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

本研究将采用定量和定性相结合的方法，通过考察亚洲中更新世和晚更新世人类(化石人类)之间的进化关系，检验人类进化的区域连续性假说。颅骨形状的变化将在化石样本中使用三维“几何形态测量”(3D GM)技术进行评估，然后与选定的现代人、黑猩猩和猕猴种群的测量结果进行统计比较。这些现代参考样本具有广泛的地理分布和不同的分类学，将作为类比，以便评估替代的分类学假说及其预测。基于共享和派生的头骨特征分布的并行分析将使用分支方法进行，这允许确定物种和种群之间的进化联系。智力优势：至少在古人类学中，将3D GM与特征分支分析相结合是新颖的。前一种方法允许可视化整个头骨的3D颅骨几何图形，同时检查被认为是亚洲区域特征的形态方面。此外，这项研究将专门针对亚洲化石记录，包括重要但难以获取的中国标本，从而增加测试的地理和时间变异的程度。一个主要目标将是测试有关亚洲化石(尤其是鲜为人知的“远古智人”群体)之间关系的替代假设，包括从直立人到现代人的局部连续性和从西方的连续迁徙的概念。最后，将使用多种统计测试来探索化石记录中不同物种的识别，这项研究将提供机会来评估各种统计方法的实用性。广泛影响：在这项研究期间收集的数据将被添加到由NYCEP形态测量小组创建的Primo(灵长类在线形态)数据库中，该数据库不久将可供在线公众访问。此外，这项研究还将进一步促进国际和国内研究合作，这将传播新的方法论，建设科学基础设施。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，资金将鼓励科学领域的多样性，并促进王绍林的专业发展，他属于美国体质人类学中一个代表性较低的群体。

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.