DDI--Testing the Continuity of Middle and Late Pleistocene Hominins in Asia

DDI--测试亚洲中、晚更新世古人类的连续性

• 批准号: 0648800
• 负责人: Eric Delson
• 金额: $ 1.17万
• 依托单位: CUNY Graduate School University Center
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2007
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2007-03-01 至 2008-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0648800&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DDI; Testing; Continuity; Middle; Late

This study will test the regional continuity hypothesis of human evolution by investigating the evolutionary relationships among Middle and Late Pleistocene hominins (fossil humans) in Asia through the use of combined quantitative and qualitative approaches. Variation in cranial shape will be assessed in the fossil sample using three-dimensional "geometric morphometric" (3D GM) techniques and then statistically compared to that measured in selected modern human, chimpanzee, and macaque populations. These modern reference samples, of wide geographical distribution and diverse taxonomies, will serve as analogs so that alternative taxonomic hypotheses and their predictions can be evaluated. A parallel analysis based on the distribution of shared and derived cranial features will be undertaken using a cladistic approach, which allows the determination of evolutionary links among species and populations.Intellectual merit: The combination of 3D GM with cladistic analysis of features is novel in paleoanthropology, at least. The former approach allows the visualization of 3D cranial geometry across the skull, while examining aspects of morphology which have been suggested as Asian regional features. In addition, this study will focus specifically on the Asian fossil record, including important but difficult-to-access specimens from China, thereby increasing the extent of geographical and temporal variation tested. A major goal will be to test alternative hypotheses about the relationships of Asian fossils (especially of the poorly-known "archaic Homo sapiens" group), including the concepts of local continuity from Homo erectus to modern humans and successive migration from the west. Finally, multiple statistical tests will be used to explore the recognition of different species in the fossil record, and this study will provide the opportunity to assess the utility of various statistical methods.Broader impacts: Data collected during this study will be added to the PRIMO (Primate Morphology Online) database created by the NYCEP Morphometric Group, soon to be available for online public access. Additionally, this study will further facilitate international and domestic research collaboration, which will spread new methodology and build scientific infrastructure. The results of this study will also be widely disseminated in both scientific and popular media, and presented at academic meetings. Finally, funding will encourage diversity within science and foster the professional development of S. L. Wang, a student belonging to an underrepresented group within American physical anthropology.

本研究将通过使用定量和定性相结合的方法，研究亚洲中更新世和晚更新世人类（化石人类）之间的进化关系，以验证人类进化的区域连续性假设。颅骨形状的变化将使用三维“几何形态测量”（3D GM）技术在化石样本中进行评估，然后与选定的现代人类，黑猩猩和猕猴种群中测量的结果进行统计学比较。这些现代参考样本，广泛的地理分布和不同的分类，将作为类似物，使替代分类假说和他们的预测可以进行评估。共享和派生的颅骨特征的分布的基础上进行平行分析，将使用分支系统的方法，它允许物种和population.Intellectual优点之间的进化联系的确定：3D GM与分支系统分析的功能相结合是新颖的古人类学，至少。前一种方法允许整个颅骨的3D颅骨几何形状的可视化，同时检查被认为是亚洲区域特征的形态学方面。此外，这项研究将特别侧重于亚洲的化石记录，包括来自中国的重要但难以获得的标本，从而增加了测试的地理和时间变化的程度。一个主要目标是测试关于亚洲化石（特别是鲜为人知的“古代智人”群体）关系的替代假设，包括从直立人到现代人的局部连续性和从西方连续迁移的概念。最后，多重统计测试将用于探索化石记录中不同物种的识别，本研究将提供评估各种统计方法效用的机会。更广泛的影响：本研究期间收集的数据将被添加到由NYCEP形态测量组创建的PRIMO（Primate Morphology Online）数据库中，该数据库很快将供公众在线访问。此外，这项研究将进一步促进国际和国内的研究合作，这将传播新的方法和建立科学基础设施。这项研究的结果还将在科学和大众媒体上广泛传播，并在学术会议上介绍。最后，资金将鼓励科学的多样性，促进S的专业发展。L.王，一个学生属于一个代表性不足的群体在美国体质人类学。