Integration, phylogeny, and the hominid cranial baseStrait, David S.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1041pmid: 11275958
Basicranial features were examined in catarrhine primates and early hominids in order to demonstrate how information about morphological integration can be incorporated into phylogenetic analysis. Hypotheses purporting to explain the functional and structural relationships of basicranial characters were tested using factor analysis. Characters found to be functionally or structurally related to each other were then further examined in order to determine whether there was evidence that they were phylogenetically independent. If phylogenetic independence could not be demonstrated, then the characters were presumed to be integrated and were grouped into a complex. That complex was then treated as if it were a single character for the purposes of cladistic analysis.
Paleopathological and biomolecular study of tuberculosis in a medieval skeletal collection from EnglandMays, S.; Taylor, G.M.; Legge, A.J.; Young, D.B.; Turner‐Walker, G.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1042pmid: 11275959
Nine human skeletons of medieval date from a rural English burial site show signs of skeletal tuberculosis. They were subject to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays aimed at detecting traces of DNA from infecting mycobacteria, with the purpose both of confirming the paleopathological diagnosis of tuberculosis and determining in individual cases whether disease was due to M. tuberculosis or M. bovis. In all nine cases, evidence for M. tuberculosis complex DNA was found, and in all instances it appeared that disease was due to M. tuberculosis rather than M. bovis. The significance of the findings for understanding tuberculous infection in rural agrarian communities in medieval England is discussed. Am J Phys Anthropol 114:298–311, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Egarapithecus narcisoi, a new genus of Pliopithecidae (primates, catarrhini) from the Late Miocene of SpainMoyà‐Solà, Salvador; Köhler, Meike; Alba, David M.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1043pmid: 11275960
Pliopithecid remains from the Spanish locality of Torrent de Febulines (Late Vallesian, MN 10), consisting of right and left mandibular fragments with partial tooth rows and an isolated P3 probably belonging to the same individual, are described and assigned to Egarapithecus narcisoi gen. et sp. nov. (Pliopithecidae, Crouzeliinae). This is a highly derived species dated at around 9 Ma (Ma = 106 years), representing the latest appearance of the family in the European continent. Morphologically it is the most distant member from the inferred primitive pliopithecid morphotype, displaying many autapomorphies that notably accentuate those of the remaining Crouzeliinae. A cladistic analysis based on lower cheek teeth, performed in order to tentatively assess the phylogenetic relationships of Egarapithecus within the Crouzeliinae, indicates that several equally parsimonious cladograms are possible in the light of current evidence. This is due to uncertainties regarding the position of Plesiopliopithecus and Crouzelia (here considered distinct genera), as a result of missing characters and the significant degree of homoplasy apparently involved in crouzeliine dental evolution. Whether Egarapithecus is more closely related to Crouzelia or to Anapithecus (the latter hypothesis tentatively favored here) cannot be definitively resolved with the currently available material and deserves further investigation. It is clear, however, that Egarapithecus is one of the more derived and specialized members of the Pliopithecidae. Am J Phys Anthropol 114:312–324, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Geographic variation in tool use on Neesia fruits in orangutansVan Schaik, Carel P.; Knott, Cheryl D.
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1045pmid: 11275962
Geographic variation in the presence of skilled behavior may reflect geographic variation in genetic predispositions or ecological conditions (accompanied by reliable expression during development), or it may reflect the vagaries of invention and the appropriate social conditions for persistence. In this study, we compare the feeding techniques and tool‐using skills used by orangutans to extract the nutritious seeds from Neesia fruits between Suaq Balimbing on Sumatra and Gunung Palung on Borneo, and map the distribution of Neesia tool use in Sumatran swamps. We show that neither genetics nor ecology is sufficient to explain the distribution of this tool use, confirming earlier findings on chimpanzees. We conclude that the ability to learn to use tools determines the geographic distribution. It is impossible to distinguish between the history of invention and the conditions for social transmission as the causal factors, but the high density and the social tolerance at Suaq Balimbing create propitious conditions for the maintenance of the skill as a tradition once it has been invented. High orangutan densities in the other Sumatran coastal swamps with Neesia tool use support the conclusion that suitable transmission conditions are the critical factor to explain the geographic distribution of skills such as feeding tool use. Am J Phys Anthropol 114:331–342, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Evidence of probable scurvy in subadults from archeological sites in North AmericaOrtner, Donald J.; Butler, Whitney; Cafarella, Jessica; Milligan, Lauren
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1046pmid: 11275963
The authors surveyed subadult human skeletons from Native American archeological sites in the United States for evidence of skeletal lesions associated with scurvy. Geographic regions surveyed include the Midatlantic area, the Southeast (Florida), the Southwest, and the Plains. The prevalence of probable subadult scurvy ranged from zero in the Plains samples to 38% in a small sample from Florida. These data indicate the likelihood that scurvy was a significant childhood disease in many Native American groups. Reasons for variation in prevalence remain speculative but include regional and seasonal variation in food types and abundance, cultural patterns of storage and utilization, periodic food shortages, and the relative importance of corn in the diet. These factors are part of a nutritional complex that is related to disease prevalence which can be studied through evidence seen in archeological human remains. Am J Phys Anthropol 114:343–351, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Brief communication: Neurotraumatological aspects of head injuries resulting from sharp and blunt force in the early medieval period of southwestern GermanyWeber, Jochen; Czarnetzki, Alfred
doi: 10.1002/ajpa.1047pmid: 11275964
Approximately 10% (33 of 304) of the predominantly male skulls from the 6th through 8th centuries in southwestern Germany exhibit cranial fractures derived from blunt or sharp force trauma. No evidence of fracture healing characterizes 24% (n = 8) of these individuals. All nonhealed fractures were caused by sharp force, and four of these wounds cross the sagittal sinus. The lengths of these straight‐edged wounds, produced exclusively by sword blows, measure around 8.0 cm for fatal, and about 5.0 cm for nonfatal wounds. Seventy‐six percent (n = 25) of these skulls exhibit some healing, which indicates that these injuries did not lead to immediate death. In this group are all depressed fractures resulting from blunt force blows. Two thirds of the 45 cranial injuries noted on these 33 skulls are located on the left side of these individuals, with a concentration in the frontoparietal region. Bony indications of wound infection occur in four cases (12%). Three crania exhibit circular trepanations in association with fractures. These phenomena are discussed in the context of modern neurotraumatological knowledge. Am J Phys Anthropol 114:352–356, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.