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Objectives: Here, we examine (1) if the sex‐related differences in iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) isotope ratios, represented as δ56Fe and δ65Cu values, respectively observed in humans exist in bulk occipital bone and incisors of male and female non‐human primates, and (2) if the variation of Fe and Cu isotope ratios, known to vary in human blood as a factor of age are similar in non‐human primate bone. Materials and Methods: Isotope ratios were measured from the skeletal elements of 20 rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with known life history traits. The metals were purified by column chromatography and their isotope ratios measured by MC‐ICP‐MS. Data were analyzed using generalized additive models (GAM). Results: When accounting for age and sex independently, we found a significant relationship between δ65Cu values and occipital bone, but not in incisors. There were no significant relationships observed between δ56Fe values, occipital bone, or incisors. Similarly, there were no significant relationships observed between δ56Fe values, δ65Cu values, and age. Discussion We suggest that Cu and Fe isotope ratios have the potential to be useful supplementary tools in future research in biological anthropology, but additional studies are needed to further verify the relationship between sex, age, δ65Cu, and δ56Fe values in primates. Boxplots depicting the variation of δ65Cu values between male and female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). On the y‐axis are the δ65Cu values in per mil units (‰). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This study evaluates trepanations from five well-contextualized prehistoric sites in the south-central highlands of Andahuaylas, Peru. The emergence of trepanation in this region coincides with the collapse of the Wari Empire, ca. ad 1000. Thirty-two individuals from Andahuaylas, AMS radiocarbon dated to the early Late Intermediate Period (ca. ad 1000-1250), were found to have 45 total trepanations. Various surgical techniques were being employed concurrently throughout the region. Scraping trepanations evinced the highest survival rate; circular grooving, drilling and boring, and linear cutting were far less successful. Evidence of perioperative procedures like hair shaving, poultice application, and possible cranioplasty use aimed to ensure the survival of a trepanation recipient. Postmortem trepanations, also present in Andahuaylas, were likely executed on corpses as a means of better understanding cranial anatomy and improving techniques. Similarities in trepanation patterns throughout the region attest to common motivations to engage in surgery. Although moderate physical head trauma seems to be the impetus for intervention in many cases of trepanation, other motivations included physiological and possibly psychosomatic factors. Nevertheless, treatment was not for everyone. In Andahuaylas, trepanations were withheld from subadults, females, and those individuals who practiced cranial modification. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:484-494, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variation in cranial robusticity among modern human populations is widely acknowledged but not well-understood. While the use of "robust" cranial traits in hominin systematics and phylogeny suggests that these characters are strongly heritable, this hypothesis has not been tested. Alternatively, cranial robusticity may be a response to differences in diet/mastication or it may be an adaptation to cold, harsh environments. This study quantifies the distribution of cranial robusticity in 14 geographically widespread human populations, and correlates this variation with climatic variables, neutral genetic distances, cranial size, and cranial shape. With the exception of the occipital torus region, all traits were positively correlated with each other, suggesting that they should not be treated as individual characters. While males are more robust than females within each of the populations, among the independent variables (cranial shape, size, climate, and neutral genetic distances), only shape is significantly correlated with inter-population differences in robusticity. Two-block partial least-squares analysis was used to explore the relationship between cranial shape (captured by three-dimensional landmark data) and robusticity across individuals. Weak support was found for the hypothesis that robusticity was related to mastication as the shape associated with greater robusticity was similar to that described for groups that ate harder-to-process diets. Specifically, crania with more prognathic faces, expanded glabellar and occipital regions, and (slightly) longer skulls were more robust than those with rounder vaults and more orthognathic faces. However, groups with more mechanically demanding diets (hunter-gatherers) were not always more robust than groups practicing some form of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on the evolution and adaptive significance of primate craniofacial morphologies has focused on adult, fully developed individuals. Here, we investigate the possible relationship between the local stress environment arising from masticatory loadings and the emergence of the supraorbital torus in the developing face of the crab-eating macaque Macaca fascicularis. By using finite element analysis (FEA), we are able to evaluate the hypothesis that strain energy density (SED) magnitudes are high in subadult individuals with resulting bone growth in the supraorbital torus. We developed three micro-CT-based FEA models of M. fascicularis skulls ranging in dental age from deciduous to permanent dentitions and validated them against published experimental data. Applied masticatory muscle forces were estimated from physiological cross-sectional areas of macaque cadaveric specimens. The models were sequentially constrained at each working side tooth to simulate the variation of the bite point applied during masticatory function. custom FEA software was used to solve the voxel-based models and SED and principal strains were computed. A physiological superposition SED map throughout the face was created by allocating to each element the maximum SED value from each of the load cases. SED values were found to be low in the supraorbital torus region throughout ontogeny, while they were consistently high in the zygomatic arch and infraorbital region. Thus, if the supraorbital torus arises to resist masticatory loads, it is either already adapted in each of our subadult models so that we do not observe high SED or a lower site-specific bone deposition threshold must apply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cranial base is one of the major foci of interest in functional craniology The evolution and morphogenesis of this structure are still poorly known and rather controversial because of multifactorial influences and polyphasic stages. Endocranial dynamics are associated anteriorly with the upper facial structures, laterally with the mandibular system and midsagittally with brain development. In the present study, we investigated the endocranial morphology of modern humans using 3D land- mark-based approaches, i.e. geometric morphometrics and Eudidean distance matrix analysis. The structure of endocranial variation is poorly integrated, with only weak reciprocal influences among the three fossae. Some major variations are associated with changes in the posterior fossa, with possible consequences on the anterior areas. These main patterns of integration are hypothesized to be influenced by the connective tensors of the dura layers. Static allometry and sex differences are largely related to the ontogenetic sequences, characterized by early maturation of the anterior fossa with respect to the middle and posterior regions (i.e., relatively shorter posterior part of the planum sphenoideum and vertical lengthening of the divus in males). The relative independence between the endocranial fossae, as well as their structural connection through the meningeal tensors, must be carefully considered in studies on the evolutionary dynamics, since they lead to mosaic changes through phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, patterns of prehistoric trepanation in the southern highlands of Peru were examined through an analysis of 11 Cuzco-region burial sites. Trepanations were found in 66 individuals, with several individuals exhibiting more than one trepanation, for a total of 109 perforations observed. The pre- dominant methods used were circular cutting and scraping-methods that proved highly successful with an overall 83% survival rate and little ensuing infection. Survival rates showed a significant increase over time, apparently reflecting improvements in trepanation technique through experimentation and practical experience. Practitioners avoided certain areas of the cranium and employed methods that reduced the likelihood of damage to the cerebral meninges and venous sinuses. In many cases, trepanation as a medical treatment appears to have been prompted by cranial trauma, a finding that corroborates other studies pointing to cranial trauma as a primary motivation for the surgical procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on human cranial variation which fits the iterative founder effect model with African origin according to a study. The study tested the human cranial variability on the model and employed size-adjusted craniometric variables involving climatic factors that correlate to cranial size. Two approaches were made but the results were similar with up to 26 percent of global within-population craniometric variation supported by geographic distance from sub-Saharan Africa.

The article presents an examination of geostatistical analysis of population history. The anthropological results of the examination, obtained through variogram and kriging, show that overall body and craniofacial size are in east-west cline reflecting the effects of past population which is contained in the first pattern of spatial variation while the second pattern illustrates craniofacial height with an isolation by distance reflecting spatial changes in the regions of Ireland.

Nonmetric cranial traits have been commonly used in evolutionary relationship studies. They develop during the growth and development of an individual, and for this reason its expression presents different sources of genetic and nongenetic variation. However, the use of these features in evolutionary relationship studies carries the implicit assumption that much of the nonmetric trait variation is essentially genetic. Among the nonheritable factors, cranial vault deformation has been the most studied in human populations. Because of the widespread distribution and elevated rate of artificial cranial vault deformation found in America, and the importance of nonmetric traits in evolutionary relationship studies in this area, the objectives of this paper are as follows: (a) to study the influence of artificial cranial vault deformation on the presence of nonmetric traits within samples of human craniofacial remains; and (b) to establish artificial cranial vault deformation influence on evolutionary relationships between local populations on a regional scale. Our results indicate that artificial cranial vault deformations alter the variation and covariation of metric and nonmetric traits in some samples. Wormian bones, placed in cranial vault sutures, are the most influenced by this factor. However, our results suggest that when all nonmetric traits were used the artificial cranial vault deformation did not influence the basic pattern of variation among samples. The exclusion or inclusion of wormians bones in evolutionary relationships analysis did not modify the results, but using only wormians bones lead to inconsistent results indicating that these traits have little value on these kind of studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this investigation was to analyze the underlying cause(s) of secular changes in craniofacial dimensions among indigenous children in an isolated community in Oaxaca, southern Mexico, between 1968-2000. Subjects were schoolchildren resident in a rural, agrarian, Zapotec-speaking community in the Valley of Oaxaca, previously characterized as mildly-to-moderately undernourished with growth-stunting in 1968 and 1978. In 2000, children had experienced a secular increase in height compared with two prior growth surveys. Four craniofacial dimensions (head length, head breadth, and bizygomatic and bigonial breadths) were measured during anthropometric surveys of schoolchildren aged 6-13 years in 1968, 1978, and 2000. Cephalic and zygomandibular indices were calculated. Samples by survey were: 1968, 151 males and 157 females; 1978, 179 males and 184 females; and 2000, 180 males and 186 females. The analysis was based on a total of 1,037 children. Multivariate analysis of covariance was used to assess secular trend effects, with height, age, and age2 as covaniates by sex. Over the interval of 32 years, significant secular changes occurred in craniofacial dimensions and one index: 1) head length was shorter in boys and girls; 2) bizygomatic breadth was narrower in boys and girls; 3) head breadth increased over time only among girls; 4) brachycephalization increased significantly in a linear manner among both sexes; and 5) the zygomandibular index decreased significantly only in boys. Thus, the cranial complex remodeled to a shorter head length, both relatively (brachycephalization) and absolutely. Remodeling over time also resulted in a narrower face, with the midface changing at about the same rate as the lower face (i.e., mandible). Secular changes are generally recognized as multifactorial. Changes in the cephalic index and cranium over time in schoolchildren in an isolated rural agrarian Zapotec-speaking community in the Valley of Oaxaca suggest that the underlying forces for the secular change are associated: 1) decreased food (maize) coarseness or grit content (masticatory stress), and 2) relaxed natural selection, resulting in 3) a greater role for developmental plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developmental stability reflects the ability of a genotype to develop in the same way under varying environmental conditions. Deviations from developmental stability, arising from disruptive effects of environmental and genetic stresses, can be measured in terms of fluctuating asymmetry, a particularly sensitive indicator of the ability to cope with these stresses during ontogeny. In an inbred Adriatic island population, we expected dental arch fluctuating asymmetry 1) to be higher than in an outbred sample from the same island, and 2) within this population, to increase with the level of inbreeding. Due to environmental stress, we also expected to find higher fluctuating asymmetry in the outbred island population than in an urban reference group from the same country. The material consisted of 506 dental casts of 253 children from 1) the island of Hvar, and 2) Zagreb, Croatia. Three-dimensional coordinates of 26 landmarks spanning the arches were digitized. The analysis partitioned the asymmetry of archforms into components for directional and fluctuating bilateral asymmetry, using the appropriate Procrustes method (geometric morphometrics). The results corroborated the hypotheses. Fluctuating asymmetry was found to be higher on the island than in Zagreb in all groups and in both jaws, and increased significantly with endogamy level in the lower jaw. There was no significant directional asymmetry in the Zagreb sample and likewise none in the upper jaws of the outbred island group, but significant directional asymmetry in both jaws of the inbred population and also in the lower jaws of the outbred island group. These results suggest an environmental. as well as a genetic influence on dental arch asymmetry. Although the lower jaws expressed these two stresses almost additively, the upper jaws appeared to be better buffered. The role of directional asymmetry as a potential indicator of craniofacial developmental instability clearly merits further attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental factors are assumed to play an important role in the shaping of craniofacial morphology. Here we propose a statistical approach which can be of utility in estimating the magnitude and localization of a particular nongenetic factor upon the specific functional components of the skull. Our analysis is a combination of previous attempts of apportionment of variance and the application of craniofunctional theory. The effect of subsistence strategy on craniofacial functional components was studied on 18 populations of hunter-gatherers and farmers from South America. Results demonstrate that the environmental factors studied likely influenced the masticatory component's size and shape. Even when this effect is not large enough to clearly differentiate among subsistence strategies (since whole craniofacial variation among populations remains greater), the method used here provides interesting clues to localize plastic or adaptive responses to external stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies on craniofacial morphology showed that most Paleoindians, who were the first settlers of the New World, clearly differ from modern Amerindians and East Asians, their supposed descendants and sister group, respectively. Here we present new evidence supporting this view from the Late Pleistocene/Early Holocene horizon from Mexico, as well as from the most complete set of dated Paleoindian remains. We analyzed the phenotypic resemblance of early Mexicans with other South Paleoamerican and modern human series. Two independent approaches to the data were used. In the first case, individual specimens were tested for morphological similarity with a set of modern reference samples. In the second analysis, Mexican specimens were treated as a sample in order to compute minimum genetic distances. Results from both approaches tend to associate early Mexican skulls with Paleoindians from Brazil, an Archaic sample from Colombia, and several circum-Pacific populations. These results give support to a model in which morphologically generalized groups of non-Northeast Asian descent (the so-called Paleoamericans) entered the continent first, and then dispersed from North to South America through Central America. The large geographic dispersal of Paleoamericans, and their presence in Mexico in the Early Holocene, raise new issues about the continent's settlement scenario. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most compelling models concerning the peopling of the Americas consider that modern Amerindians share a common biological pattern, showing affinities with populations of the Asian Northeast. The aim of the present study was to assess the degree of variation of craniofacial morphology of South American Amerindians in a worldwide context. Forty-three linear variables were analyzed on crania derived from American, Asian, Australo-Melanesian, European, South-Saharan African, and Polynesian regions. South America was represented by seven Amerindian samples. In order to understand morphologic diversity among Amerindians of South America, variation was estimated using regions and local populations as units of analysis. Variances and FST values were calculated for each unit, respectively. Both analyses indicated that morphologic variation in Southern Amerindians is extremely high: an FST of 0.01531 was obtained for Southern Amerindians, and values from 0.0371-0.1205 for other world regions. Some aspects linked to the time and mode of the peopling of the Americas and various microevolutionary processes undergone by Amerindians are discussed. Some of the alternatives proposed to explain this high variation include: a greater antiquity of the peopling than what is mostly accepted, a peopling by several highly differentiated waves, an important effect of genetic drift, and gene flow with Paleoamericans. A combination of some of these alternatives explains at least some of the variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ramus of Neandertal mandibles is said to show a suite of uniquely Neandertal character states that demonstrate the independent course of Neandertal evolution. This is the latest of numerous attempts to define cranial and mandibular autapomorphies for Neandertals. We examine variation in the four presumably autapomorphic ramal features and show they are neither monomorhic within Neandertals (to the contrary Neandertals are at least as variable as other human samples) nor unique to Neandertals, since they regularly appear in populations predating and postdating them. Neandertals differ from other human populations, both contemporary and recent, but the question of whether this fact reflects a divergent evolutionary trajectory must be addressed by the pattern of differences. In this case, as in the other attempts to establish Neandertal autapomorphies, rather than showing restricted variation and increased specialization, the Neandertal sample shows that the range of human variation in the recent past encompasses, and in some cases exceeds, human variation today, even in the very features claimed to be autapomorphic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The anteroposterior position of the foramen magnum distinguishes living Homo sapiens from apes, and has been used as evidence for the hominid status of numerable fossils in the history of human paleontology. During the past decade, foramen magnum position has been cited as evidence of the hominid status of Ardipithecus and Sahelanthropus. Specifically, the basion of Ardpithecus is reported to be inline with the bicarotid chord, while the basion of Sahelanthropus is reported to both touch the biporion chord and intersect the bicarotid chord. In order to assess the effectiveness of anteroposterior foramen magnum position in distinguishing hominids from nonhominid apes, this study examined whether or not the positions of biporian and bicarotid relative to basion sufficiently distinguished Pan troglodytes from recent Homo sapiens and Plio-Pleistocene hominids. The distances from basion to the biporion chord (BSBIP) and from basion to the bicarotid chord (BSBIC) were measured on samples of chimpanzee (n = 69) and recent human (n 42) crania and a sample of Plio-Pleistocene hominid fossils (n = 8). The data were used to test the hypothesis that BSBIP and BSBIC measurements do not sufficiently distinguish P. troglodytes from hominids. While basion to biporion (BSBIP) does not effectively distinguish P. troglodytes from Plio-Pleistocene hominids and humans when used univariately, basion to bicarotid (BSBIC), when used anivariately or bivariately with BSBIP, can be used to test whether or not an unknown specimen is a hominid. These results are used to evaluate the hominid status of Ardipithecus and Sahelanthropus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research in human genetics on presumably neutral loci has shown that the overwhelming majority of human diversity is found among individuals within local populations. Previous apportionments of craniometric diversity are similar to these genetic apportionments, implying that interregionally differing selection pressures have played a limited role in producing contemporary human cranial diversity. Here we show that when cranial variation is independently partitioned using principal components analysis of Mosimann shape variables, some estimates of interregional craniometric differentiation are larger than those for most genetic loci. These estimates are similar to estimates for genetic loci where interregionally differing selection pressures are implicated in producing the observed patterns of variation within and among regions. These results suggest that differences among regions in at least some cranial features, particularly in the nasal region, are in part the product of interregionally differing selection pressures. Moreover, these results have implications for assessing the biological affinities of prehistoric samples that are temporally separated from contemporary human reference populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteological studies both old and new have utilized various Polynesian cranial samples, individually or in combination, to assess the racial composition of prehistoric Polynesians as a group, with regards to other Pacific populations, or to represent the Polynesian peoples as a whole in various multivariate analyses of worldwide populations. However, few of these studies have assessed the degree of intrasample variation produced when data derived from skeletal samples from different Polynesian islands (populations) are pooled to represent "Polynesians" as a whole. A similar argument can be made when data derived from various museum skeletal samples of the same Polynesian population are pooled to produce a larger sample representing that particular Polynesian population (Murrill [1968] Cranial and postcranial skeletal remains from Easter Island; Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press; Stefan [2002] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. [Suppl.] 34:147). This study examined Easter Island crania curated at various museums in North America, South America, and Europe to assess whether significant differences exist among the museum collections of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) skeletal material. A NORM statistical program (Schafer and Olsen [1997] NORM, version 1.01; University Park: Pennsylvania State University) for multiple imputation of incomplete multivariate datasets was utilized to estimate missing data. A variance comparison method, which utilizes variance/covariance matrices derived from "hypothesis" and "baseline/reference" samples (Key and Jantz [1990] Hum. Evol. 5:457-469; Key and Jantz [1990] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 82:53-59) was used to compare the Rapa Nui museum samples. This method is designed to test whether variability in a "hypothesis" museum sample exceeds "normal within-group variability" represented by the "baseline/reference" sample. The method was applied to six Rapa Nui museum samples (AANMW, MNHN-KB, MNHN-NAE, NHM, MH, and AMNH). The results indicate that the museum "hypothesis," male and female samples, exhibited little intrasample variability from the "baseline/reference" sample (MAPSE), though the samples were collected at different times and by different individuals. These results show the ability of multiple imputation and variance comparison methodologies to predict missing variables while maintaining the inherent variance/covariance structure and to discriminate sample variation in artificially assembled samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological variation is investigated among contemporary Croatians, Bosnians, American whites, and other multitemporal Balkan populations (World War II Croatians, Macedonians, and Greeks) via multivariate statistics and distance measures of the craniofacial complex. This study demonstrates that there is considerable variation among groups of European ancestry. Bosnians and Croatians who are thought to be relatively homogenous and historically to originate from the same Slav ancestry show local variations. While environmental plasticity has been used to explain cranial changes among human groups, it does not adequately explain the variation observed between Bosnians and Croatians. It is an oversimplification to exclusively attribute the vast range of variability observed among local as well as geographic populations to environmental adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reexamination of Eyasi 1, a later Middle Pleistocene east African neurocranium, reveals the presence of a suite of midoccipital features, including a modest nuchal torus that is limited to the middle half of the bone, the absence of an external occipital protuberance, and a distinct transversely oval suprainiac fossa. These features, and especially the suprainiac fossa, were considered to be uniquely derived for the European and western Asian Neandertals. These observations therefore indicate that these features are not limited to Neandertal lineage specimens, and should be assessed in terms of frequency distributions among later archaic humans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cribra orbitalia is a porotic or sieve-like lesion in the bony orbital roof. Its cause has been the object of research and discussion since the end of the 19th century. Since about 1960, most scientists have started to agree on the hypothesis that the lesion is a result of hypertrophy of the red bone marrow, and therefore is proof of anemia. However, recent investigations showed that in some cases, the histologic bone structure does not support the diagnosis of anemia. The status of cribra orbitalia as an indicator then becomes uncertain. We carried out a histologic examination of thin-ground sections in polarized light to clarify the possible sources of orbital roof lesions in a Nubian population from Missiminia, northern Sudan (n = 333). In at least 56.5% of cribra orbitalia cases, there were no histologic features indicating changes due to anemia. Signs of other pathological conditions, such as inflammation or osteoporosis, as well as pseudopathological cases, were found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An appreciation of ontogenetic changes to the cranial base is important for understanding the evolution of modern human skull form. Using geometric morphometric techniques, this study explores midline shape variations of the basicranium and midface during human prenatal ontogeny. In particular, the analysis sets out to explore shape variations associated with endochondral ossification and to reassess shape variations previously observed on the basis of angular measures. Fifty-four formalin-preserved human fetuses were imaged using high-resolution MRI. Coordinates for 10 landmarks defining the midline basicranium and midface were acquired and areas of ossification in the midline basioccipital, basisphenoid, and presphenoid cartilages were measured as percentages of overall cranial base area. The results show shape variations with increasing fetal size that are consistent with cranial base retroflexion, anterior facial projection and dorsal facial rotation. These growth variations are centered on the midsphenoid area and are associated with disproportionate variations of sphenoid height and length. Small but significant correlations were observed between ossification of the presphenoid cartilage and components of shape that described, among other variations, sphenoid shortening. While ossification cannot be directly linked with the shape variations observed, it seems likely that bone formation plays a role in modulating the influence of other factors on the fetal cranial base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzes the traumatic lesions experienced by 13 individuals scalped by native Americans in 18th century. Basis of the examination on the type, location, dimension and pattern on the skeleton; Presence of multiple blows on the cranium on all the skulls; Consistency of exhibited lesions with scalping; Evidence of postcranial trauma; Absence of gunshot wound injuries.

The anatomical effects of artificial cranial deformation on the face and the base have been subject to various metric approaches, including standard linear as well as finite element techniques, and have produced controversial results (Antón [1989] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 79:253267; Kohn et al. [1993] Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 90:147-158). It can be argued that diverging observations partly result from methodological constraints. The present study compares samples of intentionally deformed and undeformed human crania, using elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA), a morphometric approach which has been shown to be particularly appropriate for characterizing the shape of two-dimensional outlines and associated shape changes. We improve the standard EFA approach by adding a preliminary orientation of the outlines following the rotation parameters of a Procrustes superimposition, using multiple homologous landmarks called control points. The results confirm that circumferentially deformed skulls exhibit modifications of the basioccipital region, together with increased anterior and inferior facial projection. However, the degree to which basioccipital flattening is modified in circumferentially deformed Peruvians was found to be less marked than changes observed in the face. Some of the modifications observed here can be related to morphological trends existing in the population from which our sample was taken. The observation of other modifications may be subject to methodological constraints of standard morphometric approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates whether macaques and humans possess a common pattern of relative growth during the fetal period. The fetal samples consist of 16 male pigtailed macaques (mean age, 20.5 gestational weeks) and 17 humans (9 males and 8 females; mean age, 29.5 gestational weeks). For each individual, three-dimensional coordinates of 18 landmarks on the skull were collected from three-dimensional computed tomographic (CT) reconstructed images and two-dimensional CT axial slices. Early and late groups were created from the human (early mean age, 24 weeks, N = 8; late mean age, 34 weeks, N = 9) and macaque samples (early mean age, 17.7 weeks, N = 7; late mean age, 23 weeks, N = 9). Inter- and intra-specific comparisons were made between the early and late groups. To determine if macaques and humans share a common fetal pattern of relative growth, human change in shape estimated from a comparison of early and late groups was compared to the pattern estimated between early and late macaque groups. Euclidean distance matrix analysis was used in all comparisons. Intraspecific comparisons indicate that the growing fetal skull displays the greatest amount of change along mediolateral dimensions. Changes during human growth are primarily localized to the basicranium and palate, while macaques experience localized change in the midface. Interspecific comparisons indicate that the two primate species do not share a common pattern of relative growth, and the macaque pattern is characterized by increased midfacial growth relative to humans. Our results suggest that morphological differences in the craniofacial skeleton of these species are in part established by differences in fetal growth patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The temporal bone is the location of several traits thought to differentiate Neanderthals from modern humans, including some proposed Neanderthalderived traits. Most of these, however, are difficult to measure and are usually described qualitatively. This study applied the techniques of geometric morphometrics to the complex morphology of the temporal bone, in order to quantify the differences observed between Neanderthal and modern human anatomy. Two hundred and seventy modern human crania were measured, representing 9 populations of 30 individuals each, and spanning the extremes of the modern human geographical range. Twelve Neanderthal specimens, as well as Reilingen, Kabwe, Skhul 5, Qafzeh 9, and 4 Late Paleolithic European specimens, were included in the fossil sample. The data were collected in the form of three-dimensional (3-D) landmark coordinates, and specimen configurations were superimposed using generalized Procrustes analysis. The fitted coordinates were then analyzed by an array of multivariate statistical methods, including principal components analysis, canonical variates analysis, and Mahalanobis D². The temporal bone landmark analysis was very successful in separating Neanderthals from modern humans. Neanderthals were separated from modern humans in both the principal components and canonical variates analyses. They were much further in Mahalanobis distances from all modern human populations than any two modern human groups were from each other. Most of the previously described temporal bone traits contributed to this separation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Investigates the relationship between cranial morphology and the variation in soft tissue thickness on the human face. Measurement of facial soft-tissue depths and craniometric dimensions; Use of multiple regression analysis; Increase in facial soft-tissue depths.

Analyzes a newly discovered paromomyid plesiadaform skull which reveals previously undocumented portions of the ear. Absence of the petrosal bulla in the plesiadaform crania; Re-evaluation of the link between plesiadaform and dermopteran.

Examines the function of the primate craniofacial haft which resists forces generated in the face during feeding. Description of how the face is twisting on the brain case during unilateral biting or mastication; Suggestion that the low strain magnitudes in the medial orbital wall and in other thin bony plates around the orbit are not optimally designed for resisting feeding forces.

Focuses on factors contributing to craniodental variation in Paranthropus boisei. Use of developmental and functional criteria in predicting craniodental variation; Reliability of dental size variables; Variability of P. boisei for variables that are useful in testing taxonomic hypotheses; Regions of the skull prone to high-levels of variation.

Presents a three-dimensional reconstruction of the cranium of the European Miocene primate, Dryopithecus based on the remains collected from Can Llobateres, Spain. Dryopithecus specimens used for cranial reconstruction; Neurocranium features; Short distance between the orbitale and the superior rim of the nasals; Parallel reconstruction of the cranial temporal lines.

Discusses the neurotraumatological aspects of skull fractures resulting from both blunt and sharp sword wounds in skeletons from southwestern Germany dated 6th to 8th centuries AD. Rate of mortality caused by fractures; Healing rate of injuries; Location of cranial injuries; Existence of circular trepanations associated with fractures in three crania.

Discusses whether there is significant variability among ancient North American crania. Limited morphometric work on early American crania; Examination of a sample of crania dating from the early to middle Holocene; Heterogeneity among early American crania; Hypotheses of an ancestor-descendent relationship between early and late Holocene American populations.

Presents a study which examined the substantially complete skull and mandible of the primitive adapiform Cantius abditus. Materials and methods; Reassessment of Hesperolemur actius; Conclusions.

Examines growth changes in the position of the midline upper face for samples of Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, and modern humans. Development of species differences in upper facial positioning; Facial positioning measurements for fossil hominid crania.

Studies orthocephalization in postweaning squirrel monkeys. Cranial shape in rodent species; Study of orthocephalization; Effect of malnutrition in cranial shape; Cranial points; Lateral semicircular canals.

Examines growth processes in the cranial vault of Mayans from the site of Lamanai, Belize. Fronto-occipital deformation associated with premature sagittal synostosis and wormian bones of the lambdoidal suture; Increased risk of sagittal synostosis due to the natural brachycephalic morphology in utero.

Presents a historical overview of the study of early anthropidean crania and a morphological descriptions and comparisons of the skull of Catopithecus. Primate evolution; Anthropoidea; Fayum; Neocranium; Basicranium; Dentition; Paleobiology.

Presents two cranial specimens from Vindija cave, Croatia which are morphologically associated with the Neanderthals. Contribution to the study of Vindija hominids.

Nonmetric traits of Hawaiian and Chamorro skulls were examined for evidence bearing on their populational affinities. Distance analyses reveal that the Hawaiian and Chamorro people, although not very near each other, are both closer to the East Asian than to the Jomon-Ainu or to the Arctic peoples. Our study of nonmetric cranial variation does not suggest an affinity between the Jomon and Pacific peoples. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial modification of the cranial vault was practiced by a number of prehistoric and protohistoric populations, frequently during an infant's first year of life. We test the hypothesis that, in addition to its direct effects on the cranial vault, annular cranial vault modification has a significant indirect effect on cranial base and facial morphology. Two skeletal series from the Pacific Northwest Coast, which include both nonmodified and modified crania, were used: the Kwakiutl (62 nonmodified, 45 modified) and Nootka (28 nonmodified, 20 modified). Three-dimensional coordinates of 53 landmarks were obtained using a diagraph, and 36 landmarks were used to define nine finite elements in the cranial vault, cranial base, and face. Finite element scaling was used to compare average nonmodified and average modified crania, and the significance of the results were evaluated using a bootstrap test. Annular modification of the cranial vault produces significant effects on the morphology of the cranial base and face. Annular modification in the Kwakiutl resulted in restrictions of the cranial vault in the medial-lateral and superior-inferior dimensions and an increase in anterior-posterior growth. Similar dimensional changes are observed in the cranial base. The Kwakiutl face is increased anterior-posteriorly and reduced anterior-laterally to posterior-medially. Similar effects of modification are observed in the Nootka cranial vault and cranial base, though not in the face. These results demonstrate the developmental interdependence of the cranial vault, cranial base, and face. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossils recognized as early Homo were discovered first at Olduvai Gorge in 1959 and 1960. Teeth, skull parts and hand bones representing three individuals were found in Bed I, and more material followed from Bed I and lower Bed II. By 1964, L.S.B. Leakey, P.V. Tobias, and J.R. Napier were ready to name Homo habilis. But almost as soon as they had, there was confusion over the hypodigm of the new species. Tobias himself suggested that OH 13 resembles Homo erectus from Java, and he noted that OH 16 has teeth as large as those of Australopithecus. By the early 1970s, however, Tobias had put these thoughts behind him and returned to the opinion that all of the Olduvai remains are Homo habilis. At about this time, important discoveries began to flow from the Koobi Fora region in Kenya. To most observers, crania such as KNM-ER 1470 confirmed the presence of Homo in East Africa at an early date. Some of the other specimens were problematical. A.C. Walker and R.E. Leakey raised the possibility that larger skulls including KNM-ER 1470 differ significantly from smaller-brained, small-toothed individuals such as KNM-ER 1813. Other workers emphasized that there are differences of shape as well as size among the hominids from Koobi Fora. There is now substantial support for the view that in the Turkana and perhaps also in the Olduvai assemblages, there is more variation than would be expected among male and female conspecifics. One way to approach this question of sorting would be to compare all of the new fossils against the original material from Olduvai which was used to characterize Homo habilis in 1964. A problem is that the Olduvai remains are fragmentary, and none of them provides much information about vault form or facial structure. An alternative is to work first with the better crania, even if these are from other sites. I have elected to treat KNM-ER 1470 and KNM-ER 1813 as key individuals. Comparisons are based on discrete anatomy and measurements. Metric results are displayed with ratio diagrams, by which similarity in proportions for several skulls can be assessed in respect to a single specimen selected as a standard. Crania from Olduvai examined in this way are generally smaller than KNM-ER 1470, although OH 7 has a relatively long parietal. In the Koobi Fora assemblage, there is variation in brow thickness, frontal flattening and parietal shape relative to KNM-ER 1470. These comparisons are instructive, but vault proportions do not help much with the sorting process. Contrasts in the face are much more striking. Measurements treated in ratio diagrams show that both KNM-ER 1813 and OH 24 have relatively short faces with low cheek bones, small orbits and low nasal openings. Also, they display more projection of the midfacial region, just below the nose. This is not readily interpreted to be a female characteristic, since in most hominoid primates the females tend to have flatter lower faces than the males. The obvious size differences among these individuals have usually been interpreted as sex dimorphism, but, in fact, two taxa may be sampled at Olduvai and in the Turkana basin at the beginning of the Pleistocene. One large-brained group made up of KNM-ER 1470, several other Koobi Fora specimens, and probably OH 7, can be called Homo habilis. If these skulls go with femora such as KNM-ER 1481 and the KNM-ER3228 hip, then this species is close in postcranial anatomy to Homo erectus. The other taxon, including small-brained individuals such as KNM-ER 1813 and probably OH 13, seems also to be Homo rather than Australopithecus. If the OH 62 skeleton is part of this assemblage, then the small hominids have postcranial proportions unlike those of Homo erectus. However, it is too early to point unequivocally to one or the other of these groups as the ancestors of later humans. Both differ from Homo erectus in important ways, and both need to be better understood before we can map the earliest history of the Homo clade. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 'out-of-Africa' models for origins of modern Homo sapiens incorporate Skhul as one site documenting that early origination. However, only Skhul V is usually considered in the comparative craniology of the question, neglecting the other substantial crania, Skhul IV and IX. Craniometric comparison demonstrates that IV and IX amplify the picture of continuous gradations of Neandertal-to-modern variations throughout the Levant; much variation is thus represented within this one site, raising serious questions about Neandertals and moderns being discrete and long-separated species. Qafzeh 6 too is craniophenetically closer to Neandertals than to the true anatomically modern people of the European Upper Paleolithic. Proper distance analysis of Border Cave 1 cranium shows it is actually far removed from modern African populations. References to Qafzeh, Skhul, and Border Cave as 'fully anatomically modern' require reconsideration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT This brief note announces the publication of a nonmetric cranial trait database as a freely available resource on the Internet at: http://library.queensu.ca/webdoc/ssdc/cntd. The files were constructed in the program Excel, and are available also in comma-delimited format. These one-observer data on 38 traits were recorded in 1963-2003 in skeletal collections curated at many museums. The 8,016 crania represent individuals from a broad geographic and temporal range of recent human populations, with regions best represented being the Arctic and northwestern North America. Am J Phys Anthropol 152:551-553, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: We examine how dental sexual dimorphism develops in mandrills, an extremely sexually dimorphic primate. We aimed to (a) establish the chronology of dental development (odontochronology) in male and female mandrills, (b) understand interindividual and intersex variation in odontochronologies, and (c) determine how dental sexual dimorphism is achieved., Materials and Methods: We prepared histological ground sections from the permanent teeth of four female and four male mandrills from the semi-free ranging colony at the Centre International de Recherches Médicales, Franceville, Gabon. We used the microscopic growth increments in the sections to create odontochronologies. We compared ages at crown initiation, crown formation times (CFT) and crown extension rates (CER) between individuals and sexes to assess interindividual and intersex variation., Results: All mandrill teeth are sexually dimorphic in size. Dental sexual dimorphism in mandrills is achieved via sex differences in the duration of growth (bimaturism) and in growth rates. We also found interindividual and intersex variation in the ages at initiation and completion of crown formation., Discussion: Our results show that the rate of ameloblast differentiation varies between individuals and that selection for both the age at tooth initiation and CER has occurred independently in males and females to ensure that the teeth develop at appropriate times relative to the growth of the sexually dimorphic jaws. They also show that canine dimorphism is achieved through differences in both CER and CFT, unlike extant great apes or Cantius. Given at least three mechanisms for achieving canine dimorphism, we need more information to trace the evolution of this trait in primates., (© 2020 The Authors. American Journal of Physical Anthropology published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)