Publications

surprisingly rapid growth in neanderthals.	life-history traits correlate closely with dental growth, so differences in dental growth within homo can enable us to determine how somatic development has evolved and to identify developmental shifts that warrant species-level distinctions. dental growth can be determined from the speed of enamel formation (or extension rate). we analysed the enamel extension rate in homo antecessor (8 teeth analysed), homo heidelbergensis (106), homo neanderthalensis ('neanderthals'; 146) and upper palaeolith ...	2004	15118725
geometric morphometric analysis of allometric variation in the mandibular morphology of the hominids of atapuerca, sima de los huesos site.	allometry is an important factor of morphological integration that contributes to the organization of the phenotype and its variation. variation in the allometric shape of the mandible is particularly important in hominid evolution because the mandible carries important taxonomic traits. some of these traits are known to covary with size, particularly the retromolar space, symphyseal curvature, and position of the mental foramen. the mandible is a well studied system in the context of the evolut ...	2004	15164343
[arthur keith and the first settlement of human being in malta. two subversive teeth].	the paper aims to give historical example of errors to which the examination of two fragmentary - and probably pathological - fossil remains can lead in the field of human palaeontology. in 1917, two very special human molars with a wide extension of their pulp cavity and fused fang were found in neolothic excavations in malta. as he had observed such a dental morphology of neanderthal man in jersey arthur keith (1866-1955) called that taurodontism and claimed it was a characteristic between mal ...	2004	15211991
unexpectedly recent dates for human remains from vogelherd.	the human skeletal remains from the vogelherd cave in the swabian jura of southwestern germany are at present seen as the best evidence that modern humans produced the artefacts of the early aurignacian. radiocarbon measurements from all the key fossils from vogelherd show that these human remains actually date to the late neolithic, between 3,900 and 5,000 radiocarbon years before present (bp). although many questions remain unresolved, these results weaken the arguments for the danube corridor ...	2004	15241412
[similarity of mutation spectra of the mitochondrial dna hypervariable segment 1 in homo and pan species].	the mutation spectrum of mtdna hypervariable segment 1 (hvs1) was compared for east chimpanzee pan troglodytes schweigfurthi and human. the two hvs1 had much the same nucleotide composition, and their mutation spectra were similar in major characteristics (substantial prevalence of transitions over transversions, pyrimidine transitions over purine ones, and c --> t over t --> c). dna strand displacement (dislocation) during replication was identified as a major mechanism of context-dependent mut ...	2004	15285613
prevalence and the duration of linear enamel hypoplasia: a comparative study of neandertals and inuit foragers.	as a dental indicator of generalized physiological stress, enamel hypoplasia has been the subject of several neandertal studies. while previous studies generally have found high frequencies of enamel hypoplasia in neandertals, the significance of this finding varies with frequencies of enamel hypoplasia in comparative samples. the present investigation was undertaken to ascertain if the enamel hypoplasia evidence in neandertals suggests a high level of physiological stress relative to a modern h ...	2004	15288524
the effect of lower limb length on the energetic cost of locomotion: implications for fossil hominins.	the consequences of the relatively short lower limbs characteristic of al 288-1 have been widely discussed, as have the causes and consequences of the short limbs of neanderthals. previous studies of the effect of limb length on the energetic cost of locomotion have reported no relationship; however, limb length could have accounted for as much as 19% of the variation in cost and gone undetected (steudel and beattie, 1995; steudel, 1994, 1996). kramer (1999) and kramer and eck (2000) have recent ...	2004	15288526
a morphometric analysis of maxillary molar crowns of middle-late pleistocene hominins.	this study explores the significance of shape differences in the maxillary first molar crowns of neandertals and anatomically modern humans. it uses morphometric analysis to quantify these differences and to investigate how the orientation of major cusps, relative cusp base areas and occlusal polygon area influence crown shape. the aims of this study were to 1) quantify these data to test whether the tooth shapes of neandertals and anatomically modern humans differ significantly and 2) to explor ...	2004	15337415
the ysterfontein 1 middle stone age site, south africa, and early human exploitation of coastal resources.	human fossils and the genetics of extant human populations indicate that living people derive primarily from an african population that lived within the last 200,000 years. yet it was only approximately 50,000 years ago that the descendants of this population spread to eurasia, where they swamped or replaced the neanderthals and other nonmodern eurasians. based on archaeological observations, the most plausible hypothesis for the delay is that africans and eurasians were behaviorally similar unt ...	2004	15007171
spiking of contemporary human template dna with ancient dna extracts induces mutations under pcr and generates nonauthentic mitochondrial sequences.	proof of authenticity is the greatest challenge in palaeogenetic research, and many safeguards have become standard routine in laboratories specialized on ancient dna research. here we describe an as-yet unknown source of artifacts that will require special attention in the future. we show that ancient dna extracts on their own can have an inhibitory and mutagenic effect under pcr. we have spiked pcr reactions including known human test dna with 14 selected ancient dna extracts from human and no ...	2004	15014140
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
midsagittal cranial shape variation in the genus homo by geometric morphometrics.	midsagittal profiles of crania referred to different taxa of the genus homo have been analyzed by geometric morphometric techniques. comparisons between single specimens using the thin-plate-spline function suggest a generalized reduction of the lower face, associated with antero-posterior development of the braincase occurring (possibly in parallel evolution) along distinct human lineages. furthermore, neandertals display a projection of the midface, and modern humans show a derived globularity ...	2004	15636068
shape analysis of the mid-sagittal craniogram in some european middle and upper-paleolithic adult and subadult crania.	in order to evaluate the lateral shape contour of the neanderthal cranium, the mid-sagittal profiles (glabella-opisthocranion) in adult and subadult neanderthal remains were examined and compared with those of other specimens of fossil homo. size normalized boundaries were digitally acquired as ordered series of coordinates; the series of the distances from the glabella opisthocranion axis, was decomposed in fourier polynomials; the extracted amplitudes and phase angles were used as variables to ...	2004	15636070
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
short human occupations in the middle palaeolithic level i of the abric romani rock-shelter (capellades, barcelona, spain).	this paper presents a multidisciplinary study on the size of the occupied surfaces, provisioning strategies and behaviour planning at the romani rock-shelter, using the middle palaeolithic record of the level i. this level is dated around 46.000 bp through u/th ages. a behavioural interpretation is proposed, which emphasises the activities and the systemic value of the archaeological artefacts and structures. occupation patterns are identified on the basis of the accumulations formed by human ac ...	2005	15701529
reciprocal evolution of the cerebellum and neocortex in fossil humans.	human brain evolution involved both neurological reorganization and an increase in overall brain volume relative to body mass. it is generally difficult to draw functional inferences about the timing and nature of brain reorganization, given that superficial brain morphology recorded on fossil endocasts is functionally ambiguous. however, the cerebellum, housed in the clearly delineated posterior cranial fossa, is functionally and ontologically discrete. the cerebellum is reciprocally connected ...	2005	15731345
osteocalcin protein sequences of neanderthals and modern primates.	we report here protein sequences of fossil hominids, from two neanderthals dating to approximately 75,000 years old from shanidar cave in iraq. these sequences, the oldest reported fossil primate protein sequences, are of bone osteocalcin, which was extracted and sequenced by using maldi-tof/tof mass spectrometry. through a combination of direct sequencing and peptide mass mapping, we determined that neanderthals have an osteocalcin amino acid sequence that is identical to that of modern humans. ...	2005	15753298
neanderthal reconstructed.	a century and a half of controversy concerning the differences between neanderthals (or neandertals) and modern humans has left us with many questions and no sign of abatement. one of these remaining questions concerns the articulated structure of the neanderthal skeleton and how it compares to that of a modern human. although this question has been tackled many times by more artistic avenues, never has a complete, fully articulated neanderthal skeleton been constructed systematically using cast ...	2005	15761833
neutralizing properties of musa paradisiaca l. (musaceae) juice on phospholipase a2, myotoxic, hemorrhagic and lethal activities of crotalidae venoms.	the use of plants as medicine has been referred to since ancient peoples, perhaps as early as neanderthal man. plants are a source of many biologically active products and nowadays they are of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry. the study of how people of different culture use plants in particular ways has led to the discovery of important new medicines. in this work, we verify the possible activity of musa paradisiaca l. (musaceae) against the toxicity of snake venoms. musa paradisia ...	2005	15763360
time dependency of molecular rate estimates and systematic overestimation of recent divergence times.	studies of molecular evolutionary rates have yielded a wide range of rate estimates for various genes and taxa. recent studies based on population-level and pedigree data have produced remarkably high estimates of mutation rate, which strongly contrast with substitution rates inferred in phylogenetic (species-level) studies. using bayesian analysis with a relaxed-clock model, we estimated rates for three groups of mitochondrial data: avian protein-coding genes, primate protein-coding genes, and ...	2005	15814826
unique ramus anatomy for neandertals?	the ramus of neandertal mandibles is said to show a suite of uniquely neandertal character states that demonstrate the independent course of neandertal evolution. this is the latest of numerous attempts to define cranial and mandibular autapomorphies for neandertals. we examine variation in the four presumably autapomorphic ramal features and show they are neither monomorhic within neandertals (to the contrary neandertals are at least as variable as other human samples) nor unique to neandertals ...	2005	15816039
ct-based description and phyletic evaluation of the archaic human calvarium from ceprano, italy.	the discovery in 1994, of a fossilized human calvarium near ceprano, italy, dated about 800-900 thousand years before present, opened a new page for the study of human evolution in europe. it extended the continental fossil record over the boundary between early and middle pleistocene for the first time and revealed the cranial morphology of humans that where probably ancestral to both neanderthals and modern homo sapiens. a tomographic analysis of the italian specimen is reported here in order ...	2005	15957189
isotopic evidence for diet and subsistence pattern of the saint-césaire i neanderthal: review and use of a multi-source mixing model.	the carbon and nitrogen isotopic abundances of the collagen extracted from the saint-césaire i neanderthal have been used to infer the dietary behaviour of this specimen. a review of previously published neanderthal collagen isotopic signatures with the addition of 3 new collagen isotopic signatures from specimens from les pradelles allows us to compare the dietary habits of 5 neanderthal specimens from ois 3 and one specimen from ois 5c. this comparison points to a trophic position as top preda ...	2005	15869783
a late neandertal femur from les rochers-de-villeneuve, france.	in 2002, a neandertal partial femoral diaphysis was discovered at les rochers-de-villeneuve (vienne, france). radiocarbon dated to approximately 40,700 14c years before present, this specimen is one of the most recent middle paleolithic neandertals. the diaphysis derives from an archeological level indicating alternating human and carnivore (mostly hyena) occupation of the cave, reinforcing the close proximity and probable competition of middle paleolithic humans with large carnivores for resour ...	2005	15878988
a neandertal mandible from the cova del gegant (sitges, barcelona, spain).	a human mandible from the site of cova del gegant is described here for the first time and compared with other middle and upper pleistocene representatives of the genus homo from europe and southwest asia. the specimen was recovered from sediments which also yielded mousterian stone tools and pleistocene fauna. the preserved morphology of the mandible, particularly in the region of the mental foramen, clearly aligns it with the neandertals, making the cova del gegant the only known site in catal ...	2005	15896823
the effects of hybridization on growth allometry and craniofacial form in sulawesi macaques.	the present research investigates the effects of hybridization between macaca maurus and m. tonkeana on adult male form and patterns of growth allometry. comparisons of adult hybrid mean phenotypic values with the adult averages of the parental species indicate a condition of heterosis for cranial vault length and crown-rump length. negative heterosis is indicated for body mass. regression parameters describing growth allometry are generated for four craniofacial measurement variables and one bo ...	2005	15996717
evidence suggesting that homo neanderthalensis contributed the h2 mapt haplotype to homo sapiens.	the tau (mapt) locus exists as two distinct clades, h1 and h2. the h1 clade has a normal linkage disequilibrium structure and is the only haplotype found in all populations except those derived from caucasians. the h2 haplotype is the minor haplotype in caucasian populations and is not found in other populations. it shows no recombination over a region of 2 mb with the more common h1 haplotype. the distribution of the haplotype and analysis of the slippage of dinucleotide repeat markers within t ...	2005	16042549
upper palaeolithic and late stone age human diet.	undoubtedly modern mankind is an omnivorous species. nevertheless, types of diet changed at the time of anthropogenesis. the upper palaeolithic period is the crucial time because of the appearance of anatomically modern humans in europe. the main goal in this period investigation is to find the neanderthal man-upper palaeolithic man diet distinction. a sharp early holocene rise in humidity and temperature and melting of the permafrost resulted in the complete destruction of traditional migration ...	2005	16079593
radiocarbon dating of interstratified neanderthal and early modern human occupations at the chatelperronian type-site.	the question of the coexistence and potential interaction between the last neanderthal and the earliest intrusive populations of anatomically modern humans in europe has recently emerged as a topic of lively debate in the archaeological and anthropological literature. here we report the results of radiocarbon accelerator dating for what has been reported as an interstratified sequence of late neanderthal and early anatomically modern occupations at the french type-site of the chatelperronian, th ...	2005	16136079
anterior tooth growth periods in neandertals were comparable to those of modern humans.	a longstanding controversy in paleoanthropology surrounds the question of whether neandertals shared the prolonged growth periods of modern humans. to address this question, this investigation compares the duration of enamel formation in neandertals with that of three comparative modern human groups. because dental and somatic growth are correlated with each other, dental growth periods are indicative of overall periods of growth. growth increments on the anterior teeth of neandertals, modern in ...	2005	16183746
ancient hunters and their modern representatives: william sollas's (1849-1936) anthropology from disappointed bridge to trunkless tree and the instrumentalisation of racial conflict.	during the first decades of the 20th century, many anthropologists who had previously adhered to a linear view of human evolution, from an ape via pithecanthropus erectus (today homo erectus) and neanderthal to modern humans, began to change their outlook. a shift towards a branching model of human evolution began to take hold. among the scientific factors motivating this trend was the insight that mammalian evolution in general was best represented by a branching tree, rather than by a straight ...	2005	16208866
haplotype trees and modern human origins.	a haplotype is a multisite haploid genotype at two or more polymorphic sites on the same chromosome in a defined dna region. an evolutionary tree of the haplotypes can be estimated if the dna region had little to no recombination. haplotype trees can be used to reconstruct past human gene-flow patterns and historical events, but any single tree captures only a small portion of evolutionary history, and is subject to error. a fuller view of human evolution requires multiple dna regions, and error ...	2005	16369961
surveys of new and rare microfungi in the düsseltal (north rhine-westphalia)--germany.	in the years 2003 and 2004 we have observed an about 70 hectare large area in the düsseltal, the eastern part of the neandertal in north rhine-westphalia. there we collected on trees, bushes and herbs and found about 150 microfungi of which some are new for germany or the entire world. e.g.: pseudocercospora populigena n. ale-agha, u. braun & g.b. feige on populus berolinensis; vialaea insculpta (fr.) sacc. on ilex aquifolium l.; passalora amelopsidis (peck.) u. braun on parthenocissus quinquefo ...	2005	16637187
fractal dimension of the middle meningeal vessels: variation and evolution in homo erectus, neanderthals, and modern humans.	the middle meningeal vascular network leaves its traces on the endocranial surface because of the tight relationship between neurocranial development and brain growth. analysing the endocast of fossil specimens, it is therefore possible to describe the morphology of these structures, leading inferences on the cerebral physiology and metabolism in extinct human groups. in this paper, general features of the meningeal vascular traces are described for specimens included in the homo erectus, homo n ...	2005	16982479
direct dating of early upper palaeolithic human remains from mladec.	the human fossil assemblage from the mladec caves in moravia (czech republic) has been considered to derive from a middle or later phase of the central european aurignacian period on the basis of archaeological remains (a few stone artefacts and organic items such as bone points, awls, perforated teeth), despite questions of association between the human fossils and the archaeological materials and concerning the chronological implications of the limited archaeological remains. the morphological ...	2005	15902255
newly recognized pleistocene human teeth from tabun cave, israel.	seven human teeth from tabun cave, israel, curated at the natural history museum london since 1955, are of uncertain provenance and identity. they are all from the upper dentition, without duplications, and are characterized by a similar preservation. the catalogue of fossil hominids (1975) suggested that they might have derived from tabun layer a (bronze age to recent). however, one of us (ac) noted some distinctive features of these teeth that warranted further study. they are here assigned to ...	2005	15964608
nicotinamide homeostasis: a xenobiotic pathway that is key to development and degenerative diseases.	monkeys and man are very closely related genetically. yet intellectually there are big differences and they suffer from a broad range of different diseases. for example, monkeys do not get parkinson's or alzheimer's disease. the former is surprising given that both get parkinsonism from mptp poisoning and the latter initially less surprising as the cortex predominantly affected in alzheimer's never developed as fully in the monkey. man is an omnivore whilst other primates are predominantly herbi ...	2005	15922112
u-series and esr analyses of bones and teeth relating to the human burials from skhul.	in order to resolve long-standing issues surrounding the age of the skhul early modern humans, new analyses have been conducted, including the dating of four well-provenanced fossils by esr and u-series. if the skhul burials took place within a relatively short time span, then the best age estimate lies between 100 and 135 ka. this result agrees very well with tl ages obtained from burnt flint of 119+/-18 ka (mercier et al., 1993). however, we cannot exclude the possibility that the material ass ...	2005	15970310
environmental sacredness and health in palau.	the migration from africa to the pacific would take many millennia with ever changing environment conditions including the physical, social, spiritual and economics. evolutionary metamorphosis from neanderthals to homo sapiens, through the stone age and ice age, the journey continued in sacred milieu that would protect this predestined journey out of the garden of eden. on the arrival to the final destination, a sacred gift called uab (palau), life would be guided with sacredness of the land, th ...	2005	18181470
interactions of neanderthals and modern humans: what can be inferred from mitochondrial dna?	this paper reviews the state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the relationship between neanderthals and upper paleolithic modern humans. the branching-process method is applied to infer the upper limit of hypothetical neanderthal admixture, consistent with the evidence based on mitochon- drial dna sequences of contemporary modern humans, as well as neanderthal and early modern european h. sapiens fossils. as a result, a maximum value of 15% admixture is obtained. this estimate is discussed in the ...	2005	20369935
damage and repair of ancient dna.	under certain conditions small amounts of dna can survive for long periods of time and can be used as polymerase chain reaction (pcr) substrates for the study of phylogenetic relationships and population genetics of extinct plants and animals, including hominids. because of extensive dna degradation, these studies are limited to species that lived within the past 10(4)-10(5) years (late pleistocene), although dna sequences from 10(6) years have been reported. ancient dna (adna) has been used to ...	2005	15748652
neandertals revisited meeting. the question of sex.		2005	15705826
neandertals revisited meeting. faces may lie when skulls tell tales.		2005	15705825
neandertals revisited meeting. calorie count reveals neandertals out-ate hardiest modern hunters.		2005	15705824
neandertal evolutionary genetics: mitochondrial dna data from the iberian peninsula.	mitochondrial dna (mtdna) was retrieved for the first time from a neandertal from the iberian peninsula, excavated from the el sidrón cave (asturias, north of spain), and dated to ca. 43,000 years ago. the sequence suggests that iberian neandertals were not genetically distinct from those of other regions. an estimate of effective population size indicates that the genetic history of the neandertals was not shaped by an extreme population bottleneck associated with the glacial maximum of 130,000 ...	2005	15689531
diagnostic differences in mandibular p4 shape between neandertals and anatomically modern humans.	this study uses elliptical fourier analysis to quantify shape differences observed in the p(4) crown of neandertals and anatomically modern humans. previously, p(4) shape was assessed qualitatively, and results suggested marked differences between neandertals and anatomically modern humans (bailey [2002] new anat. 269:148-156). the goal of this study was to investigate the p(4) shape in more detail, quantifying it in order to determine its utility for taxonomic classification and phylogenetic an ...	2005	15386225
[a late neanderthal femur from les rochers-de-villeneuve, france].		2005	16274633
neandertal taxonomy reconsidered...again: a response to harvati et al..		2005	15927664
variation in neandertals: a response to harvati.		2005	15927663
esr dating at mezmaiskaya cave, russia.	mezmaiskaya cave has yielded more than 10,000 artifacts, thousands of very well preserved faunal remains, and hominin remains, found in seven middle paleolithic (mousterian) and three upper paleolithic levels. a complete neanderthal infant skeleton was preserved in anatomical juxtaposition lying on a large limestone block, overlain by the earliest mousterian layer, layer 3. twenty-four skull fragments from a 1-2 year-old neanderthal infant, showing post-mortem deformation, occurred in a pit orig ...	2005	15607452
bite force production capability and efficiency in neandertals and modern humans.	although there is consensus that neandertal craniofacial morphology is unique in the genus homo, debate continues regarding the precise anatomical basis for this uniqueness and the evolutionary mechanism that produced it. in recent years, biomechanical explanations have received the most attention. some proponents of the "anterior dental loading hypothesis" (adlh) maintain that neandertal facial anatomy was an adaptive response to high-magnitude forces resulting from both masticatory and paramas ...	2005	15558614
new reconstruction of krapina 5, a male neandertal cranial vault from krapina, croatia.	the neandertals from krapina, croatia represent some of the geologically oldest neandertals known, and they comprise the largest neandertal collection from a single site in the world. however, comparisons of the krapina material with other, later neandertals have been limited both because of their fragmentary condition and because the sample has a disproportionate number of females and/or young individuals. this paper presents a preliminary description of our new reconstruction of krapina 5, an ...	2006	16395724
esr and u-series analyses of enamel and dentine fragments of the banyoles mandible.	the banyoles mandible presents a puzzle. its anatomy has been described as pre-neandertal, but the travertine in which it was found has been dated to 45,000 +/- 4000 years. by this time, any pre-neandertals had supposedly been absent from the european fossil record for more than 100,000 years. it was therefore proposed that the age of the travertine may represent a minimum age estimate, with the mandible possibly having been reworked from older deposits. we carried out a non-destructive esr anal ...	2006	16364406
how neanderthal molar teeth grew.	growth and development are both fundamental components of demographic structure and life history strategy. together with information about developmental timing they ultimately contribute to a better understanding of neanderthal extinction. primate molar tooth development tracks the pace of life history evolution most closely, and tooth histology reveals a record of birth as well as the timing of crown and root growth. high-resolution micro-computed tomography now allows us to image complex struc ...	2006	17122777
contributions of biogeochemistry to understanding hominin dietary ecology.	dietary ecology is one key to understanding the biology, lifeways, and evolutionary pathways of many animals. determining the diets of long-extinct hominins, however, is a considerable challenge. although archaeological evidence forms a pillar of our understanding of diet and subsistence in the more recent past, for early hominins, the most direct evidence is to be found in the fossils themselves. here we review the suite of emerging biochemical paleodietary tools based on stable isotope and tra ...	2006	17103429
paleoanthropology. mild climate, lack of moderns let last neandertals linger in gibraltar.		2006	16973851
palaeoanthropology: return of the last neanderthal.		2006	16971950
neandertal genetic diversity: a fresh look from old samples.	the recent publication of three old neandertal mitochondrial sequences shows that the genetic diversity of the neandertals has been largely underestimated. it suggests that the neandertal population was extensively subdivided geographically, and that its genetic diversity changed markedly over time.	2006	16920617
a highly divergent mtdna sequence in a neandertal individual from italy.		2006	16920607
mitochondrial dna of an iberian neandertal suggests a population affinity with other european neandertals.		2006	16920606
cavemen, chimps and us. what can we learn from neanderthal genes?		2006	16903189
revisiting neandertal diversity with a 100,000 year old mtdna sequence.		2006	16753548
neanderthal dna yields to genome foray.		2006	16710377
neandertals.		2006	16488856
the atd6-5 mandibular specimen from gran dolina (atapuerca, spain). morphological study and phylogenetic implications.	metric and shape features of the lower pleistocene mandibular specimen atd605 from the level 6 of gran dolina site (atapuerca, spain) are compared with a large sample of fossil hominid mandibles. the analysis shows that atd6-5 displays a generalized morphology largely shared with both african and european lower and middle pleistocene samples. however, distinctive african traits, such as corpus robustness and strong alveolar prominence, are absent in the gran dolina specimen. at the same time, no ...	2006	10497000
revised direct radiocarbon dating of the vindija g1 upper paleolithic neandertals.	the 1998/1999 direct dating of two neandertal specimens from level g(1) of vindija cave in croatia to approximately 28,000 and approximately 29,000 radiocarbon ((14)c) years ago has led to interpretations concerning the late survival of neandertals in south-central europe, patterns of interaction between neandertals and in-dispersing early modern humans in europe, and complex biocultural scenarios for the earlier phases of the upper paleolithic. given improvements, particularly in sample pretrea ...	2006	16407102
quantitative analysis of human mandibular shape using three-dimensional geometric morphometrics.	human mandibular morphology is often thought to reflect mainly function, and to be of lesser value in studies of population history. previous descriptions of human mandibles showed variation in ramal height and breadth to be the strongest difference among recent human groups. several mandibular traits that differentiate neanderthals from modern humans include greater robusticity, a receding symphysis, a large retromolar space, a rounder gonial area, an asymmetric mandibular notch, and a posterio ...	2006	16617436
archaic and modern human distal humeral morphology.	the morphology of the proximal ulna has been shown to effectively differentiate archaic or premodern humans (such as homo heidelbergensis and h. neanderthalensis) from modern humans (h. sapiens). accordingly, the morphology of adjacent, articulating elements should be able to distinguish these two broad groups as well. here we test the taxonomic utility of another portion of the elbow, the distal humerus, as a discriminator of archaic and modern humans. principal components analysis was employed ...	2006	16959299
late survival of neanderthals at the southernmost extreme of europe.	the late survival of archaic hominin populations and their long contemporaneity with modern humans is now clear for southeast asia. in europe the extinction of the neanderthals, firmly associated with mousterian technology, has received much attention, and evidence of their survival after 35 kyr bp has recently been put in doubt. here we present data, based on a high-resolution record of human occupation from gorham's cave, gibraltar, that establish the survival of a population of neanderthals t ...	2006	16971951
paleogenetics. a neandertal legacy?		2006	17110550
sequencing and analysis of neanderthal genomic dna.	our knowledge of neanderthals is based on a limited number of remains and artifacts from which we must make inferences about their biology, behavior, and relationship to ourselves. here, we describe the characterization of these extinct hominids from a new perspective, based on the development of a neanderthal metagenomic library and its high-throughput sequencing and analysis. several lines of evidence indicate that the 65,250 base pairs of hominid sequence so far identified in the library are ...	2006	17110569
analysis of aurignacian interstratification at the chatelperronian-type site and implications for the behavioral modernity of neandertals.	the châtelperronian is a neandertal-associated archeological culture featuring ornaments and decorated bone tools. it is often suggested that such symbolic items do not imply that neandertals had modern cognition and stand instead for influences received from coeval, nearby early modern humans represented by the aurignacian culture, whose precocity would be proven by stratigraphy and radiocarbon dates. the grotte des fées at châtelperron (france) is the remaining case of such a potential châtelp ...	2006	16894152
a juvenile early hominin skeleton from dikika, ethiopia.	understanding changes in ontogenetic development is central to the study of human evolution. with the exception of neanderthals, the growth patterns of fossil hominins have not been studied comprehensively because the fossil record currently lacks specimens that document both cranial and postcranial development at young ontogenetic stages. here we describe a well-preserved 3.3-million-year-old juvenile partial skeleton of australopithecus afarensis discovered in the dikika research area of ethio ...	2006	16988704
developmental response to cold stress in cranial morphology of rattus: implications for the interpretation of climatic adaptation in fossil hominins.	adaptation to climate occupies a central position in biological anthropology. the demonstrable relationship between temperature and morphology in extant primates (including humans) forms the basis of the interpretation of the pleistocene hominin homo neanderthalensis as a cold-adapted species. there are contradictory signals, however, in the pattern of primate craniofacial changes associated with climatic conditions. to determine the direction and extent of craniofacial change associated with te ...	2006	17002945
a critical review of the german paleolithic hominin record.	we review the hominin fossil record from western central europe in light of the recent major revisions of the geochronological context. the mandible from mauer (homo heidelbergensis), dated to circa 500,000 years ago, continues to represent the earliest german hominin and may coincide with the occupation of europe north of the high alpine mountain chains. only limited new evidence is available for the middle pleistocene, mostly in the form of skull fragments, a pattern that may relate to taphono ...	2006	17014890
archaic admixture in the human genome.	one of the enduring questions in the evolution of our species surrounds the fate of 'archaic' forms of homo. did neanderthals go extinct without interbreeding with modern humans 25-40 thousand years ago or are their genes present among modern-day europeans? recent work suggests that neanderthals and an as yet unidentified archaic african population contributed to at least 5% of the modern european and west african gene pools, respectively. extensive sequencing of neanderthal and other archaic hu ...	2006	17027252
vindija cave and the modern human peopling of europe.	vindija cave in croatia has yielded the youngest securely dated neandertal skeletal remains in central/eastern europe. in addition, these remains have been found in association with archaeological material exhibiting upper paleolithic elements. due to its geographic location and date, the vindija remains are particularly crucial for the understanding of initial modern human peopling of europe and the nature of the neandertal demise. the significance of archaeological and paleontological finds an ...	2006	17058508
early modern humans from the pestera muierii, baia de fier, romania.	the early modern human remains from the peştera muierii, romania have been directly dated to approximately 30,000 radiocarbon years before present (approximately 30 ka 14c bp) (approximately 35 ka cal bp) ("calendrical" age; based on calpal 2005) and augment a small sample of securely dated, european, pre-28 ka 14c bp (approximately 32.5 ka cal bp) modern human remains. the muierii fossils exhibit a suite of derived modern human features, including reduced maxillae with pronounced canine fossae, ...	2006	17085588
evidence that the adaptive allele of the brain size gene microcephalin introgressed into homo sapiens from an archaic homo lineage.	at the center of the debate on the emergence of modern humans and their spread throughout the globe is the question of whether archaic homo lineages contributed to the modern human gene pool, and more importantly, whether such contributions impacted the evolutionary adaptation of our species. a major obstacle to answering this question is that low levels of admixture with archaic lineages are not expected to leave extensive traces in the modern human gene pool because of genetic drift. loci that ...	2006	17090677
neanderthal genome sees first light.		2006	17108928
analysis of one million base pairs of neanderthal dna.	neanderthals are the extinct hominid group most closely related to contemporary humans, so their genome offers a unique opportunity to identify genetic changes specific to anatomically fully modern humans. we have identified a 38,000-year-old neanderthal fossil that is exceptionally free of contamination from modern human dna. direct high-throughput sequencing of a dna extract from this fossil has thus far yielded over one million base pairs of hominoid nuclear dna sequences. comparison with the ...	2006	17108958
race and the odd history of human paleontology.	although the late 17th century witnessed the recognition of fossils as the remains of extinct organisms-because they could be incorporated into the creation story embodied in the great chain of being-acceptance of human antiquity through the indisputable demonstration of the contemporaneity of human bones, stone tools, and accepted fossils was not forthcoming for nearly 2 centuries thereafter. when it did occur, however, ancient humans were not seen as presenting a pattern of diversity similar t ...	2006	17109420
paleobiology and comparative morphology of a late neandertal sample from el sidron, asturias, spain.	fossil evidence from the iberian peninsula is essential for understanding neandertal evolution and history. since 2000, a new sample approximately 43,000 years old has been systematically recovered at the el sidrón cave site (asturias, spain). human remains almost exclusively compose the bone assemblage. all of the skeletal parts are preserved, and there is a moderate occurrence of middle paleolithic stone tools. a minimum number of eight individuals are represented, and ancient mtdna has been e ...	2006	17164326
the neanderthalian molar from hunas, germany.	in this paper, we present a well-preserved isolated human molar found in 1986 in the hunas cave ruin, south-east bavaria. the tooth was located at the bottom of layer f2, which belongs to a long stratigraphic sequence comprising faunal remains as well as archaeological levels (mousterian). a stalagmite from layer p at the base of the stratigraphic sequence was recently dated to 79.373+/-8.237 ka (base) and 76.872+/-9.686 ka (tip) by tims-u/th (stanford university). we identified the tooth as a r ...	2006	16780842
possible ancestral structure in human populations.	determining the evolutionary relationships between fossil hominid groups such as neanderthals and modern humans has been a question of enduring interest in human evolutionary genetics. here we present a new method for addressing whether archaic human groups contributed to the modern gene pool (called ancient admixture), using the patterns of variation in contemporary human populations. our method improves on previous work by explicitly accounting for recent population history before performing t ...	2006	16895447
diet and behavior of the saint-césaire neanderthal inferred from biogeochemical data inversion.	biogeochemistry is a powerful tool for dietary reconstruction, and mixing equations can be used to quantify the contribution of multiple sources to an individual's diet. the goals of this paper are: 1) to generalize the inverse method to dietary mixtures; and 2) to reconstruct the diet of the saint-césaire neanderthal using sr/ca and ba/ca data of the mineral fraction of bone (hydroxylapatite), and with published delta13c and delta15n data of the associated organic fraction of bone (collagen). a ...	2006	16908051
cranial base morphology and temporal bone pneumatization in asian homo erectus.	the external morphological features of the temporal bone are used frequently to determine taxonomic affinities of fossils of the genus homo. temporal bone pneumatization has been widely studied in great apes and in early hominids. however, this feature is rarely examined in the later hominids, particularly in asian homo erectus. we provide a comparative morphological and quantitative analysis of asian homo erectus from the sites of ngandong, sambungmacan, and zhoukoudian, and of neandertals and ...	2006	16911819
genomics--from neanderthals to high-throughput sequencing.	a report on 'the biology of genomes' meeting, cold spring harbor, usa, 10-14 may 2006.	2006	16934106
intraspecies variation in bmr does not affect estimates of early hominin total daily energy expenditure.	we conducted a meta-analysis of 45 studies reporting basal metabolic rate (bmr) data for homo sapiens and pan troglodytes to determine the effects of sex, age, and latitude (a proxy for climate, in humans only). bmr was normalized for body size using fat-free mass in humans and body mass in chimpanzees. we found no effect of sex in either species and no age effect in chimpanzees. in humans, juveniles differed significantly from adults (ancova: p < 0.001), and senescent adults differed significan ...	2006	16941603
senior moments.	the problem with reaching 'senior faculty' status is the feeling that you have nothing much to contribute except experience, but the recently announced neanderthal genome project might put things into perspective.	2006	16953901
dental remains from the grotte du renne at arcy-sur-cure (yonne).	human remains associated with the earliest upper paleolithic industries are sparse. what is preserved is often fragmentary, making it difficult to accurately assign them to a particular species. for some time it has been generally accepted that neandertals were responsible for the châtelperronian and anatomically modern humans for the early aurignacian industries. however, the recent re-dating of several of the more-complete modern human fossils associated with the early aurignacian (e.g., vogel ...	2006	16487991
a new radiocarbon revolution and the dispersal of modern humans in eurasia.	radiocarbon dating has been fundamental to the study of human cultural and biological development over the past 50,000 yr. two recent developments in the methodology of radiocarbon dating show that the speed of colonization of europe by modern human populations was more rapid than previously believed, and that their period of coexistence with the preceding neanderthal was shorter.	2006	16495989
incisal orientation and biting efficiency.	broad-edged 'spatulate' upper and lower incisors are distinctive of catarrhines and platyrrhines who use them in various ways to peel fruits, remove bark, and strip leaves from branches. the incisors of modern humans not only control the bite size of foods during ingestion, but often grip items in a number of non-food related tasks. such uses have long been implicated for neandertals as well. despite the evolutionary importance of incision and the fact that the incisors feature prominently in cl ...	2006	16530808
is human longevity a consequence of cultural change or modern biology?	increased longevity, expressed as the number of individuals surviving to older adulthood, represents a key way that upper paleolithic europeans differ from earlier european (neandertal) populations. here, we address whether longevity increased as a result of cultural/adaptive change in upper paleolithic europe, or whether it was introduced to europe as a part of modern human biology. we compare the ratio of older to younger adults (oy ratio) in an early modern human sample associated with the mi ...	2006	16342259
mandibular stiffness in humans: numerical predictions.	the chin is a feature unique to humans. this study evaluates the effect of mandibular symphyseal design on biomechanical masticatory effectiveness as determined by structural stiffness and stress developed under flexural and torsional loading. a simple model of three symphyseal shapes (chin, flat symphysis and lingual buttress), was built to represent human, neanderthal and higher primate symphyses and these were subjected to wishboning and torsional forces. additionally, an anatomically detaile ...	2006	16084518
functional aspects of neandertal pedal remains.	the fossil foot remains of the neandertals (immediate predecessors of anatomically modern humans in europe and western asia between about 100,000 and 35,000 to 40,000 years ago) indicate an overall pedal configuration for these prehistoric humans that was largely indistinguishable from that of modern humans. they had fully adducted halluces, longitudinal and transverse pedal arches, compact posterior tarsal regions, slight valgus deviation of the hallux, and abbreviation of the lateral toes. the ...	2006	6409716
clavicles, scapulae and humeri from the sima de los huesos site (sierra de atapuerca, spain).	the scapulae, clavicles and humeri recovered from the sima de los huesos (sh) site between 1976 and 1994 are studied. all elements are briefly described anatomically with metrics and compared with other fossil hominids in order to establish the morphological pattern of the sh hominids. a minimum of 13 individuals are represented by the humeri in the sh sample. almost all of them can be classified as adolescents and young adults. the morphology of the sh hominid shoulder girdle and humeri indicat ...	2006	9300347