Journal of Human Evolution最新文献

{"title":"Exploring the lack of articular ends at the Middle Pleistocene site of Qesem Cave, Israel","authors":"Ruth Blasco ,&nbsp;Jordi Rosell ,&nbsp;Ella Assaf ,&nbsp;Ran Barkai ,&nbsp;Avi Gopher","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103509","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103509","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Biased skeletal part representation is a key element for making inferences about transport decisions, carcass procurement, and use patterns in anthropogenic accumulations. In the absence of destructive taphonomic processes, it is often assumed that the abundance of different anatomical portions represents selective transport and discard patterns of human groups. Because body parts may be transported for specific products such as meat, marrow or grease, a pattern that usually attracts attention in many archaeological sites is the low proportions of appendicular epiphyses. Here we present the case of faunal assemblages from the lower stratigraphic sequence of Qesem Cave, Israel, dated to ca. 430 to 300 ka. All bone accumulations are characterized by a biased skeletal profile including mainly long-limb bones and a virtual absence of epiphyses. The assemblages also show density-mediated attrition not linked to fossil-diagenetic processes, a targeted specific destruction to the most greasy articular ends and an almost total absence of carnivore intervention. Our goal here is to explore the processes that entail the destruction of appendicular epiphyses at Qesem Cave, as well as propose viable hypotheses to explain their underrepresentation on-site. Our results shed light on the domestic activities linked to the processing of bones at the site and support the importance of animal grease in the caloric intake of Middle Pleistocene humans.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 103509"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248424000174/pdfft?md5=856105fda451bc5b3c1ffb57692ae4ba&pid=1-s2.0-S0047248424000174-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140188199","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Finite element analysis of Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens maxillary central incisor","authors":"Ali Najafzadeh ,&nbsp;María Hernaiz-García ,&nbsp;Stefano Benazzi ,&nbsp;Bernard Chen ,&nbsp;Jean-Jacques Hublin ,&nbsp;Ottmar Kullmer ,&nbsp;Ariel Pokhojaev ,&nbsp;Rachel Sarig ,&nbsp;Rita Sorrentino ,&nbsp;Antonino Vazzana ,&nbsp;Fiorenza Luca","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103512","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103512","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Neanderthal anterior teeth are very large and have a distinctive morphology characterized by robust ‘shovel-shaped’ crowns. These features are frequently seen as adaptive responses in dissipating heavy mechanical loads resulting from masticatory and non-masticatory activities. Although the long-standing debate surrounding this hypothesis has played a central role in paleoanthropology, is still unclear if Neanderthal anterior teeth can resist high mechanical loads or not. A novel way to answer this question is to use a multidisciplinary approach that considers together tooth architecture, dental wear and jaw movements. The aim of this study is to functionally reposition the teeth of Le Moustier 1 (a Neanderthal adolescent) and Qafzeh 9 (an early <em>Homo sapiens</em> adolescent) derived from wear facet mapping, occlusal fingerprint analysis and physical dental restoration methods. The restored dental arches are then used to perform finite element analysis on the left central maxillary incisor during edge-to-edge occlusion. The results show stress distribution differences between Le Moustier 1 and Qafzeh 9, with the former displaying higher tensile stress in enamel around the lingual fossa but lower concentration of stress in the lingual aspect of the root surface. These results seem to suggest that the presence of labial convexity, lingual tubercle and of a large root surface in Le Moustier 1 incisor helps in dissipating mechanical stress. The absence of these dental features in Qafzeh 9 is compensated by the presence of a thicker enamel, which helps in reducing the stress in the tooth crown.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 103512"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248424000204/pdfft?md5=259043e52165605c8d632822f37efe43&pid=1-s2.0-S0047248424000204-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140069274","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"In memoriam: William Lee Jungers, Jr.","authors":"Laurie R. Godfrey ,&nbsp;Liza J. Shapiro ,&nbsp;Christine E. Wall ,&nbsp;Roshna E. Wunderlich","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103515","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103515","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 103515"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004724842400023X/pdfft?md5=a6bb734e5eb0480287c60a121f34de1e&pid=1-s2.0-S004724842400023X-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139993163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Evidence for the smallest fossil Pongo in southern China","authors":"Hua Liang ,&nbsp;Terry Harrison ,&nbsp;Qingfeng Shao ,&nbsp;Jean-Jacques Bahain ,&nbsp;Jinyou Mo ,&nbsp;Yuexing Feng ,&nbsp;Wei Liao ,&nbsp;Wei Wang","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103507","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103507","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The rarity of <em>Pongo</em> fossils with precise absolute dating from the Middle Pleistocene hampers our understanding of the taxonomy and spatiotemporal distribution of Quaternary orangutans in southern China. Here, we report a newly discovered sample of 113 isolated teeth of fossil <em>Pongo</em> from Zhongshan Cave in the Bubing Basin, Guangxi, southern China. We describe the <em>Pongo</em> specimens from Zhongshan Cave and compare them metrically to other samples of fossil <em>Pongo</em> species (i.e., <em>Pongo weidenreichi</em>, <em>Pongo devosi</em>, <em>Pongo duboisi</em>, <em>Pongo palaeosumatrensis</em>, <em>Pongo javensis</em>, and <em>Pongo</em> sp.) and to extant orangutans (i.e., <em>Pongo pygmaeus</em> and <em>Pongo abelii</em>). The Zhongshan <em>Pongo</em> assemblage is dated using U-series and coupled electron spin resonance/U-series methods. Our results reasonably constrain the Zhongshan <em>Pongo</em> assemblage to 184 ± 16 ka, which is consistent with the biostratigraphic evidence. The Zhongshan <em>Pongo</em> teeth are only 6.5% larger on average than those of extant <em>Pongo</em>. The Zhongshan teeth are smaller overall than those of <em>Pongo</em> from all other cave sites in southern China, and they currently represent the smallest fossil orangutans in southern China. Based on their dental size, and the presence of a well-developed lingual pillar and lingual cingulum on the upper and lower incisors, an intermediate frequency of lingual cingulum remnants on the upper molars, and a higher frequency of moderate to heavy wrinkling on the upper and lower molars, we provisionally assign the Zhongshan fossils to <em>P</em>. <em>devosi</em>. Our results confirm earlier claims that <em>P. weidenreichi</em> is replaced by a smaller species in southern China, <em>P. devosi</em>, by the late Middle Pleistocene. The occurrence of <em>P</em>. <em>devosi</em> in Zhongshan Cave further extends its spatial and temporal distribution. The <em>Pongo</em> specimens from Zhongshan provide important new evidence to demonstrate that the dental morphological features of <em>Pongo</em> in southern China changed substantially during the late Middle Pleistocene.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 103507"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139986577","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Relative leg-to-arm skeletal strength proportions in orangutans by species and sex","authors":"Alexandra E. Kralick ,&nbsp;Babette S. Zemel ,&nbsp;Clara Nolan ,&nbsp;Phillip Lin ,&nbsp;Matthew W. Tocheri","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103496","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103496","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Among extant great apes, orangutans climb most frequently. However, Bornean orangutans (<em>Pongo pygmaeus</em>) exhibit higher frequencies of terrestrial locomotion than do Sumatran orangutans (<em>Pongo abelii</em>). Variation in long bone cross-sectional geometry is known to reflect differential loading of the limbs. Thus, Bornean orangutans should show greater relative leg-to-arm strength than their Sumatran counterparts. Using skeletal specimens from museum collections, we measured two cross-sectional geometric measures of bone strength: the polar section modulus (Zpol) and the ratio of maximum to minimum area moments of inertia (Imax/Imin), at the midshaft of long bones in Bornean (<em>n</em> = 19) and Sumatran adult orangutans (<em>n</em> = 12) using medical CT and peripheral quantitative CT scans, and compared results to published data of other great apes. Relative leg-to-arm strength was quantified using ratios of femur and tibia over humerus, radius, and ulna, respectively. Differences between orangutan species and between sexes in median ratios were assessed using Wilcoxon rank sum tests. The tibia of Bornean orangutans was stronger relative to the humerus and the ulna than in Sumatran orangutans (<em>p</em> = 0.008 and 0.025, respectively), consistent with behavioral studies that indicate higher frequencies of terrestrial locomotion in the former. In three Zpol ratios, adult female orangutans showed greater leg-to-arm bone strength compared to flanged males, which may relate to females using their legs more during arboreal locomotion than in adult flanged males. A greater amount of habitat discontinuity on Borneo compared to Sumatra has been posited as a possible explanation for observed interspecific differences in locomotor behaviors, but recent camera trap studies has called this into question. Alternatively, greater frequencies of terrestriality in <em>Pongo pygmaeus</em> may be due to the absence of tigers on Borneo. The results of this study are consistent with the latter explanation given that habitat continuity was greater a century ago when our study sample was collected.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 103496"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139984547","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New remains of the Miocene great ape Anoiapithecus brevirostris from Abocador de Can Mata","authors":"David M. Alba ,&nbsp;Florian Bouchet ,&nbsp;Josep Fortuny ,&nbsp;Josep M. Robles ,&nbsp;Jordi Galindo ,&nbsp;Àngel H. Luján ,&nbsp;Salvador Moyà-Solà ,&nbsp;Clément Zanolli","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103497","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103497","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 103497"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139945104","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"A comparative study of muscle activity and synergies during walking in baboons and humans","authors":"François Druelle ,&nbsp;Marco Ghislieri ,&nbsp;Pablo Molina-Vila ,&nbsp;Brigitte Rimbaud ,&nbsp;Valentina Agostini ,&nbsp;Gilles Berillon","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103513","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103513","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bipedal locomotion was a major functional change during hominin evolution, yet, our understanding of this gradual and complex process remains strongly debated. Based on fossil discoveries, it is possible to address functional hypotheses related to bipedal anatomy, however, motor control remains intangible with this approach. Using comparative models which occasionally walk bipedally has proved to be relevant to shed light on the evolutionary transition toward habitual bipedalism. Here, we explored the organization of the neuromuscular control using surface electromyography (sEMG) for six extrinsic muscles in two baboon individuals when they walk quadrupedally and bipedally on the ground. We compared their muscular coordination to five human subjects walking bipedally. We extracted muscle synergies from the sEMG envelopes using the non-negative matrix factorization algorithm which allows decomposing the sEMG data in the linear combination of two non-negative matrixes (muscle weight vectors and activation coefficients). We calculated different parameters to estimate the complexity of the sEMG signals, the duration of the activation of the synergies, and the generalizability of the muscle synergy model across species and walking conditions. We found that the motor control strategy is less complex in baboons when they walk bipedally, with an increased muscular activity and muscle coactivation. When comparing the baboon bipedal and quadrupedal pattern of walking to human bipedalism, we observed that the baboon bipedal pattern of walking is closer to human bipedalism for both baboons, although substantial differences remain. Overall, our findings show that the muscle activity of a non-adapted biped effectively fulfills the basic mechanical requirements (propulsion and balance) for walking bipedally, but substantial refinements are possible to optimize the efficiency of bipedal locomotion. In the evolutionary context of an expanding reliance on bipedal behaviors, even minor morphological alterations, reducing muscle coactivation, could have faced strong selection pressure, ultimately driving bipedal evolution in hominins.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"189 ","pages":"Article 103513"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139936860","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"New craniodental fossils of Paranthropus robustus from Kromdraai, South Africa (2014–2017 excavations)","authors":"José Braga ,&nbsp;Frederick E. Grine","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103481","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103481","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Since the initial discovery of <em>Paranthropus robustus</em> at the site of Kromdraai in 1938, the hypodigm of this species has been expanded by subsequent work at the localities of Swartkrans and Drimolen, with a few fossils also known from Cooper's D, Gondolin and Sterkfontein Member 5. Beginning in 2014, systematic excavations at Kromdraai uncovered a large and previously unknown fossiliferous area, shedding light on Units O and P in the earliest part of the site's stratigraphic sequence. The aim of this paper is to provide detailed descriptions and illustrations of 30 <em>P</em>. <em>robustus</em> craniodental specimens recovered between 2014 and 2017 within the Unit P deposits at Kromdraai. This new sample predates all prior conspecific specimens found at this site (including the holotype of <em>P. robustus</em> from Kromdraai, TM 1517). Its basic dental morphology dimensions and cranial features are compared in a preliminary analysis with other <em>P. robustus</em> samples. The <em>P. robustus</em> sample from Kromdraai Unit P documents previously unknown portions of the <em>P. robustus</em> juvenile cranium. The new dental and cranial remains aid in the exploration of potential morphological distinctions between site-specific <em>P. robustus</em> samples and are compared favorably in size and morphology with the small <em>P. robustus</em> specimens from Drimolen (e.g., DNH 7). These findings do not support the hypothesis that the specimens from Drimolen belong to a different taxonomic group. Instead, they reinforce the presence of a significant degree of sexual dimorphism within <em>P. robustus</em>. The Kromdraai Unit P specimens also contribute to the biodemographic profile of <em>P. robustus</em>. The notable prevalence of infants (i.e., juvenile individuals before the emergence of their first permanent molars) mirrors the natural mortality profiles observed in wild chimpanzees. This suggests a closer resemblance in the processes of accumulation in Kromdraai Unit P and Drimolen than at Swartkrans.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 103481"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139915334","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of binocular visual cue availability on fruit and insect grasping performance in two cheirogaleids: Implications for primate origins hypotheses","authors":"Addison D. Kemp","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103456","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Forward-facing eyes with parallel optic axes, which provide a wide field of binocular vision and precise depth perception, are among the diagnostic features of crown primates; however, the adaptive significance of this feature remains contentious. Two of the most prominent primate-origins hypotheses propose that either foraging for fruit or nocturnal predation on insects created selective pressures that led to the evolution of diagnostic primate traits, including a wide binocular field. To determine whether either of these hypotheses provides a viable explanation for the evolution of primates' derived eye orientation, the importance of binocular depth cues for the two tasks invoked by these hypotheses was evaluated experimentally in <em>Microcebus murinus</em> and <em>Cheirogaleus medius</em>, cheirogaleids' considered reasonable living analogs of the earliest euprimates. Performance in grasping insects and fruit was evaluated when the animals made use of their full binocular visual field and when their binocular visual field was restricted using a helmet-mounted blinder. Restriction of the binocular field had no effect on fruit grasping performance; however, restriction of the binocular field resulted in a significant deficit in insect predation performance. Differences in behavioral variables also suggest that insect predation is a more visually demanding task than fruit foraging. These results support the role of insect predation, but not fruit foraging, in contributing to the selective pressures that led to the evolution of parallel optic axes and a wide binocular field in crown primates.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 103456"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139694422","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Charles Kimberlin (Bob) Brain (1931–2023): Scientist of consequence, man of quality","authors":"Travis Rayne Pickering","doi":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103457","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":54805,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Human Evolution","volume":"188 ","pages":"Article 103457"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2024-02-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0047248423001367/pdfft?md5=b4e33f2103805d026a2dcbb2f2ffe953&pid=1-s2.0-S0047248423001367-main.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139662961","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}