Continuing Human Evolution: Bodies, Brains and the Role of Variability

Henneberg, Maciej

doi:10.1080/00359199209520260

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As can be seen in Table 7, SA black males increased in size at 21 measurement sites, with statistically significant differences at seven of these sites namely, maximum mid-shaft diameter of the humerus, epicondylar breadth of the humerus, superior head diameter of the ulna, maximum mid-shaft diameter of the ulna, the maximum mid-shaft diameter of the femur, the proximal bicondylar breadth of the tibia, and the maximum proximal diameter of the fibula. The older SA white males were also larger in size with statistically significant differences having been noted at the inferior diameter of the head of the ulna, the proximal bicondylar breadth of the tibia and the Table 1 Year of birth of the various young (<50) and old (50) distal diameter of the radius (Table 8). However, the difference in mean size for older SA black and white males was far less than that observed in SA white females.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Secular trends for stature in SA blacks also appear to only become a factor in more recent years, although Tobias [49] argued for the absence of a positive secular trend. Generally the world-wide trend would be for gracilization, which would imply that the younger groups (with their more recent birth dates) would be somewhat more gracile that the older groups (with their more distant birth dates) [50]. However, as the mean dates-of-birth between the various young and older groups differ from 14 (SA blacks of both sexes) to 26 (old SA white males) years only, it is unsure what the effect of this relatively short time span would be with regards to changes in robusticity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

A cross-sectional analysis of age related changes in the osteometric dimensions of long bones in modern South Africans of European and African descent

Vance

Steyn

L'Abbé

et al. 2010

Forensic Science International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A cross-sectional analysis of age related changes in the osteometric dimensions of long bones in modern South Africans of European and African descent

Vance

Steyn

L'Abbé

et al. 2010

Forensic Science International

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The consistent reliability of ramus shape over time and through paleospecies will greatly enhance our ability to separate sexual dimorphism from evolutionary change. Size and proportions are known to have changed significantly through the ages-even from as recently as the begin-ning of the Holocene (Henneberg, 1988(Henneberg, , 1992. This morphologic trait is not size dependent and can therefore avoid the problems inherent in even the latest metric attempts to diagnose sex and ultimately determine the range of sexual dimorphism in small fossil samples (e.g., Plavcan, 1994).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandibular ramus flexure: A new morphologic indicator of sexual dimorphism in the human skeleton

Loth¹,

Henneberg²

1996

Am. J. Phys. Anthropol.

Self Cite

225

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the skeleton, male and female characteristics lie along a continuum of morphologic configurations and metric values. Size alone is not the best indicator of sex. In contrast, morphologic differences that arise from genetically sex-linked growth and development allow better separation of the sexes. This study presents a new morphologic indicator of sexual dimorphism in the human mandible. A sample of 300 mandibles from adults of known sex primarily from the Dart collection was analyzed. Of these, 100 were found to have obvious bony pathologies and/or excessive tooth loss ("pathologic" sample). Thus, the normative sample consisted of 200 individuals (116 males, 84 females). Examination of morphologic features led to the discovery of a distinct angulation of the posterior border of the mandibular ramus at the level of the occlusal surface of the molars in adult males. Flexure appears to be a male developmental trait because it is only manifest consistently after adolescence. In most females, the posterior border of the ramus retained the straight juvenile shape. If flexure was noted, it was found to occur either at a higher point near the neck of the condyle or lower in association with gonial prominence or eversion. In the normative sample, overall prediction accuracy from ramus shape was 99%. When the "pathologic" sample was analyzed separately, 91.0% were correctly diagnosed. Because the African samples were overwhelmingly black, this trait was also tested on American samples (N = 247) of whites (N = 85), Amerinds (N = 66), and blacks (N = 96) that included a mix of healthy individuals and those with extensive tooth loss and evidence of pathology. The results were nearly identical to those of the "pathologic" African sample, with accuracies ranging from about 91% in whites and blacks to over 92% in Amerinds. Total accuracy for all African and American samples combined (N = 547) is 94.2%. In conclusion, at 99%, sexing from the shape of the ramus of a healthy mandible is on a par with accuracy attainable from a complete pelvis. Moreover, there is no record that any other single morphologic or metric indicator of sex (that has been quantified from the adult skeleton) surpasses the overall accuracy attained from the more representative mixed sample produced by combining all groups assessed in this study. The usefulness of this trait is enhanced by the survivability of the mandible and the fact that preliminary investigations show that the trait is clearly evident in fossil hominids.

show abstract

“…Labels in the formula are: d x = a fraction of dying people of age x; s x = reproductive value of a person of age x (for example, s 65 = 0, while s 15 = 1). For further explanation and data see [35,70]. …”

Section: Possible Approaches In Future Em Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

New perspectives on evolutionary medicine: the relevance of microevolution for human health and disease

Rühli

Henneberg

2013

BMC Med

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evolutionary medicine (EM) is a growing field focusing on the evolutionary basis of human diseases and their changes through time. To date, the majority of EM studies have used pure theories of hominin macroevolution to explain the present-day state of human health. Here, we propose a different approach by addressing more empirical and health-oriented research concerning past, current and future microevolutionary changes of human structure, functions and pathologies. Studying generation-to-generation changes of human morphology that occurred in historical times, and still occur in present-day populations under the forces of evolution, helps to explain medical conditions and warns clinicians that their current practices may influence future humans. Also, analyzing historic tissue specimens such as mummies is crucial in order to address the molecular evolution of pathogens, of the human genome, and their coadaptations.

show abstract

Continuing Human Evolution: Bodies, Brains and the Role of Variability

Cited by 16 publications

References 32 publications

A cross-sectional analysis of age related changes in the osteometric dimensions of long bones in modern South Africans of European and African descent

A cross-sectional analysis of age related changes in the osteometric dimensions of long bones in modern South Africans of European and African descent

Mandibular ramus flexure: A new morphologic indicator of sexual dimorphism in the human skeleton

New perspectives on evolutionary medicine: the relevance of microevolution for human health and disease

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About