Possible causes and significance of cranial robusticity among Pleistocene–Early Holocene Australians

Curnoe, Darren

doi:10.1016/j.jas.2008.11.021

Cited by 19 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 98 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…Cranial vault thickness (CVT) has been measured and reported repeatedly by anthropologists studying modern human populations, especially when it is unusually thick or thin (Baab, Freidline, Wang, & Hanson, ; Bernal, Perez, & Gonzalez, ; Brown, ; Brown, ; Curnoe, ; Hrdlicka, ; Lahr & Wright, ). However, it is the extremely thick cranial vaults noted as a diagnostic characteristic of Homo erectus since the first fossil of the species was identified (Andrews, ; Antón, ; Antón, ; Bilsborough & Wood, ; Dubois, ; Weidenreich, ) that capture the interest of many researchers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotor activity, growth hormones, and systemic robusticity: An investigation of cranial vault thickness in mouse lines bred for high endurance running

Copes

Schutz

Dlugsoz

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Locomotor activity, growth hormones, and systemic robusticity: An investigation of cranial vault thickness in mouse lines bred for high endurance running

Copes

Schutz

Dlugsoz

et al. 2018

American J Phys Anthropol

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“…Cranial vault thickness (CVT) is computed as the distance between the endocranial and ectocranial surfaces. Several studies have pointed out that CVT differs not only among hominids (e.g., Kennedy, 1991;Nawrocki, 1991;Gauld, 1996;Balzeau, 2013) but also among modern human populations (Curnoe, 2009;Marsh, 2013). Bone thickness is assumed not to be strongly genetically determined, but is mainly influenced by systemic and local stimuli (e.g., Lieberman, 1996;Baab et al, 2010;Menegaz et al, 2010;Anzelmo et al, 2014).…”

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confidence: 99%

Parietal Bone Thickness and Vascular Diameters in Adult Modern Humans: A Survey on Cranial Remains

Eisová

Lázaro

Píšová

et al. 2016

The Anatomical Record

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4 Katedra antropologie a genetiky člov eka, Univerzita Karlova, Czech Republic 5 Antropologick e odd elen ı P r ırodov edeck eho muzea, Narodnı Muzeum, Prague, Czech Republic ABSTRACT Cranial bone thickness varies among modern humans, and many factors influencing this variability remain unclear. Growth hormones and physical activity are thought to influence the vault thickness. Considering that both systemic factors and energy supply influence the vascular system, and taking into account the structural and biomechanical interaction between endocranial vessels and vault bones, in this study we evaluate the correlation between vascular and bone diameters. In particular, we tested the relationship between the thickness of the parietal bone (which is characterized, in modern humans, by a complex vascular network) and the lumen size of the middle meningeal and diploic vessels, in adult modern humans. Our results show no patent correlation between the thickness of parietal bone and the size of the main vascular channels. Values and distributions of the branching patterns, as well as anatomical relationships between vessels and bones, are also described in order to provide information concerning the arrangement of the endocranial vascular morphology. This information is relevant in both evolutionary and medical contexts. Anat Rec,

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“…Putting aside epigenetic explanations involving pseudopathology [17, 146–150], this trait fails to satisfy all three assumptions of phylogenetic reconstruction. The size and shape of the growing brain in accordance with the functional matrix hypothesis [77, 88, 114, 115] and its epigenetic interactions with the developing cranial base largely determine the size and shape of the vault.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A 150-Year Conundrum: Cranial Robusticity and Its Bearing on the Origin of Aboriginal Australians

Curnoe

2011

International Journal of Evolutionary Biology

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The origin of Aboriginal Australians has been a central question of palaeoanthropology since its inception during the 19th Century. Moreover, the idea that Australians could trace their ancestry to a non-modern Pleistocene population such as Homo erectus in Southeast Asia have existed for more than 100 years, being explicitly linked to cranial robusticity. It is argued here that in order to resolve this issue a new program of research should be embraced, one aiming to test the full range of alternative explanations for robust morphology. Recent developments in the morphological sciences, especially relating to the ontogeny of the cranium indicate that character atomisation, an approach underpinning phylogenetic reconstruction, is fraught with difficulties. This leads to the conclusion that phylogenetic-based explanations for robusticity should be reconsidered and a more parsimonious approach to explaining Aboriginal Australian origins taken. One that takes proper account of the complex processes involved in the growth of the human cranium rather than just assuming natural selection to explain every subtle variation seen in past populations. In doing so, the null hypothesis that robusticity might result from phenotypic plasticity alone cannot be rejected, a position at odds with both reticulate and deep-time continuity models of Australian origins.

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Possible causes and significance of cranial robusticity among Pleistocene–Early Holocene Australians

Cited by 19 publications

References 98 publications

Locomotor activity, growth hormones, and systemic robusticity: An investigation of cranial vault thickness in mouse lines bred for high endurance running

Locomotor activity, growth hormones, and systemic robusticity: An investigation of cranial vault thickness in mouse lines bred for high endurance running

Parietal Bone Thickness and Vascular Diameters in Adult Modern Humans: A Survey on Cranial Remains

A 150-Year Conundrum: Cranial Robusticity and Its Bearing on the Origin of Aboriginal Australians

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