Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS最新文献

{"title":"Right-handedness, lateralization and language in Neanderthals: a comment on Frayer et al. (2010).","authors":"Antonio Benítez-Burraco, Víctor Manuel Longa","doi":"10.4436/jass.90002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.90002","url":null,"abstract":"A lot of ink has been spilt in Paleoanthro-pology in discussing whether or not Neander-thals possessed complex language (which means \" human language in the modern sense \" , quoting Arbib, 2005, p. 21, that is, a representational and communicative system with hierarchical and recursive structure), given their phylogenetic closeness to modern humans. Recently, Frayer et al. (2010) (this journal, vol. 88; henceforth, F) have found that Neanderthals had a right-hand-edness ratio \" similar to living people \" (F, p. 113). This leads them to infer that this species had a pattern of brain lateralization resembling ours, and, ultimately, that \" Neandertals (and, very likely, their European ancestors) had linguistic capacities similar to living humans \" (F, p. 113). It is not our intention to cast doubt on F's remarkable finding. However, the point is made that their inference according to which Neanderthals had complex language is questionable. Some reasons will be brought to the fore. To begin with, \" there are some drawbacks in determining hand preference from tooth scratches \" (F, p. 115; see Bax & Ungar, 1999, who question the link between hand-use and teeth striations). In addition, other types of evidence (such as tools) could be more suitable for inferring whether extinct hominid species showed laterali-zation of motor tasks, given that in our species (and in great apes, in general) handedness is correlated to task complexity, as discussed by Uomini (2009, pp. 413-414, 416 and ss.). Leaving that aside, the relationships between right-handedness, (structural and functional) brain lateralization, and language are perhaps not significant enough, or illuminating from an evolutionary perspective. In our species, a positive correlation exists between general verbal skill and precociousness of language development on the one hand, and the degree of lateralization in hand use, on the other (in general, between lateralization and cog-nitive abilities, including language). However, that correlation is responsible for a variation of about only 1% in both the General Ability Index and the Intelligence Quotient; the same applies to the Quotient's verbal component (Nettle, 2003). Hence, Natsopoulos et al. (2002, p. 223) claim that there is not a \" significant association of language proficiency with variations of lateralization regarding hand-preference and hand-skill \". It becomes even more relevant that in about 30% of left-handed people, the corti-cal areas related to linguistic processing are not so lateralized to the left hemisphere (Foundas et al., 2002). In addition, and crucially, …","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"187-92; discussion 193-7"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4436/jass.90002","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40155880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Many ways of being human, the Stephen J. Gould's legacy to Palaeo-Anthropology (2002-2012).","authors":"Telmo Pievani","doi":"10.4436/jass.90016","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.90016","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>As an invertebrate palaeontologist and evolutionary theorist, Stephen J. Gould did not publish any direct experimental results in palaeo-anthropology (with the exception of Pilbeam and Gould, 1974), but he did prepare the stage for many debates within the discipline. We argue here that his scientific legacy in the anthropological fields has a clear and coherent conceptual structure. It is based on four main pillars: (1) the famed deconstruction of the \"ladder of progress\" as an influential metaphor in human evolution; (2) Punctuated Equilibria and their significance in human macro-evolution viewed as a directionless \"bushy tree\" of species; (3) the trade-offs between functional and structural factors in evolution and the notion of exaptation; (4) delayed growth, or neoteny, as an evidence in human evolution. These keystones should be considered as consequences of the enduring theoretical legacy of the eminent Harvard evolutionist: the proposal of an extended and revised Darwinism, coherently outlined in the last twenty years of his life (1982-2002) and set out in 2002 in his final work, The Structure of Evolutionary Theory. It is in the light of his \"Darwinian pluralism\", able to integrate in a new frame the multiplicity of explanatory patterns emerging from different evolutionary fields, that we understand Stephen J. Gould's legacy in palaeo-anthropology today, both in terms of provocative shocks to comfortable visions of human evolution and, above all, in terms of specific scientific predictions about future research.</p>","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"133-49"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.4436/jass.90016","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40197175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An unusual surgical treatment of the skull following trauma during the Copper Age (IV millennium B.C.) in Italy.","authors":"Vincenzo Formicola,&nbsp;Sonia Cammellini,&nbsp;Davide Caramella,&nbsp;Angiolo Del Lucchese,&nbsp;Gwenaelle Goude,&nbsp;Mariasilvia Saccone,&nbsp;Gino Fornaciari","doi":"10.4436/jass.90017","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.90017","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"199-200"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2012-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40198641","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Computer models and applications for the management of anthropological data.","authors":"Francesco Coschino,&nbsp;Antonio Fornaciari,&nbsp;Simona Minozzi","doi":"10.4436/jass.89004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.89004","url":null,"abstract":"Recent developments in the excavation and osteological studies of human skeletal remains have shown the need to adopt a computer and digital approach, which is both practical and methodological, and able to integrate the knowledge and skills acquired in recent years by different branches of archaeoantropological studies, using modern and innovative tools. JASs has repeatedly promoted a “renewal” of the practices related to information management, both through the creation of the forum “Sharing databases in digital Anthropology” (Bruner, 2009), and through the publication of many international works linked to this topic (Canals et al., 2008). To this aim, it is clear that the first step consists in creating a set of integrated applications, capable of managing the various areas investigated in this widespread field. In order to address the management of large amounts of anthropological and paleopathological data and their subsequent processing and interpretation, the Division of Paleopathology of the University of Pisa has created an extensive project relating to excavation and laboratory activities designed to develop a number of data storage protocols and subsequent inclusion into a GIS system (for an extended version of this project see Coschino, 2009). This project has been essentially organized into a tripartite structure; the information system includes two main protocols designed by the research team of the Division of Paleopathology (University of Pisa) which work on an OS WindowsTM: 1. the software SIUS manages the skeletal unit computer records, which aim to store all the archaeological, taphonomic and anthropological data recorded on the field during archaeological excavation; 2. the software BONES stores and handles the dozens of anthropological and paleopathological records compiled during the examination of the skeletal remains in the laboratory. The GIS system allows interaction between the protocols using the two types of software.","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"195-9"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40068384","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Forensic anthropology in Europe: an assessment of current status and application.","authors":"Elena Kranioti,&nbsp;Robert Paine","doi":"10.4436/jass.89002","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.89002","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Forensic anthropology is the discipline that traditionally deals with the examination of human remains for legal purposes and it derives from the fields of anatomy, physical anthropology and forensic medicine. For more than a century, forensic anthropologists in the United States have been offering their services in the court of law complementing the medico-legal investigation of other forensic professionals. The current status in European countries is presented here. The development of forensic anthropology varies significantly among the countries of Europe. Whereas some countries show a long history of research activity in the forensic sciences, including forensic anthropology (i.e. France, Germany and Spain), others are exhibiting a recent, rapid development (i.e. United Kingdom). In some cases, forensic anthropologists are employed within the academic realm (i.e. U.K., Denmark, Portugal, Turkey), forensic institutions (Netherlands) or government organizations (Spain, Hungary), although the vast majority of them remain limited to freelance activities on a sporadic basis. Often, European scientists that deal with skeletal remains come from nonphysical anthropology disciplines such as archaeology, forensic medicine and biology. In many cases they do not have adequate training equivalent to the forensic anthropologists in the USA. Naturally, without common training and a common legal system, an accreditation system for Europe will be difficult to implement.</p>","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"71-92"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40068383","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Ethno-anthropological and genetic study of the Yaghnobis;an isolated community in Central Asia. A preliminary study.","authors":"Elisabetta Cilli,&nbsp;Paolo Delaini,&nbsp;Birgit Costazza,&nbsp;Laura Giacomello,&nbsp;Antonio Panaino,&nbsp;Giorgio Gruppioni","doi":"10.4436/jass.89003","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.89003","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"189-94"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40068385","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Giuseppe Sergi, \"champion\" of Darwinism?","authors":"Alessandro Volpone","doi":"10.4436/jass.89001","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.4436/jass.89001","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The Italian anthropologist, psychologist and evolutionist Giuseppe Sergi (1841-1936) may be regarded in some respects today as an \"atypical\" Darwinist, but, almost paradoxically, he was considered a \"champion\" of Darwinism by colleagues and commentators of his own time. Probably, two aspects of his work are responsible for this apparent anomaly: his faith in the so-called soft inheritance and his claims regarding a theory concerning the polyphyletic origin of human races. The soft inheritance theory, however, was needed by Sergi to support ideas regarding the complexity of inheritance in man, a fact that, in his opinion, could not completely be put down to mechanical laws, and polygeny was useful when trying to rectify the problem concerning the incompleteness of the fossil record. In both cases, it is possible to show that he was involved in supporting Darwinian theory during the most severe crisis of its consensus in Italy and at International level, between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. Finally, the apparent unorthodox features which can be found in Sergi's ideas appear to be, in Kuhnian terms, ad hoc hypotheses put forward by Sergi himself in order to support the paradigm.</p>","PeriodicalId":171465,"journal":{"name":"Journal of anthropological sciences = Rivista di antropologia : JASS","volume":" ","pages":"59-69"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2011-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"40068382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}