Окончание...
Интересные факты по эволюции гоминид,
установленные в последние годы (1997-2004)
22. Am J Phys Anthropol. 2002 Nov;119(3):199-204.
Does Homo neanderthalensis play a role in modern human ancestry? The mandibular evidence.
Rak Y, Ginzburg A, Geffen E.
Department of Anatomy and Anthropology, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel.
yoelrak@post.tau.ac.il
Data obtained from quantifying the upper part of the mandibular ramus (the coronoid process, the condylar process, and the notch between them) lead us to conclude that Neanderthals (both European and Middle Eastern) differ more from Homo sapiens (early specimens such as Tabun II, Skhul, and Qafzeh, as well as contemporary populations from as far apart as Alaska and Australia) than the latter differs from Homo erectus. The specialized Neanderthal mandibular ramus morphology emerges as yet another element constituting the derived complex of morphologies of the mandible and face that are unique to Neanderthals. These morphologies provide further support for the contention that Neanderthals do not play a role in modern human biological ancestry, either through "regional continuity" or through any other form of anagenetic progression. Copyright 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
23. Am J Reprod Immunol. 2002 Jul;48(1):43-9.
Evolutionary genetics and infertility.
Gill TJ 3rd.
Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh (Emeritus), Duxbury, MA 02332-4801, USA.
gilliii@massmed.org
PROBLEM: Mapping the human genome and advances in human evolution indicate a critical role for genetics in the study of reproduction. METHOD OF STUDY: Literature in human evolution, genetics and reproduction. RESULTS: This paper will focus on three points: (1) the course of primate evolution, (2) implications of this course for reproduction in humans, and (3) evolutionary mechanisms. Reproduction is the driving force of evolution, and sex selection is the important factor in determining reproductive activity. The hypothesis will be presented that the reproductive inefficiency of Homo sapiens (one of four pregnancies succeeds) is the consequence of the development of genetic isolation from other species of Homo that was necessary to drive the evolution of Homo sapiens. This hypothesis is based on the evidence that Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis are separate species and that intermating would not yield fertile offspring (Haldane's Rule). This mating barrier involves zoological and linguistic differences and genetic mechanisms preventing fertile interspecies mating (chromosomal incompatibilities, disruption of genomic imprinting and recessive lethal defects). CONCLUSIONS: The medical and philosophical implications of modern reproductive technologies that may circumvent mating barriers must be addressed prospectively: propagation of genetic defects that would be eliminated by natural selection; the specter of 'genetic enhancement'; human cloning; and attempts to control the future direction of the evolution of Homo sapiens.
24. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2002 Feb 5;99(3):1134-9. Epub 2002 Jan 22.
The evolution and development of cranial form in Homo sapiens.
Lieberman DE, McBratney BM, Krovitz G.
Department of Anthropology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
danlieb@fas.harvard.edu
Despite much data, there is no unanimity over how to define Homo sapiens in the fossil record. Here, we examine cranial variation among Pleistocene and recent human fossils by using a model of cranial growth to identify unique derived features (autapomorphies) that reliably distinguish fossils attributed to "anatomically modern" H. sapiens (AMHS) from those attributed to various taxa of "archaic" Homo spp. (AH) and to test hypotheses about the changes in cranial development that underlie the origin of modern human cranial form. In terms of pattern, AMHS crania are uniquely characterized by two general structural autapomorphies: facial retraction and neurocranial globularity. Morphometric analysis of the ontogeny of these autapomorphies indicates that the developmental changes that led to modern human cranial form derive from a combination of shifts in cranial base angle, cranial fossae length and width, and facial length. These morphological changes, some of which may have occurred because of relative size increases in the temporal and possibly the frontal lobes, occur early in ontogeny, and their effects on facial retraction and neurocranial globularity discriminate AMHS from AH crania. The existence of these autapomorphies supports the hypothesis that AMHS is a distinct species from taxa of "archaic" Homo (e.g., Homo neanderthalensis).
25. J Hum Evol. 1999 Sep-Oct;37(3-4):459-99. Related Articles, Links
Axial and appendicular skeleton of Homo antecessor.
Carretero JM, Lorenzo C, Arsuaga JL.
Departamento de Ciencias Historicas y Geografia, Facultad de Humanidades y Educacion, Universidad de Burgos, Carretera Villadiego s/n, Burgos, 09001, Spain.
The human trunk and limb bones recovered from the Gran Dolina site, in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain) are studied. All these fossils were excavated at the level called TD6 between 1994 and 1995 and have been dated in excess of 780,000 years ago. These remains have been recently attributed to a new Homo species named Homo antecessor. Axial (vertebrae and ribs) and part of the appendicular (clavicles, radii, femur and patellae) skeleton are studied here. Hand and foot bones have been studied elsewhere (Lorenzo et al., 1999). Four is the minimum number of individuals represented by the postcranial remains recovered up to now. All elements are briefly described anatomically, measured and compared with other fossil hominids and modern humans in order to establish, as far as possible, what postcranial morphology characterized this new species of our genus.The H. antecessor postcrania, generally, display a set of morphological traits that are more similar to modern humans than to the Middle and Upper Pleistocene European hominids. Our results do not contradict the previous phylogenetic analysis, i.e., that H. antecessor represents the last common ancestor for H. sapiens (modern humans) and H. neanderthalensis (Neandertals). Copyright 1999 Academic Press.