Annals of Human Biology最新文献

Background: This study evaluates the fossil remains of South African hominins curated at the University of Witwatersrand Johannesburg (Wits University), the largest repository of human evolution assemblages in southern Africa.

Aim: The aim of the study was to identify immature specimens within the assemblage as a resource for paleoanthropologists in understanding developmental adaptations in Plio-Pleistocene hominins.

Subjects and methods: Data were compiled from curatorial catalogues, visual inspections, unpublished notes, and published site-specific inventories. The assessment classified specimens as "Pre-Adult" based on dental, cranial, and postcranial maturity indicators, following established methodologies.

Results: Of the 3,277 catalogued specimens in the Wits hominin collections, 650 entries (19.8%) were identified as immature, representing three genera: Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo. These findings were analysed by site, element type, and specimen associations. Notable insights include pre-adult remains of Australopithecus from Malapa, Sterkfontein and Makapansgat, Paranthropus from Drimolen and Kromdraai, and Homo from Rising Star. The variability in accessioning practices, fragmentary preservation, and ongoing research influenced the completeness of the inventory, highlighting challenges in catalogue standardisation and fossil classification.

Conclusions: This comprehensive catalogue of immature fossils provides a critical resource for investigating morphological variation, life history traits, and evolutionary adaptations across hominin genera. It underscores the significance of South African fossil collections in exploring developmental patterns and evolutionary pathways leading to the extended life cycle characteristic of Homo sapiens.

Background: The development of the permanent dentition provides a reliable substrate to infer ontogenetic patterns within and among species. Multivariate methods offer a promising approach to compare taxon-specific patterns.

Aim: This study used multivariate statistical approaches to compare ontogenetic patterns by more comprehensively quantifying variation in crypt and tooth formation scores for the permanent dentition in five catarrhine primate taxa, Homo sapiens, Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Hylobates lar, and Papio anubis.

Subjects and methods: Tooth formation was scored according to published standards for each specimen. Multivariate relationships between teeth were modelled according to a Bayesian multivariate cumulative probit model. Relationships among and between teeth were summarised with correlation matrices, variable loadings plots, and the Frobenius norm. Univariate boxplots were used to contextualise and check the biological salience of the multivariate results.

Results: H. sapiens results corroborate previous research and show a degree of modularity that separates early forming and later-forming teeth. All four other species may show broad correlative patterns, but clear biological patterns are masked due to small sample sizes and/or sample composition.

Conclusion: Even with careful application of statistical procedures, ontogenetic inferences are only as good as the data are comprehensive.

Background: Y-chromosome haplogroup C2a-M48-F8472, a unique paternal line in the ancient Xiongnu population, is concentrated in the modern Han people. The most closely related lineage of this paternal lineage is mainly distributed in Tungusic-, Mongolic-, and Turkic-speaking populations.

Aim: To investigate the formation process of this unique distribution state.

Subjects and methods: In total, 36 sequences of haplogroup C2a-M48-F8472 were analysed to generate a revised phylogenetic tree with age estimation and to explore the geographic distribution pattern.

Results: The results suggested that northern China is likely the diffusion centre of this paternal haplogroup. This lineage is concentrated in the Liu clan () of Han populations and may have originated in the Tuge tribe () of Xiongnu populations. The initial expansion (∼2,600 years ago) and the second phase of expansion (∼1,570 years ago) of haplogroup C2a-M48-F8472 coincide with the earlier appearance and later disappearance of the Tuge tribe. As a sub-clade of M48, the history of F8472 suggested that ancient peoples related to Tungusic-speaking populations were intricately connected with the demographic history of populations in the Mongolian Plateau.

Conclusion: The appearance of this paternal line in the Han population is helpful for understanding the mixed history of ancient and modern people in the Mongolian Plateau and Central China.