Publications

makers of the early aurignacian of europe.	despite intensive study and a number of remarkable discoveries in the last two decades of the 20th century, our understanding of the cultural and biological processes that resulted in the emergence of the upper paleolithic and the establishment of modern humans in interpleniglacial europe remains far from complete. there is active debate concerning the timing and location of the origins of the aurignacian, the nature of the origins of initial upper paleolithic industries (whether by autochthonou ...	2000	11123838
digital imaging of bone and tooth modification.	digital cameras are capable of producing images of cut marks and other three dimensional subjects comparable to those obtained from the scanning electron microscope (sem). until now, the sem has offered unparalleled depth of field and surface rendition. sem units are, however, expensive to acquire and maintain, and sem image production is time-intensive. furthermore, sem images lack color and are often incapable of imaging bone modifications because of magnification and chamber size limitations. ...	2000	11135185
neanderthal lifecycles: developmental and social phases in the lives of the last archaics.		2000	16475295
brief communication: paleoanthropology and the population genetics of ancient genes.	the mezmaiskaya cave mtdna is similar in many ways to the feldhofer cave neandertal sequence and the more recently obtained vindija cave sequence. if we accept the contention that the mezmaiskaya cave specimen is a neandertal infant, its mtdna provides no new information about the fate of the european neandertals. however, there is reason to believe that the mezmaiskaya cave infant is not a neandertal, and this places its importance in another light, because it delimits the possible hypotheses o ...	2001	11241191
re-creating ancient hominid virtual endocasts by ct-scanning.	probably the first radiographic study of human fossils, that by d. gorganovic-kramberger on neandertal remains from krapina, croatia, was published in 1906, only 11 years after röntgen announced the discovery of x-rays. many subsequent studies on fossil hominids used regular clinical diagnostic radiological apparatus, as depicted in atlas of radiographs of early man by m.f. skinner and g.h. sperber (1982). some specimens such as crania filled with heavily calcified matrix proved intractable. ord ...	2001	11241748
behavioral inferences from the skhul/qafzeh early modern human hand remains.	two groups of humans are found in the near east approximately 100,000 years ago, the late archaic neanderthals and the early modern skhul/qafzeh humans. observations that neanderthals were more heavily muscled, had stronger upper-limb bones, and possessed unusual shapes and orientations of some upper-limb joint complexes relative to the skhul/qafzeh hominids, have led some researchers to conclude that significant between-group upper-limb-related behavioral differences must have been present, des ...	2001	11248017
absence of regional affinities of neandertal dna with living humans does not reject multiregional evolution.	the recent extraction of mitochondrial dna sequences from three european neandertal fossils has led many to the conclusion that ancient dna analysis supports the african replacement model of modern human origins and rejects models of multiregional evolution that propose some neandertal ancestry in living humans. this conclusion is based, in part, on the lack of regional affinity of neandertal dna to that from living europeans. consideration of migration matrix models shows that this conclusion i ...	2001	11309754
neandertal energetics and foraging efficiency.	mechanical interpretations of neandertal skeletal robusticity suggest extremely high activity levels compared to modern humans. such activity patterns imply high energy requirements; yet it has been argued that neandertals were also inefficient foragers. the present study addresses this apparent conflict by estimating energy needs in neandertals and then evaluating those estimates in the context of energetic and foraging data compiled for contemporary human foragers and nonhuman primates. energy ...	2001	11371151
stable isotope evidence for increasing dietary breadth in the european mid-upper paleolithic.	new carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values for human remains dating to the mid-upper paleolithic in europe indicate significant amounts of aquatic (fish, mollusks, and/or birds) foods in some of their diets. most of this evidence points to exploitation of inland freshwater aquatic resources in particular. by contrast, european neandertal collagen carbon and nitrogen stable isotope values do not indicate significant use of inland aquatic foods but instead show that they obtained the majority o ...	2001	11371652
bone and ivory points in the lower and middle paleolithic of europe.	the existence of shaped bone and ivory points, to be used as awls or with wooden hafts, has been suggested for the lower paleolithic sites of torralba and ambrona and for several middle paleolithic sites, such as vaufrey, combe grenal, pech de l'azé i and camiac. the use of hafted bone and ivory points would imply a spear armature technology similar to that well documented in the upper paleolithic, often considered an innovation introduced to europe by anatomically modern humans. the controversi ...	2001	11437521
hominid skull fragments from late pleistocene layers in leine valley (sarstedt, district of hildesheim, germany).	three cranial fragments were recovered from coarse-grained deposits dug up by a suction dredge from gravel pits on the leine river flats in the vicinity of sarstedt (northwestern germany). also recovered were a number of artefacts which, upon careful inspection, could be assigned to the middle paleolithic. the geological pattern of the leine valley in this region suggests that these fragments were deposited in the lower terrace during a yet undetermined warm period-possibly brörup or odderade-du ...	2001	11437523
neanderthal cranial ontogeny and its implications for late hominid diversity.	homo neanderthalensis has a unique combination of craniofacial features that are distinct from fossil and extant 'anatomically modern' homo sapiens (modern humans). morphological evidence, direct isotopic dates and fossil mitochondrial dna from three neanderthals indicate that the neanderthals were a separate evolutionary lineage for at least 500,000 yr. however, it is unknown when and how neanderthal craniofacial autapomorphies (unique, derived characters) emerged during ontogeny. here we use c ...	2001	11484052
the accretion model of neandertal evolution.	the accretion model of neandertal evolution specifies that this group of late pleistocene hominids evolved in partial or complete genetic isolation from the rest of humanity through the gradual accumulation of distinctive morphological traits in european populations. as they became more common, these traits also became less variable, according to those workers who developed the model. its supporters propose that genetic drift caused this evolution, resulting from an initial small european popula ...	2001	11525469
human presence in the european arctic nearly 40,000 years ago.	the transition from the middle to the upper palaeolithic, approximately 40,000-35,000 radiocarbon years ago, marks a turning point in the history of human evolution in europe. many changes in the archaeological and fossil record at this time have been associated with the appearance of anatomically modern humans. before this transition, the neanderthals roamed the continent, but their remains have not been found in the northernmost part of eurasia. it is generally believed that this vast region w ...	2001	11544525
comparative morphology and paleobiology of middle pleistocene human remains from the bau de l'aubesier, vaucluse, france.	the discovery of later middle pleistocene human remains from the bau de l'aubesier, france reinforces an evolutionary model of the gradual accumulation of neandertal-derived facial and dental features during the middle pleistocene of the northwestern old world. the pronounced maxillary incisor beveling of aubesier 4 helps to extend the antiquity of nondietary use of the anterior dentition. the interproximal "toothpick" groove on the aubesier 10 molar increases the sample for these lesions. the p ...	2001	11553766
inadequate use of molecular hybridization to analyze dna in neanderthal fossils.		2001	11115383
[genetics and the origin of human races].	in the last decades, the concept of human races was considered scientifically unfounded as it was not confirmed by genetic evidence. none of the racial classifications, which strongly differ in the number of races and their composition, reflects actual genetic similarity and genealogy of human populations inferred from variability of classical markers and dna regions. moreover, intercontinental ("interracial") variability was shown to be far lower than that within populations: the former constit ...	2001	11642102
human remains from valdegoba cave (huérmeces, burgos, spain).	systematic excavations, begun in 1987, at the valdegoba cave site in northern spain have yielded the remains of five individuals associated with a middle paleolithic stone tool technology and pleistocene fauna. a fragmentary mandible of an adolescent (vb1), preserving nearly a full set of teeth, exhibits a symphyseal tubercle and slight incurvatio mandibulae anterior on the external symphysis. both the superior and inferior transverse tori are present on the internal aspect. a second individual ...	2001	11681860
a proper study for mankind: analogies from the papionin monkeys and their implications for human evolution.	this paper's theme is that analogies drawn from the cercopithecine tribe papionini, especially the african subtribe papionina (baboons, mangabeys, and mandrills), can be a valuable source of insights about the evolution of the human tribe, hominini, to complement homologies found in extant humans and/or african apes. analogies, involving a "likeness of relations" of the form "a is to b, as x is to y," can be usefully derived from nonhomologous (homoplastic) resemblances in morphology, behavior, ...	2001	11786995
[essence and significance of surgery. part i -- birth of surgery: determining factors and contexts].	the author intends to particularly analyse the origin of surgery as regards its deterministic factors and contexts, resounding the essence and the meaning of surgery itself. the primary core of the surgical practice dates back to prehistoric times, when, driven by his self-preservation instinct, the cave man, when suffering from some trauma, performed on himself a series of more or less immediate "actions" in order to remain healthy. at the same time, a second meaningful nucleus of the surgical ...	2001	11865690
modern human origins and prehistoric demography of europe in light of the present-day genetic diversity.	dynamic advance in dna sequencing methods and progress in formal population genetics analyses made it possible to infer aspects of human evolution from the dna diversity distribution and frequency in contemporary populations. while providing some general background concerning the origins of modern human, this paper focuses on the dynamics of prehistoric population in europe. the relevance of the present-day genetic diversity studies in elucidating prehistoric events is presented in the context o ...	2001	14564026
archaeology. those elusive neanderthals.		2001	11677590
paleoanthropology. what--or who--did in the neandertals?		2001	11557859
nonhuman primate hybridization and the taxonomic status of neanderthals.	the present study examines the taxonomic status of middle paleolithic neanderthals by comparing their observed minimum genetic divergence from upper paleolithic modern humans in europe with that observed between macaque species from sulawesi that are known to hybridize and fully intergrade in the wild. the genetic divergence, and differentiation between neanderthals and upper paleolithic modern humans, as indicated by pairwise minimum genetic distances and f(st) values calculated from the estima ...	2001	11385602
new isotopic evidence for dietary habits of neandertals from belgium.		2001	11371152
neanderthal dna. not just old but old and cold?		2001	11298436
hand morphology, manipulation, and tool use in neandertals and early modern humans of the near east.		2001	11248011
occurrence of neanderthal features in mandibles from the atapuerca-sh site.	analysis of variation and distribution of evolutionary novelties is meaningful in understanding evolutionary processes. the mandible, as a morphological complex, comprises a large number of derived neanderthal features. the present study investigates whether the features usually considered as european lineage apomorphies evolved independently; the occurrence of these features is studied in the mandibles from the sima de los huesos (sh) site (atapuerca, spain). for comparative purposes, a large s ...	2001	11150054
the late neandertal supraorbital fossils from vindija cave, croatia: a biased sample?	the late neandertal sample from vindija (croatia) has been described as transitional between the earlier central european neandertals from krapina (croatia) and modern humans. however, the morphological differences indicating this transition may rather be the result of different sex and/or age compositions between the samples. this study tests the hypothesis that the metric differences between the krapina and vindija supraorbital samples are due to sampling bias. we focus upon the supraorbital r ...	2002	12234551
a closer look at neanderthal postcanine dental morphology: the mandibular dentition.	neanderthals are known to exhibit unique incisor morphology as well as enlarged pulp chambers in postcanine teeth (taurodontism). recent studies suggest that their overall dental pattern (i.e., in morphologic trait frequencies) is also unique. however, what this means in a phylogenetic sense is not known. although exploring the polarity of dental morphologic characters is essential to understanding the phylogenetic implications of unique patterns of variation, few have undertaken this task. this ...	2002	12124901
evidence for interpersonal violence in the st. cesaire neanderthal.	the st. césaire 1 neanderthal skeleton of a young adult individual is unique in its association with châtelperronian artifacts from a level dated to ca. 36,000 years ago. computer-tomographic imaging and computer-assisted reconstruction of the skull revealed a healed fracture in the cranial vault. when paleopathological and forensic diagnostic standards are applied, the bony scar bears direct evidence for the impact of a sharp implement, which was presumably directed toward the individual during ...	2002	11972028
the mandibular angles of dry adult human mandibles from north eastern arid zone of nigeria.	to study and document the mandibular angle of nigerians from the north eastern arid zone, and investigate its role as an anthropological parameter for racial and or population groups differential diagnosis, its utilization in laryngoscopy and for successful inferior alveolar nerve anesthesia.	2002	12808782
new middle pleistocene human remains from northern italy.	the description of several teeth and a fragment of mandible found in the visogliano rock-shelter (northern italy) is presented in this paper. the teeth have been analysed from a morphological and metrical point of view and compared with other specimens of homo erectus, archaic homo sapiens and homo neanderthalensis. the md and bl diameters and the peculiar dental features are archaic and support the antiquity of the specimens. microwear analysis of visogliano teeth show various dietary strategie ...	2002	12018119
cross-sectional geometry and morphology of the mandibular symphysis in middle and late pleistocene homo.	studies of the evolutionary emergence of the human "chin" have been investigated from a phylogenetic perspective during the later pleistocene or from a biomechanical perspective across extant primates. since it was during the middle and late pleistocene that the distinctive human mentum osseum emerged, the relationship between mentum osseum form and resistance to mechanical stress at the mandibular symphysis was examined for forty-two middle and late pleistocene human mandibles. mentum osseum va ...	2002	12098211
common patterns of facial ontogeny in the hominid lineage.	recent evaluation of neanderthal and modern human ontogeny suggests that taxon-specific features arose very early in development in both lineages, with early, possibly prenatal, morphological divergence followed by parallel postnatal developmental patterns. here we use morphometric techniques to compare hominoid facial growth patterns, and show that this developmental phenomenon is, in fact, not unique to comparisons between neanderthals and modern humans but extends to australopithecus africanu ...	2002	12124900
late pleistocene human femoral diaphyseal curvature.	anterior femoral curvature is a consistent characteristic of pleistocene and recent humans, although variation exists in the degree of curvature among individuals and across populations. in particular, one group, the neandertals, has been characterized for a century as having marked femoral curvature. to evaluate the degree of anterior femoral curvature in both neandertals and other late pleistocene humans, their curvature subtenses and proximodistal positions were evaluated in the context of re ...	2002	12124915
a reanalysis of the ancient mitochondrial dna sequences recovered from neandertal bones.	recent reports analyzing mitochondrial dna sequences from neandertal bones have claimed that neandertals and modern humans are different species. the phylogenetic analyses carried out in these articles did not take into account the high substitution rate variation among sites observed in the human mitochondrial d-loop region and also lack an estimation of the parameters of the nucleotide substitution model. the separate phylogenetic position of neandertals is not supported when these factors are ...	2002	12140248
the angular distribution of vertebral trabeculae in modern humans, chimpanzees and the kebara 2 neanderthal.	bone is known to remodel to optimize its structure according to its mechanical environment. in particular trabecular arcades are thought to align with the orientations of components of principal strain. this paper presents the application of a novel method for quantifying trabecular orientation to test the hypothesis that hominoid posture and locomotion are reflected in trabecular architecture. lateral radiographs were taken of vertebrae from the entire thoracolumbar spines of eight modern human ...	2002	12160715
inactivation of cmp-n-acetylneuraminic acid hydroxylase occurred prior to brain expansion during human evolution.	humans are genetically deficient in the common mammalian sialic acid n-glycolylneuraminic acid (neu5gc) because of an alu-mediated inactivating mutation of the gene encoding the enzyme cmp-n-acetylneuraminic acid (cmp-neu5ac) hydroxylase (cmah). this mutation occurred after our last common ancestor with bonobos and chimpanzees, and before the origin of present-day humans. here, we take multiple approaches to estimate the timing of this mutation in relationship to human evolutionary history. firs ...	2002	12192086
a lost neanderthal neonate found.	fossil remains of adult neanderthals are well documented, but juvenile specimens are rare and information about them is scant. here we identify a beautifully preserved skeleton that has been lost to science for almost 90 years as the neanderthal neonate known as 'le moustier 2', which was originally found at le moustier in the dordogne, southwest france. this find will be a rich source of data for studying the evolution of human ontogeny as well as the phylogenetic relationship between these ext ...	2002	12214223
the mandibular canal of the "old man" of cro-magnon: anatomical-radiological study.	the radiological study of the 'old man' of cro-magnon mandible complements the one published about the mandibular canal of the "neanderthal man" of la chapelle-aux-saints with which it is compared.	2002	12231201
the neandertal type site revisited: interdisciplinary investigations of skeletal remains from the neander valley, germany.	the 1856 discovery of the neandertal type specimen (neandertal 1) in western germany marked the beginning of human paleontology and initiated the longest-standing debate in the discipline: the role of neandertals in human evolutionary history. we report excavations of cave sediments that were removed from the feldhofer caves in 1856. these deposits have yielded over 60 human skeletal fragments, along with a large series of paleolithic artifacts and faunal material. our analysis of this material ...	2002	12232049
the gravettian occipital bone from the site of malladetes (barx, valencia, spain).	the juvenile occipital bone from the site of malladetes in valencia (spain) is described and compared with other european pleistocene representatives of the genus homo. this specimen derives from a gravettian cultural context and has been ams radiocarbon-dated to 25,120 +/- 240 years bp. as such, it provides evidence on early modern human anatomy from the central mediterranean region of the iberian peninsula. the clear evidence for a late survival of neandertals in southern iberia, has led to co ...	2002	12234549
mandibular condyle traits in neanderthals and other homo: a comparative, correlative, and ontogenetic study.	the relationship between the mandibular condyle and the crest of the mandibular notch (cmn) has historically entered into discussions of neanderthal characteristics and was recently suggested to be autapomorphic in neanderthals. the neanderthal cmn has been described as intersecting the condyle in the middle, while the modern human cmn runs to the condyle's lateral end. a large lateral condylar tubercle (lct) has also been observed in neanderthals and thought to be related to medial (or less lat ...	2002	12237935
evolutionary genetics and infertility.	mapping the human genome and advances in human evolution indicate a critical role for genetics in the study of reproduction.	2002	12322895
does homo neanderthalensis play a role in modern human ancestry? the mandibular evidence.	data obtained from quantifying the upper part of the mandibular ramus (the coronoid process, the condylar process, and the notch between them) lead us to conclude that neanderthals (both european and middle eastern) differ more from homo sapiens (early specimens such as tabun ii, skhul, and qafzeh, as well as contemporary populations from as far apart as alaska and australia) than the latter differs from homo erectus. the specialized neanderthal mandibular ramus morphology emerges as yet another ...	2002	12365031
body size and postcranial robusticity of european upper paleolithic hominins.	the robust diaphyses of pleistocene hominins are said to indicate higher activity levels in these prehistoric humans than among people today. thus, it could be argued that the prediction of body mass from fossil lower limb diaphyseal cortical area (ca) using recent human regressions might lead to erroneously high body mass estimates. this study uses three body mass prediction formulae based on the following features: reconstructed femoral 80% (subtrochanteric) ca, femoral head diameter (fh), and ...	2002	12393006
middle pleistocene human remains from the bau de l'aubesier.	excavations in later middle pleistocene levels at the bau de l'aubesier, vaucluse, france yielded a maxillary molar (m(1) or m(2); aubesier 10) and a partial mandible from the left c(1) alveolus to the right condylar base lacking the coronoid process (aubesier 11). dentally they are similar to other later middle pleistocene europeans in dental dimensions and variable taurodontism (aubesier 10 but not aubesier 11). the small aubesier 11 mandible exhibits a retreating symphyseal profile with a min ...	2002	12457854
morphological affinities of the sal'a 1 frontal bone.	the human frontal bone from sal'a, slovak republic, has previously entered into discussions of the morphological patterns of central european neandertals and the origins of early modern humans in that region. a morphological reassessment of its supraorbital region and a morphometric analysis of its overall proportions indicate that it falls well within expected ranges of variation of late pleistocene neandertals and is separate from european earlier upper paleolithic early modern human crania. i ...	2002	12473484
a brief review of the archaeological evidence for palaeolithic and neolithic subsistence.	knowledge of our ancestor's diets is becoming increasingly important in evolutionary medicine, as researchers have argued that we have evolved to specific type of 'palaeolithic' diet, and many modern nutritional disorders relate to the mismatch between the diet to which we have evolved, and the relatively newer agricultural-based 'neolithic' diets. however, what is the archaeological evidence for pre-agricultural diets and how have they changed over the four million years of hominid evolution? t ...	2002	12494313
[the skull of combe capelle].	since the end of world war ii two of the most important anthropological artefacts of the museum für vor- und frühgeschichte in berlin, the skulls and skeletons of le moustier and combe capelle, were believed to be missing or destroyed, respectively. the postcrania were severely damaged during a fire after the museum was bombed in february 1945, while the skulls were brought to the soviet union in 1945. in 1965, the skull of the neanderthal man from le moustier and the chain of the grave of combe ...	2002	12529957
the evolution and development of cranial form in homosapiens.	despite much data, there is no unanimity over how to define homo sapiens in the fossil record. here, we examine cranial variation among pleistocene and recent human fossils by using a model of cranial growth to identify unique derived features (autapomorphies) that reliably distinguish fossils attributed to "anatomically modern" h. sapiens (amhs) from those attributed to various taxa of "archaic" homo spp. (ah) and to test hypotheses about the changes in cranial development that underlie the ori ...	2002	11805284
molecular paleontology.	molecular paleontology, i.e., the recovery of dna from ancient human, animal, and plant remains is an innovative research field that has received progressively more attention from the scientific community since the 1980s. in the last decade, the field was punctuated by claims which aroused great interest but eventually turned out to be fakes--the most famous being the sequence of dinosaur dna later shown to be of human origin. at present, the discipline is characterized by some certainties and m ...	2002	11846037
additional human remains from blombos cave, south africa: (1999-2000 excavations).	the uppermost middle stone age (msa) layers at blombos cave contain high densities of still bay bifacial points. information from other regional sites places the still bay prior to the howiesons poort industry, which has been dated at 65-70 ka. the blombos cave msa strata have yielded nine human teeth or dental fragments. four that were recovered during the 1997-1998 excavations have been published elsewhere. the remaining five were discovered during the 1999-2000 field seasons; these are descri ...	2002	11846532
the costal skeleton of shanidar 3 and a reappraisal of neandertal thoracic morphology.	for over a century, neandertal rib remains have engendered frequent discussions of "barrel-shaped" thoraces, largely in the absence of systematic comparison and hard data. we present here a description of the relatively complete ribcage of the near eastern shanidar 3 neandertal. we also furnish metric and non-metric comparisons of the shanidar 3 ribs with other near eastern and european neandertals, the nariokotome (homo erectus/ergaster) specimen, levantine archaic/early modern humans, early an ...	2002	11846533
[on the maid finland, the neandertal human and shortly on the diet of otz. time traveling with the help of a molecule].		2002	12572274
the neanderthal taxonomic position: models of intra- and inter-specific craniofacial variation.	the neanderthal taxonomic position is a matter of wide disagreement among paleoanthropologists. some workers consider this fossil human group to represent a different species, homo neanderthalensis, while others see it as a subspecies of homo sapiens. this study developed two models of morphological variation to be applied to a comparison between neanderthals and modern humans: modern human populations provided a measure of intra-specific variation, while the species and subspecies of pan provid ...	2003	12604307
quantitative analysis of neanderthal temporal bone morphology using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics.	the temporal bone is the location of several traits thought to differentiate neanderthals from modern humans, including some proposed neanderthal-derived traits. most of these, however, are difficult to measure and are usually described qualitatively. this study applied the techniques of geometric morphometrics to the complex morphology of the temporal bone, in order to quantify the differences observed between neanderthal and modern human anatomy. two hundred and seventy modern human crania wer ...	2003	12627528
the bony labyrinth of neanderthals.	this paper presents a comprehensive comparative analysis of the neanderthal bony labyrinth, a structure located inside the petrous temporal bone. fifteen neanderthal specimens are compared with a holocene human sample, as well as with a small number of european middle pleistocene hominins, and early anatomically modern and european upper palaeolithic humans. compared with holocene humans the bony labyrinth of neanderthals can be characterized by an anterior semicircular canal arc which is smalle ...	2003	12662940
non-occlusal dental microwear variability in a sample of middle and late pleistocene human populations from europe and the near east.	non-occlusal, buccal tooth microwear variability has been studied in 68 fossil humans from europe and the near east. the microwear patterns observed suggest that a major shift in human dietary habits and food processing techniques might have taken place in the transition from the middle to the late pleistocene populations. differences in microwear density, average length, and orientation of striations indicate that middle pleistocene humans had more abrasive dietary habits than late pleistocene ...	2003	12727465
thyroid rhythm phenotypes and hominid evolution: a new paradigm implicates pulsatile hormone secretion in speciation and adaptation changes.	thyroid hormones (ths, t(3)/t(4)) are essential central regulators that link many biological tasks, including embryonic and post-natal growth, reproductive function, and the behavioral and physiological responses to stress. recently i proposed a novel theory to explain the role of ths in vertebrate evolution. here i review the concept and discuss its ability to explain changes over time in hominid morphology, behavior and life history. ths are produced in a distinctly pulsatile manner and appear ...	2003	12727549
number of ancestral human species: a molecular perspective.	despite the remarkable developments in molecular biology over the past three decades, anthropological genetics has had only limited impact on systematics in human evolution. genetics offers the opportunity to objectively test taxonomies based on morphology and may be used to supplement conventional approaches to hominid systematics. our analyses, examining chromosomes and 46 estimates of genetic distance, indicate there may have been only around 4 species on the direct line to modern humans and ...	2003	12733395
evidence for a genetic discontinuity between neandertals and 24,000-year-old anatomically modern europeans.	during the late pleistocene, early anatomically modern humans coexisted in europe with the anatomically archaic neandertals for some thousand years. under the recent variants of the multiregional model of human evolution, modern and archaic forms were different but related populations within a single evolving species, and both have contributed to the gene pool of current humans. conversely, the out-of-africa model considers the transition between neandertals and anatomically modern humans as the ...	2003	12743370
the shape of the neandertal femur is primarily the consequence of a hyperpolar body form.	neandertal femora are distinct from contemporaneous near-modern human femora. traditionally, these contrasts in femoral shape have been explained as the result of the elevated activity levels and limited cultural abilities of neandertals. more recently, however, researchers have realized that many of these femoral differences may be explained by the cold-adapted bodies of neandertals vs. the warm-adapted bodies of near-modern humans. this study explicitly tests this proposed link between climate ...	2003	12761384
the phylogenetic relationship of neandertal and modern human mitochondrial dnas based on informative nucleotide sites.		2003	12765622
internal nasal floor configuration in homo with special reference to the evolution of neandertal facial form.	the presence of a steeply sloping or depressed nasal floor within the nasal cavity of neandertals is frequently mentioned as a likely specialization or autapomorphy. the depressed nasal floor has also been seen as contributing to a relatively more capacious nasal cavity in neandertals, which is tied to cold-climate respiratory adaptation and energetics. these observations have been limited largely to a relatively few intact crania, and the character states associated with this trait have not bee ...	2003	12799160
pleistocene homo sapiens from middle awash, ethiopia.	the origin of anatomically modern homo sapiens and the fate of neanderthals have been fundamental questions in human evolutionary studies for over a century. a key barrier to the resolution of these questions has been the lack of substantial and accurately dated african hominid fossils from between 100,000 and 300,000 years ago. here we describe fossilized hominid crania from herto, middle awash, ethiopia, that fill this gap and provide crucial evidence on the location, timing and contextual cir ...	2003	12802332
recombination or mutation rate heterogeneity? implications for mitochondrial eve.	the study of mitochondrial dna (mtdna) has helped to demonstrate the african origin of our species and the relationship between living humans and the neanderthals. mtdna data have also been used to establish the time and route of major events in human history, such as the expansion of neolithic farmers into europe, and the settlement of the pacific and the new world. however, it is becoming apparent that mtdna evolution is more complex than previously believed. anomalous mutation patterns pertur ...	2003	12547517
neandertal faces were not long; modern human faces are short.	neandertal faces have been described as being derived with respect to their overall length or degree of anterior projection. a comparison of cranial and mandibular indicators of lower facial projection across archaic and modern homo indicates that neandertal facial lengths on average are similar to those of preceding archaic homo and principally contrast with those of recent humans. neandertal facial length is not derived. the shortness of recent human facial skeletons is the evolutionarily deri ...	2003	12815095
increased cranial capacity in hominid evolution and preeclampsia.	one of the major trends in primate evolution generally and hominid evolution in particular, is cranio-facial contraction accompanied by an increase in cranial capacity. landmark-based morphometric methods are applied to adult skulls of great apes (gorilla, pan), australopithecines (australopithecus and paranthropus), and humans (homo eragster, erectus, neanderthalensis, and sapiens). morphological changes quantified by vector fields (procrustes methods) indicate that these skull plans are charac ...	2003	12896818
quantifying trabecular orientation in the pelvic cancellous bone of modern humans, chimpanzees, and the kebara 2 neanderthal.	the adaptive nature of bone lies in its ability to respond to the environment by conforming and reshaping itself constantly to accommodate life-time stresses experienced throughout daily activities. in order to keep strains within the bone as uniform and isotropic as possible, the trabecular orientation is determined by forces acting on the bone through adaptive remodeling. hence, the preserved structure of bones may contain direct information about the forces they may have undergone. some autho ...	2003	12953177
the thermal history of human fossils and the likelihood of successful dna amplification.	recent success in the amplification of ancient dna (adna) from fossil humans has led to calls for further tests to be carried out on similar material. however, there has been little systematic research on the survival of dna in the fossil record, even though the environment of the fossil is known to be of paramount importance for the survival of biomolecules over archaeological and geological timescales. a better understanding of adna survival would enable research to focus on material with grea ...	2003	14580590
from mouth to hand: gesture, speech, and the evolution of right-handedness.	the strong predominance of right-handedness appears to be a uniquely human characteristic, whereas the left-cerebral dominance for vocalization occurs in many species, including frogs, birds, and mammals. right-handedness may have arisen because of an association between manual gestures and vocalization in the evolution of language. i argue that language evolved from manual gestures, gradually incorporating vocal elements. the transition may be traced through changes in the function of broca's a ...	2003	14621511
an early modern human from the peştera cu oase, romania.	the 2002 discovery of a robust modern human mandible in the peştera cu oase, southwestern romania, provides evidence of early modern humans in the lower danubian corridor. directly accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon (14c)-dated to 34,000-36,000 14c years b.p., the oase 1 mandible is the oldest definite early modern human specimen in europe and provides perspectives on the emergence and evolution of early modern humans in the northwestern old world. the moderately long oase 1 mandible exhi ...	2003	14504393
rapid morphological change in living humans: implications for modern human origins.	human body size and body proportions are interpreted as markers of ethnicity, 'race,' adaptation to temperature, nutritional history and socioeconomic status. some studies emphasize only one of these indicators and other studies consider combinations of indicators. to better understand the biocultural nature of human size and proportions a new study of the growth of maya-american youngsters was undertaken in 1999 and 2000. one purpose of this research is to assess changes in body proportion betw ...	2003	14527631
encephalization and allometric trajectories in the genus homo: evidence from the neandertal and modern lineages.	the term "encephalization" is commonly used to describe an enlargement in brain size, considered as either absolute endocranial volumes or relative values in relation to body size. it is widely recognized that a considerable endocranial expansion occurred throughout the evolution of the genus homo. this article aims to evaluate whether this phenomenon was the outcome of distinct evolutionary lineages, reaching similar brain expansions but through different trajectories. endocranial morphology wa ...	2003	14673084
first neanderthal remains from greece: the evidence from lakonis.		2003	14643674
reassessment of tl age estimates of burnt flints from the paleolithic site of tabun cave, israel.	the stratigraphy of tabun cave (mt. carmel), which comprises one of the longest sequences of lower and middle paleolithic of the near east, is widely used as a reference in debates on the evolution of paleolithic industries and on the origin of modern humans and their relationship to the neandertals. considering the methodological improvements during the last ten years, the thermoluminescence (tl) dates of heated flints frequently quoted in the literature require an update. new tl results are di ...	2003	14624750
aubesier 11 is not evidence of neanderthal conspecific care.		2003	12890447
physical anthropology and paleoanthropology meeting. a miss for moderns and neandertals.		2003	12738830
digital analysis: manual dexterity in neanderthals.		2003	12660770
radiocarbon dating the appearance of modern humans and timing of cultural innovations in europe: new results and new challenges.	new radiocarbon dates from the sites of bockstein-törle, geissenklösterle, hohle fels, hohlenstein-stadel, sirgenstein, and vogelherd in the swabian jura of southwestern germany indicate that the aurignacian of the region spans the period from ca. 40-30ka bp. if the situation at vogelherd, in which skeletal remains from modern humans underlie an entire aurignacian sequence, is viewed as representative for the region, the dates from the swabian jura support the hypothesis that populations of mode ...	2003	12657520
paleoanthropology. whither the neanderthals?		2003	12624250
geometric morphometrics and paleoneurology: brain shape evolution in the genus homo.	paleoneurology concerns the study and analysis of fossil endocasts. together with cranial capacity and discrete anatomical features, shape can be analysed to consider the spatial relationships between structures and to investigate the endocranial structural system. a sample of endocasts from fossil specimens of the genus homo has been analysed using traditional metrics and 2d geometric morphometrics based on lateral projections of endocranial shape. the maximum and frontal widths show a size-rel ...	2004	15530349
paleoanthropology. dressed for success: neandertal culture wins respect.		2004	15459361
lack of phylogeography in european mammals before the last glaciation.	in many extant animal and plant species in europe and north america a correlation exists between the geographical location of individuals and the genetic relatedness of the mitochondrial (mt) dna sequences that they carry. here, we analyze mtdna sequences from cave bears, brown bears, cave hyenas, and neandertals in europe before the last glacial maximum and fail to detect any phylogeographic patterns similar to those observed in extant species. we suggest that at the beginning of the last glaci ...	2004	15317936
kinematics of cranial ontogeny: heterotopy, heterochrony, and geometric morphometric analysis of growth models.	in this paper, we examine the relationship between the classical concepts of heterotopy, heterochrony and ontogenetic allometry as descriptive and as explanatory categories in the investigation of evolutionary developmental novelty in the hominid skull. we use concepts of kinematic analysis of locomotion to propose a methodological framework for the kinematic analysis of cranial form change during ontogeny. we argue that a combination of geometric-morphometric methods with graphics visualization ...	2004	15211689
hominins do not share a common postnatal facial ontogenetic shape trajectory.	this paper examines the hypothesis raised by recent studies that postnatal trajectories of shape change in the facial skeleton are parallel between, at least, chimpanzees, modern humans and also fossil hominins, specifically australopithecines and possibly neanderthals. in contrast, other studies point to divergences in postnatal shape trajectories within diverse groups of primates. as such there is some debate regarding the relative contributions of pre and postnatal ontogeny to adult morpholog ...	2004	15211688
ancient dna: would the real neandertal please stand up?	mitochondrial dna sequences recovered from eight neandertal specimens cannot be detected in either early fossil europeans or in modern populations. this indicates that, if neandertals made any genetic contribution at all to modern humans, it must have been limited, though the extent of the contribution cannot be resolved at present.	2004	15182692
palaeoanthropology: neanderthal teeth lined up.		2004	15118713
eyasi 1 and the suprainiac fossa.	a reexamination of eyasi 1, a later middle pleistocene east african neurocranium, reveals the presence of a suite of midoccipital features, including a modest nuchal torus that is limited to the middle half of the bone, the absence of an external occipital protuberance, and a distinct transversely oval suprainiac fossa. these features, and especially the suprainiac fossa, were considered to be uniquely derived for the european and western asian neandertals. these observations therefore indicate ...	2004	15085545
the expert neandertal mind.	cognitive neuropsychology, cognitive anthropology, and cognitive archaeology are combined to yield a picture of neandertal cognition in which expert performance via long-term working memory is the centerpiece of problem solving. this component of neandertal cognition appears to have been modern in scope. however, neandertals' working memory capacity, which is the ability to hold a variety of information in active attention, may not have been as large as that of modern humans. this characteristic ...	2004	15066380
new discoveries and interpretations of hominid fossils and artifacts from vindija cave, croatia.	beginning with excavations during the 1970s, vindija cave (croatia) has yielded significant middle and upper paleolithic fossil and archaeological finds. we report on seven recently identified hominid fossils, a newly associated partial hominid cranial vault from level g(3), nine possible bone retouchers, and a revised interpretation of the mousterian artifact assemblage from the site. this new information reinforces our knowledge of the complex biocultural phenomena revealed in unit g and earli ...	2004	14698684
neanderthal taxonomy reconsidered: implications of 3d primate models of intra- and interspecific differences.	the taxonomic status of neanderthals lies at the center of the modern human origins debate. proponents of the single-origin model often view this group as a distinct species with little or no contribution to the evolution of modern humans. adherents to the regional continuity model consider neanderthals a subspecies or population of homo sapiens, which contributed significantly to the evolution of early modern europeans. paleontologists generally agree that fossil species should be equivalent to ...	2004	14745010
ontogenetic migration of the mental foramen in neandertals and modern humans.	since the nineteenth century, researchers have noted that neandertal and modern human adults differ in mental foramen position, although the ontogenetic changes in the position of this feature have only recently come under the scrutiny of paleoanthropologists. research on mental foramen position has focused on whether this feature is inferior to a particular tooth. however, tooth position may not be a reliable indicator of mental foramen position because of variability in tooth size within and b ...	2004	15454333
influences of limb proportions and body size on locomotor kinematics in terrestrial primates and fossil hominins.	during locomotion, mammalian limb postures are influenced by many factors including the animal's limb length and body mass. polk (2002) compared the gait of similar-sized cercopithecine monkeys that differed limb proportions and found that longer-limbed monkeys usually adopt more extended joint postures than shorter-limbed monkeys in order to moderate their joint moments. studies of primates as well as non-primate mammals that vary in body mass have demonstrated that larger animals use more exte ...	2004	15454335
adolescent archaics or adult moderns? le moustier 1 as a model for estimating the age at death of fragmentary supraorbital fossils in the modern human origins debate.	this study documents and examines selected implications of the adolescent supraorbital anatomy of the le moustier 1 neandertal. le moustier's supraorbital morphology conforms to that expected of an adolescent neandertal but indicates that significant development of the adult neandertal torus occurs late in ontogeny. as the best preserved adolescent from the late pleistocene, le moustier 1's anatomy is used to help distinguish adolescent from adult anatomy in two cases of fragmentary supraorbital ...	2004	15553265
modern humans did not admix with neanderthals during their range expansion into europe.	the process by which the neanderthals were replaced by modern humans between 42,000 and 30,000 before present is still intriguing. although no neanderthal mitochondrial dna (mtdna) lineage is found to date among several thousands of europeans and in seven early modern europeans, interbreeding rates as high as 25% could not be excluded between the two subspecies. in this study, we introduce a realistic model of the range expansion of early modern humans into europe, and of their competition and p ...	2004	15562317
neanderthals and the modern human colonization of europe.	the fate of the neanderthal populations of europe and western asia has gripped the popular and scientific imaginations for the past century. following at least 200,000 years of successful adaptation to the glacial climates of northwestern eurasia, they disappeared abruptly between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago, to be replaced by populations all but identical to modern humans. recent research suggests that the roots of this dramatic population replacement can be traced far back to events on another ...	2004	15565144
neandertals...150 years later.	the place of neandertals in modern human emergence has been a subject of debate since the first recognized neandertal skeleton was discovered in 1856. this paper presents an overview of morphological, archaeological, and genetic evidence commonly used in discussions of neandertals and their evolutionary significance. a brief historical sketch of the argument provides insight into the changing views on these interesting people. the major models proposed to explain modern human origins are also di ...	2004	15571111