Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: The Evolution of the Supraorbital Pattern of Growth and Development in the Genus Homo.

该项目研究人类生长和发展模式的演变。与其他灵长类动物不同，解剖学上的现代人类生长时间很长，延长了出生和性成熟之间的时间。在我们物种的进化中，这种明显的人类生长和发展模式的出现，以及它是否与早期化石物种（如尼安德特人）更广泛地共享，仍然是有争议的问题。为了帮助解决这个问题，这个项目的重点是头骨的额骨，及其相关的browridge，作为一个窗口，在发展中的变化。这个项目测试了一个假设，即额骨形状的主要差异，在人类进化中经常用于区分不同的物种和性别，实际上可能是尺寸的微小变化的结果，这些变化本身表现为生长过程中眉毛形状的显著差异。这项研究有助于确定现代人类是否实际上是尼安德特人或其他化石物种的“缩小”版本。在人类进化过程中，预计会有年轻化的趋势，现代人类将遵循祖先的生长模式，达到更短的终点。将通过新开发的光度测量设备（ShapeCam）收集眉骨和额骨的三维数据。数据取自数字图像而不是骨骼材料本身，提高了数据的准确性和数量，同时减少了传统测量设备可能发生的损坏。该系统有助于研究人员之间的电子数据共享，并有助于保存脆弱的化石和骨骼材料。该项目将首次在体质人类学中使用ShapeCam系统。该项目的更广泛影响涉及其对人类成长动态的见解。了解人类长期生长的进化将有助于解释人类寿命的增加，并为衰老的进化理论提供信息。确定人类成长和发展模式的演变是何时以及如何发生的，对于理解人类社会组织和亲属系统也有重要意义。这种适应与长期的儿童依赖、学习和知识的获得有关，这可能导致人类由于对婴儿的大量投资而需要形成更强的联系。此外，对生长和发育的比较理解具有重要的生物医学意义，并在解决人类生长差异的原因和了解人类生长缺陷方面具有更广泛的应用。研究生培养是该项目的重要组成部分。

This project investigates the evolution of the human pattern of growth and development. Unlike other primates, anatomically modern humans grow for a very long time, extending the period between birth and sexual maturation. The appearance of this distinctly human pattern of growth and development in our species' evolution, and whether or not it is shared even more widely with earlier fossil species such as Neandertals, are issues that remain controversial. In order to help resolve this problem, this project focuses on the frontal bone of the skull, and its associated browridge, as a window into changes in development. This project tests the hypothesis that major differences in frontal bone form, often used in human evolution to distinguish between different species and sexes, may actually be the result of small changes in size that manifest as themselves as significant differences in browridge shape during growth. This research helps determine whether or not modern humans are actually "scaled down" versions of Neandertals or other fossil species. A trend towards juvenilization during human evolution is expected, with modern humans following an ancestral growth pattern to a shorter endpoint.Three-dimensional data on the browridge and frontal bone will be collected through newly-developed photometric equipment (ShapeCam). Data are taken from digital images rather than the skeletal materials themselves, increasing accuracy and volume of data while diminishing damage that may occur with traditional measurement devices. This system facilitates electronic data sharing among researchers, and aids in the preservation of fragile fossil and skeletal materials. This project will see the first significant use of the ShapeCam system in Physical Anthropology.The broader impact of this project concerns the insights it generates on the dynamics of human growth. Understanding the evolution of prolonged human growth will help to interpret increased longevity in humans and inform evolutionary theories of aging. Identifying when and how the evolution of the human pattern of growth and development occurred also has important implications for understanding human social organizations and kinship systems. This adaptation has been related to a long period of child dependence, learning, and the acquisition of knowledge, which may have resulted in the need for humans to form stronger bonds due to intense investment in infants. In addition, a comparative understanding of growth and development has important biomedical implications and wider applications to addressing causes of variation in human growth and understanding human growth deficiencies. Graduate student training is an important component in this project.