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

本研究将采用定量与定性相结合的方法，对亚洲中晚更新世古人类（化石人类）的进化关系进行研究，以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“几何形态测量学”（3D GM）技术进行评估，然后与选定的现代人类、黑猩猩和猕猴种群进行统计比较。这些具有广泛地理分布和多样化分类的现代参考样本将作为类似物，以便对不同的分类假设及其预测进行评估。基于共享的和衍生的颅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与特征的进化分析相结合是新颖的。前一种方法允许在检查被认为是亚洲区域特征的形态学方面的同时，对整个头骨的三维颅骨几何图形进行可视化。此外，本研究将特别关注亚洲的化石记录，包括来自中国的重要但难以获得的标本，从而增加测试的地理和时间变化的程度。一个主要的目标将是测试关于亚洲化石（特别是鲜为人知的“古代智人”群体）关系的其他假设，包括从直立人到现代人的本地连续性和从西方连续迁移的概念。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，并且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：在这项研究中收集的数据将被添加到由NYCEP形态测量组创建的PRIMO（灵长类形态在线）数据库中，很快就可以在线公开访问。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。这项研究的结果也将在科学和大众媒体上广泛传播，并在学术会议上提出。最后，资金将鼓励科学领域的多样性，并促进S. L. Wang的专业发展，他是美国体质人类学中一个代表性不足的群体的学生。

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.