Doctoral Dissertation: Geometric Morphometric Analysis of the Infraorbital Region of Great Apes and Modern and Extinct Humans

这个项目是对灭绝的古人类、现代人和类人猿的眼眶下区域的三维度量分析。其主要目标是利用3D标志性数据对已灭绝的古人类进行系统发育分析。由于度量变异和数量特征在系统发育分析中的使用，将必须解决这些问题，因为它们与人的系统发育有关。该项目的一个智力优点是，它提供了对人的面部形态的详细检查，被广泛承认在解释人的进化史中发挥着重要作用，但技术允许对解剖进行度量描述，以及允许详细检查特定特征的定量方法。此外，这个项目特别是结合KNM-WT 17000的发现，特别是结合KNM-WT 17000的发现，重新审视了由Yoel Rak提出的非洲南方古猿、粗壮南方古猿和博伊西南方古猿面部解剖的重要同源性假设。这个项目的一个优点是它应用了技术和统计方法，允许对历史上定量描述的解剖进行复杂的度量描述。此外，它通过将地标数据分解成子集，利用三维地标数据解决系统发育问题的潜力。这些子集描述了特定特征在多个古人类分类群中的变异、相似和不同。虽然几何形态计量学的使用正在变得越来越广泛，但进化生物学家还没有充分利用这些技术在进化系统学中解决问题的潜力。通过展示密集的解剖标志集的实用性，该标志集可以细分来表示个体特征的变异，本研究将成为在系统发育研究中使用几何形态数据的模型。该项目的更广泛影响将是传播研究得出的信息。方法和初步结果将在现场数据收集期间向博物馆人员和感兴趣的非科学当地各方展示。为了确保将信息分发给广泛的科学和非科学社区，最终结果将分发给来自美国和化石原产国的学术期刊以及非学术期刊。来自化石原产国的期刊，如《埃塞俄比亚研究杂志》，将向更广泛的、非科学的受众分发这些材料。在原籍国，化石人是当地巨大骄傲的来源，传播关于这些化石在了解全人类进化史方面的重要性的信息，是增加对人类进化史的知识和教育兴趣的一个不可或缺的方面。

This project is a three-dimensional metric analysis of the infraorbital region of extinct hominins, modern humans, and great apes. The primary goal is to use 3-D landmark data in a phylogenetic analysis of extinct hominins. Issues of metric variation and the use of quantitative characters in phylogenetic analyses will be necessarily addressed as they relate to hominin phylogenyOne aspect of the intellectual merit of this project is that it provides for a detailed examination of hominin facial morphology widely acknowledged to play an important role in interpretations of the evolutionary history of the hominins, but with technologies that allow metric description of the anatomy and quantitative methods that permit detailed examination of specific characters. Furthermore, this project specifically reexamines important hypotheses of homology for facial anatomy in Australopithecus africanus, A. robustus, and A. boisei articulated by Yoel Rak, particularly in light of the discovery of KNM-WT 17000. One advantage of this project is that it applies technologies and statistical methods that allow sophisticated metric description of anatomy that has historically been described quantitatively. Furthermore, it takes advantage of the potential for addressing phylogenetic issues with three-dimensional landmark data by breaking the landmark data into subsets. These subsets describe the variation, and similarity and dissimilarity, of specific characters across multiple hominin taxa. Although the use of geometric morphometrics is becoming widespread, evolutionary biologists have not taken full advantage of the potential for addressing issues in evolutionary systematics with these technologies. By demonstrating the utility of a dense anatomical landmark set that can be subdivided to represent the variation of individual characters, this study will serve as a model for the use of geometric morphometric data in phylogenetic studies. The broader impact of this project will be in the dissemination of information derived from the study. Methods and preliminary results will be presented to museum personnel and interested non-scientific local parties during on-site data collection. To ensure that the information is distributed to a wide scientific and non-scientific community, final results will be distributed to scholarly journals from both the United States and the countries of origin of the fossils, and non-scholarly journals. Periodicals from the countries of the fossils' origin, such as the Journal of Ethiopian Studies, will be presented the material for distribution to a broader, non-scientific, audience. Fossil hominins are a source of great local pride in the countries of origin, and the dissemination of information on the importance of these fossils in understanding the evolutionary history of all humans is an integral aspect of increasing knowledge of and educational interest in human evolutionary history.