Functional‐cranial approach to the influence of economic strategy on skull morphology

González‐José, Rolando; Ramírez‐Rozzi, Fernando; Sardi, Marina Laura; Martínez‐Abadías, Neus; Hernández, Miquel; Pucciarelli, Héctor Mário

doi:10.1002/ajpa.20161

Cited by 102 publications

(96 citation statements)

References 70 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The relevance of cranial morphology to phylogenetic reconstruction has been questioned in the past (see e.g., Collard and Wood, 2000), and convergence, parallelism, reversals, and environmen-tal plasticity are commonly cited as obscuring any phylogenetic signal that it may preserve. The effects of mastication and climatic adaptation on the cranium are thought to be particularly extensive, with some anatomical regions or measurements believed to be affected differentially by these processes (e.g., Hylander, 1977;Carey and Steegmann, 1981;Olson, 1981;Beals et al, 1983;Skelton and McHenry, 1992;Larsen, 1999;Wood and Lieberman, 2001;Lieberman et al, 2004;Roseman, 2004;Roseman and Weaver, 2004;Gonzá lez-José et al, 2005;Harvati and Weaver, 2006a,b;Sardi et al, 2006).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Signatures in the Morphological Differentiation of Worldwide Modern Human Populations

Hübbe

Hanihara

Harvati

2009

The Anatomical Record

184

242

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The ability of cranial morphology to reflect population/phylogenetic history, and the degree to which it might be influenced by environmental factors and selection pressures have been widely discussed. Recent consensus views cranial morphology as largely indicative of population history in humans, with some anatomical cranial regions/measurements being more informative on population history, while others being under selection pressure. We test earlier findings using the largest and most diverse cranial dataset available as yet: 7,423 male specimens from 135 geographic human population samples represented by 33 standard craniometric linear measurements. We calculated Mahalanobis D 2 for three datasets: complete cranial dataset; facial measurement dataset; and neurocranial measurement dataset; these morphological distance matrices were then compared to matrices of geographic distances as well as of several climatic variables. Additionally, we calculated Fst values for our cranial measurements and compared the results to the expected Fst values for neutral genetic loci. Our findings support the hypothesis that cranial, and especially neurocranial morphology, is phylogenetically informative, and that aspects of the face and cranium are subject to selection related to climatic factors. The Fst analysis suggest that selection to climate is largely restricted to groups living in extremely cold environments, including Northeast Asia, North America, and Northern Europe, though each of these regions appears to have arrived at their morphology through distinct adaptive pathways. Anat Rec, 292:1720Rec, 292: -1733Rec, 292: , 2009. Key words: Fst; craniometrics; adaptation; population history; human variation; NeanderthalsThe degree to which human cranial morphology reflects population history or adaptive and developmental changes related to environmental conditions is the subject of ongoing scientific discussion in anthropology. Our understanding of the evolutionary processes affecting morphological variation directly impacts both the study of modern human geographic diversity as well as the interpretation of the human fossil record. The relevance of cranial morphology to phylogenetic reconstruction has been questioned in the past (see e.g., Collard and Wood, 2000), and convergence, parallelism, reversals, and environmen-

show abstract

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate Signatures in the Morphological Differentiation of Worldwide Modern Human Populations

Hübbe

Hanihara

Harvati

2009

The Anatomical Record

184

242

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Hypotheses relating to the nature of the transition to agriculture must contend with two potentially confounding evolutionary processes: non-neutral dispersal (which disrupts neutral gene flow patterns) and potential non-neutral selection in response to changes in subsistence strategy and/or climate (either via phenotypic plasticity or natural selection). The substantial changes in food processing associated with the shift to farming were hypothesized to have a knock-on effect on the relative size and shape of the masticatory apparatus (e.g., Pinhasi et al 2008;Sardi et al 2004b), although most studies of this kind have focused on the foragerϪfarmer transitions in other regions of the world (e.g., Carlson and Van Gerven 1977;González-José et al 2005;Paschetta et al 2010;Sardi et al 2006). Employing craniometric data as a reliable proxy for neutral genetic data is reliant upon the assumption that cranial morphology is evolving neutrally (Brace et al 2006) and, therefore, is not likely to be confounded by selective factors relating to climate, diet, or other environmental forces.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the cranium appears to be acting relatively neutrally, and therefore may be used as a proxy for modeling population history analogous to neutral genetic data (Roseman and Weaver 2007;von Cramon-Taubadel and Weaver 2009), global patterns of mandibular variation were shown to be non-neutral (Smith 2011;von Cramon-Taubadel 2011b), correlating instead with differences in subsistence economy between hunter gatherer and agriculturalist populations (see also Carlson et al 1977;González-José et al 2005;Holmes and Ruff 2011;Paschetta et al 2010;Pinhasi et al 2008;Sardi et al 2006). Therefore, the mandible is likely quite phenotypically plastic, remodeling during growth in response to differing dietary (biomechanical) stresses (e.g., Lieberman 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Craniometric Perspective on the Transition to Agriculture in Europe

Pinhasi

Cramon‐Taubadel

2012

Human Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Debates surrounding the nature of the Neolithic demographic transition in Europe have historically centered on two opposing models: a "demic" diffusion model whereby incoming farmers from the Near East and Anatolia effectively replaced or completely assimilated indigenous Mesolithic foraging communities, and an "indigenist" model resting on the assumption that ideas relating to agriculture and animal domestication diffused from the Near East but with little or no gene flow. The extreme versions of these dichotomous models were heavily contested primarily on the basis of archeological and modern genetic data. However, in recent years a growing acceptance has arisen of the likelihood that both processes were ongoing throughout the Neolithic transition and that a more complex, regional approach is required to fully understand the change from a foraging to a primarily agricultural mode of subsistence in Europe. Craniometric data were particularly useful for testing these more complex scenarios, as they can reliably be employed as a proxy for the genetic relationships among Mesolithic and Neolithic populations. In contrast, modern genetic data assume that modern European populations accurately reflect the genetic structure of Europe at the time of the Neolithic transition, while ancient DNA data are still not geographically or temporally detailed enough to test continent-wide processes. Here, with particular emphasis on the role of craniometric analyses, we review the current state of knowledge regarding the cultural and biological nature of the Neolithic transition in Europe. Abstract Debates surrounding the nature of the Neolithic demographic transition in Europe have historically centered on two opposing models: a "demic" diffusion model whereby incoming farmers from the Near East and Anatolia effectively replaced or completely assimilated indigenous Mesolithic foraging communities, and an "indigenist" model resting on the assumption that ideas relating to agriculture and animal domestication diffused from the Near East but with little or no gene flow. The extreme versions of these dichotomous models were heavily contested primarily on the basis of archeological and modern genetic data. However, in recent years a growing acceptance has arisen of the likelihood that both processes were ongoing throughout the Neolithic transition and that a more complex, regional approach is required to fully understand the change from a foraging to a primarily agricultural mode of subsistence in Europe. Craniometric data were particularly useful for testing these more complex scenarios, as they can reliably be employed as a proxy for the genetic relationships among Mesolithic and Neolithic populations. In contrast, modern genetic data assume that modern European populations accurately reflect the genetic structure of Europe at the time of the Neolithic transition, while ancient DNA data are still not geographically or temporally detailed enough to test continent-wide processes. Here, with particular emphasis on the role of ...

show abstract

“…In humans, a number of studies have indicated that the morphology of the masticatory apparatus may be influenced by subsistence strategies (Larsen, 1997;González-José et al, 2005;Sardi et al, 2006;Lieberman, 2008;Pinhasi et al, 2008;Paschetta et al, 2010;Holmes and Ruff, 2011;Lieberman, 2011;von Cramon-Taubadel, 2011b). In particular, morphology of the mandible shows a weak correspondence with geographic distance (Nicholson and Harvati, 2006), and a lower correlation with neutral genetic distances than many other cranial regions (Smith, 2009).…”

Section: Biomechanical Strainmentioning

confidence: 99%

The relative correspondence of cranial and genetic distances in papionin taxa and the impact of allometric adjustments

Smith

Cramon‐Taubadel

2015

Journal of Human Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships in the primate fossil record is dependent upon a thorough understanding of the phylogenetic utility of craniodental characters. Here, we test three previously proposed hypotheses for the propensity of primate craniomandibular data to exhibit homoplasy using a study design based on the relative congruence between cranial distance matrices and a consensus genetic distance matrix ("genetic congruence") for papionin taxa: 1.Matrices based on cranial regions subjected to less masticatory strain are more genetically congruent than high-strain cranial matrices; 2. Matrices based on cranial regions developing earlier in ontogeny are more genetically congruent than matrices based on regions that develop later; 3.Matrices based on cranial regions with greater anatomical/functional complexity are more genetically congruent than matrices based on anatomically simpler regions.Morphological distance matrices based on the shape of 15 different cranial regions, delineated on the basis of previous catarrhine studies, were statistically compared to matrices of known genetic distances in papionins. Since sexual dimorphism and allometry are known to characterize this clade, several analytical iterations were conducted: 1) mixed-sex, male-only, and female-only analyses; 2) with and without an allometric scaling adjustment. Across all data sets, the chondrocranium matrix was the most consistently correlated with genetic distances, which is also consistent with previous studies of cercopithecoid taxa, however there was no consistent support for the internal predictions of the three hypotheses tested. Allometric scaling corrections had the largest impact on the genetic congruence of facial shape matrices, a result which is consistent with previous studies that have described facial homoplasy in papionin taxa. These findings differ from patterns described for hominoid taxa, suggesting that no single predictive criterion can explain phylogenetic utility of cranial datasets across catarrhine primate taxa. Many of the differences in morphological-genetic matrix correlations could result from different levels of phenotypic integration and evolvability in cercopithecoids and hominoids, suggesting that further study of these phenomena in extant primates is warranted.2

show abstract

Functional‐cranial approach to the influence of economic strategy on skull morphology

Cited by 102 publications

References 70 publications

Climate Signatures in the Morphological Differentiation of Worldwide Modern Human Populations

Climate Signatures in the Morphological Differentiation of Worldwide Modern Human Populations

A Craniometric Perspective on the Transition to Agriculture in Europe

The relative correspondence of cranial and genetic distances in papionin taxa and the impact of allometric adjustments

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About