortem damage may have influenced previous interpretations. Specifically, there is a depression on the fragmented left parietal, while the right cranial wall is warped and angulated. This deformation affected the shape of the occipital squama, producing an inclination of the transverse occipital torus. In this paper, after X-ray microtomography (μCT) of both the calvarium and several additional fragments, we analyze consistency and pattern of the taphonomic deformation that affected the specimen, before the computer-assisted retrodeformation has been performed; this has also provided the opportunity to reappraise early attempts at restoration. As a result, we offer a revised interpretation for the Ceprano calvarium’s original shape, now free from the previous uncertainties, along with insight for its complex depositional and taphonomic history.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy.,Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Roma, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy.,Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Roma, Italy
| | - Federico Bernardini
- Centro Fermi - Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche 'Enrico Fermi', Roma, Italy.,The 'Abdus Salam' International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy
| | - Vittorio Cerroni
- Italian Ministry of Culture, Anthropological Service, Roma, Italy
| | | | - Stefan Schlager
- Department Biological Anthropology, University Medical Center, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Paola Zaio
- Italian Ministry of Culture, Anthropological Service, Roma, Italy
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.,Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | - Mauro Rubini
- Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Roma, Italy.,Italian Ministry of Culture, Anthropological Service, Roma, Italy.,Dipartimento di Archeologia, Università di Foggia, Foggia, Italy
| | - Claudio Tuniz
- Centro Fermi - Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro di Studi e Ricerche 'Enrico Fermi', Roma, Italy.,The 'Abdus Salam' International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy.,Centre for Archaeological Science, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Roma, Italy. .,Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana, Roma, Italy.
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Tafuri MA, Zangrando AFJ, Tessone A, Kochi S, Moggi Cecchi J, Di Vincenzo F, Profico A, Manzi G. Dietary resilience among hunter-gatherers of Tierra del Fuego: Isotopic evidence in a diachronic perspective. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0175594. [PMID: 28407013 PMCID: PMC5391079 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The native groups of Patagonia have relied on a hunter-gatherer economy well after the first Europeans and North Americans reached this part of the world. The large exploitation of marine mammals (i.e., seals) by such allochthonous groups has had a strong impact on the local ecology in a way that might have forced the natives to adjust their subsistence strategies. Similarly, the introduction of new foods might have changed local diet. These are the premises of our isotopic-based analysis. There is a large set of paleonutritional investigations through isotopic analysis on Fuegians groups, however a systematic exploration of food practices across time in relation to possible pre- and post-contact changes is still lacking. In this paper we investigate dietary variation in hunter-gatherer groups of Tierra del Fuego in a diachronic perspective, through measuring the isotopic ratio of carbon (∂13C) and nitrogen (∂15N) in the bone collagen of human and a selection of terrestrial and marine animal samples. The data obtained reveal an unexpected isotopic uniformity across prehistoric and recent groups, with little variation in both carbon and nitrogen mean values, which we interpret as the possible evidence of resilience among these groups and persistence of subsistence strategies, allowing inferences on the dramatic contraction (and extinction) of Fuegian populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Anne Tafuri
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
- * E-mail: (MAT); (AFJZ)
| | | | | | - Sayuri Kochi
- INGEIS-CONICET, Pabellón INGEIS, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy
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Profico A, Veneziano A, Lanteri A, Piras P, Sansalone G, Manzi G. Tuning Geometric Morphometrics: an
r
tool to reduce information loss caused by surface smoothing. Methods Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.12576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale Sapienza Università di Roma P.le Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome Italy
| | - Alessio Veneziano
- School of Natural Sciences and Psychology John Moores University, 3 Byrom Street Liverpool, L3 3AF UK
| | - Alessandro Lanteri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Statistiche Sapienza Università di Roma P.le Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome Italy
- Department of Mathematics Duke University Durham, NC 27708‐0320 USA
| | - Paolo Piras
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale e Geotecnica Sapienza Università di Roma Rome, Via Eudossiana 18 00184 Rome Italy
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology Contrada Fonte Lappone 86090 Pesche (Isernia) Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Cardiovascolari Sapienza Università di Roma Respiratorie, Nefrologiche Anestesiologiche e Geriatriche, Via del Policlinico 155 00186 Rome Italy
| | - Gabriele Sansalone
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology Contrada Fonte Lappone 86090 Pesche (Isernia) Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Università di Roma Tre Largo S.L. Murialdo 1 00146 Rome Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale Sapienza Università di Roma P.le Aldo Moro 5 00185 Rome Italy
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Profico A, Di Vincenzo F, Gagliardi L, Piperno M, Manzi G. Filling the gap. Human cranial remains from Gombore II (Melka Kunture, Ethiopia; ca. 850 ka) and the origin of Homo heidelbergensis. J Anthropol Sci 2015; 94:41-63. [PMID: 26583275 DOI: 10.4436/jass.94019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
African archaic humans dated to around 1,0 Ma share morphological affinities with Homo ergaster and appear distinct in cranio-dental morphology from those of the Middle Pleistocene that are referred to Homo heidelbergensis. This observation suggests a taxonomic and phylogenetic discontinuity in Africa that ranges across the Matuyama/Brunhes reversal (780 ka). Yet, the fossil record between roughly 900 and 600 ka is notoriously poor. In this context, the Early Stone Age site of Gombore II, in the Melka Kunture formation (Upper Awash, Ethiopia), provides a privileged case-study. In the Acheulean layer of Gombore II, somewhat more recent than 875 ±10 ka, two large cranial fragments were discovered in 1973 and 1975 respectively: a partial left parietal (Melka Kunture 1) and a right portion of the frontal bone (Melka Kunture 2), which probably belonged to the same cranium. We present here the first detailed description and computer-assisted reconstruction of the morphology of the cranial vault pertaining to these fossil fragments. Our analysis suggest that the human fossil specimen from Gombore II fills a phenetic gap between Homo ergaster and Homo heidelbergensis. This appears in agreement with the chronology of such a partial cranial vault, which therefore represents at present one of the best available candidates (if any) for the origin of Homo heidelbergensis in Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Profico
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Lorenza Gagliardi
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Marcello Piperno
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Scienze dell'Antichitá, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Sapienza Universitá di Roma, Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, P.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy,
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Piras P, Sansalone G, Teresi L, Moscato M, Profico A, Eng R, Cox TC, Loy A, Colangelo P, Kotsakis T. Digging adaptation in insectivorous subterranean eutherians. The enigma ofMesoscalops montanensisunveiled by geometric morphometrics and finite element analysis. J Morphol 2015; 276:1157-71. [DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2015] [Revised: 04/16/2015] [Accepted: 05/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Paolo Piras
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Università di Roma Tre; Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1 Roma 00146 Italy
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Cardiovascolari; Respiratorie; Nefrologiche, Anestesiologiche e Geriatriche, “Sapienza”
- Dipartimento di Ingegneria Strutturale e Geotecnica, “Sapienza” - Università di Roma; via Eudossiana 18 Rome 00100 Italy
| | - Gabriele Sansalone
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Università di Roma Tre; Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1 Roma 00146 Italy
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
| | - Luciano Teresi
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
- Dipartimento di Matematica e Fisica; LaMS - Modeling & Simulation Lab; Universita Roma Tre; via Della Vasca Navale 84 Roma 00146 Italy
| | - Marco Moscato
- Studio Dentistico Marco Moscato; Viale Mazzini 144 Roma 00195 Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale; “Sapienza” Università di Roma; P.Le a. Moro 5 - 00185 Roma Italy
| | - Ronald Eng
- Burke Museum; University of Washington; 17th Avenue NE and NE 45th Street, Box 353010 Seattle, Washington 98105 USA
| | - Timothy C. Cox
- Department of Pediatrics (Craniofacial Medicine); University of Washington & Small Animal Tomographic Analysis Facility, Seattle Children's Research Institute; 1900 9th Avenue Seattle, Washington 98105 USA
| | - Anna Loy
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
- Dipartimento B.S.T.; Università del Molise; Pesche Italy
| | - Paolo Colangelo
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
- National Research Council; Institute of Ecosystem Study; Largo Tonolli 50 -28922 - Verbania Pallanza (VB) Italy
| | - Tassos Kotsakis
- Dipartimento di Scienze; Università di Roma Tre; Largo San Leonardo Murialdo, 1 Roma 00146 Italy
- Center of Evolutionary Ecology, c/o Dipartimento B.S.T., Universita del Molise; Pesche Italy
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Lari M, Di Vincenzo F, Borsato A, Ghirotto S, Micheli M, Balsamo C, Collina C, De Bellis G, Frisia S, Giacobini G, Gigli E, Hellstrom JC, Lannino A, Modi A, Pietrelli A, Pilli E, Profico A, Ramirez O, Rizzi E, Vai S, Venturo D, Piperno M, Lalueza-Fox C, Barbujani G, Caramelli D, Manzi G. The Neanderthal in the karst: First dating, morphometric, and paleogenetic data on the fossil skeleton from Altamura (Italy). J Hum Evol 2015; 82:88-94. [PMID: 25805042 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.02.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2014] [Revised: 09/29/2014] [Accepted: 02/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
In 1993, a fossil hominin skeleton was discovered in the karst caves of Lamalunga, near Altamura, in southern Italy. Despite the fact that this specimen represents one of the most extraordinary hominin specimens ever found in Europe, for the last two decades our knowledge of it has been based purely on the documented on-site observations. Recently, the retrieval from the cave of a fragment of bone (part of the right scapula) allowed the first dating of the individual, the quantitative analysis of a diagnostic morphological feature, and a preliminary paleogenetic characterization of this hominin skeleton from Altamura. Overall, the results concur in indicating that it belongs to the hypodigm of Homo neanderthalensis, with some phenetic peculiarities that appear consistent with a chronology ranging from 172 ± 15 ka to 130.1 ± 1.9 ka. Thus, the skeleton from Altamura represents the most ancient Neanderthal from which endogenous DNA has ever been extracted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina Lari
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Fabio Di Vincenzo
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Andrea Borsato
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia.
| | - Silvia Ghirotto
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biotecnologie, Università di Ferrara, via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy
| | - Mario Micheli
- Dipartimento di Studi Umanistici, Università di Roma Tre, Piazza della Repubblica 10, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Carlotta Balsamo
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Carmine Collina
- Facoltà di Scienze Umanistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Gianluca De Bellis
- Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche, CNR, Via F.lli Cervi 93, 20090 Segrate, Milano, Italy
| | - Silvia Frisia
- School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle, Callaghan 2308, Australia
| | - Giacomo Giacobini
- Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Università di Torino, Corso Massimo d'Azeglio 52, 10126 Torino, Italy
| | - Elena Gigli
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy; Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - John C Hellstrom
- School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Australia
| | - Antonella Lannino
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Alessandra Modi
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Alessandro Pietrelli
- Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche, CNR, Via F.lli Cervi 93, 20090 Segrate, Milano, Italy
| | - Elena Pilli
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Antonio Profico
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Oscar Ramirez
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ermanno Rizzi
- Istituto di Tecnologie Biomediche, CNR, Via F.lli Cervi 93, 20090 Segrate, Milano, Italy
| | - Stefania Vai
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - Donata Venturo
- Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Puglia, via Duomo 33, 74123 Taranto, Italy
| | - Marcello Piperno
- Facoltà di Scienze Umanistiche, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy
| | - Carles Lalueza-Fox
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology (CSIC-UPF), Dr. Aiguader 88, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Guido Barbujani
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Vita e Biotecnologie, Università di Ferrara, via Luigi Borsari 46, 44121 Ferrara, Italy; Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy
| | - David Caramelli
- Dipartimento di Biologia, Università di Firenze, via del Proconsolo 12, 50122 Firenze, Italy.
| | - Giorgio Manzi
- Dipartimento di Biologia Ambientale, Sapienza Università di Roma, Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma, Italy.
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Di Vincenzo F, Carbone I, Ottini L, Profico A, Ricci F, Tafuri MA, Fornaciari G, Manzi G. MODERN BEAMS FOR ANCIENT MUMMIES COMPUTERIZED TOMOGRAPHY OF THE HOLOCENE MUMMIFIED REMAINS FROM WADI TAKARKORI (ACACUS, SOUTH-WESTERN LIBYA; MIDDLE PASTORAL). Med Secoli 2015; 27:575-588. [PMID: 26946601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
The Middle Pastoral human remains from Wadi Takarkori in the Libyan Acacus mountains (Fezzan) are exceptionally preserved partial mummies ranging between 6100 and 5000 uncal years BP; this small sample represents the most ancient of its kind ever found. In this report, we present a survey of the skeletal anatomy of these mummifed corpses, based on high resolution CT-scan data, including a preliminary phenetic interpretation of their cranial morphology.
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