Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos
Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos
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DOI：
10.1126/science.1253958
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发表时间：
2014-06-20
期刊：
影响因子：
56.9
通讯作者：
Carbonell, E.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Arsuaga, J. L.;Martinez, I.;Carbonell, E.
本文分析了西班牙阿塔普尔卡地区西马德洛斯韦索斯遗址出土的17个中更新世颅骨，其中包括7个新标本。这个样本使得彻底表征中更新世古人类的特征成为可能，并解决了关于尼安德特人起源和进化的假设。通过使用各种技术，人类化石层可以重新定位到大约43万年前。该样本显示出与源自尼安德特人的面部和前穹窿特征一致的形态模式，其中许多与咀嚼器官有关。这表明，面部修饰是尼安德特人谱系进化的第一步，指向了一种马赛克式的进化模式，不同的解剖和功能模块以不同的速度进化。
Seventeen Middle Pleistocene crania from the Sima de los Huesos site (Atapuerca, Spain) are analyzed, including seven new specimens. This sample makes it possible to thoroughly characterize a Middle Pleistocene hominin paleodeme and to address hypotheses about the origin and evolution of the Neandertals. Using a variety of techniques, the hominin-bearing layer could be reassigned to a period around 430,000 years ago. The sample shows a consistent morphological pattern with derived Neandertal features present in the face and anterior vault, many of which are related to the masticatory apparatus. This suggests that facial modification was the first step in the evolution of the Neandertal lineage, pointing to a mosaic pattern of evolution, with different anatomical and functional modules evolving at different rates.