Journal
SCIENCE
Volume 344, Issue 6190, Pages 1358-1363Publisher
AMER ASSOC ADVANCEMENT SCIENCE
DOI: 10.1126/science.1253958
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Funding
- Ramon y Cajal Program [RYC-2010-06152]
- BU-SUNY
- AMNH
- MECD [AP-2009-4096]
- CAM [S2010/BMD-2330]
- MINECO [BES-2010-039961, CGL2012-38434-C03-01, 03]
- Marie Curie-IEF contract [PIRG8-GA-2010-276810]
- Marie Curie-IRG contract [PIRG8-GA-2010-276810]
- Fundacion Atapuerca grants
- ARCFF [FT130100195]
- Taiwan ROC MOST grant [100-2116-M-002-009, 101-2116-M-002-009, 101R7625]
- NTU grant [100-2116-M-002-009, 101-2116-M-002-009, 101R7625]
- JCyL [BU005A09, DGR 2009 SGR-324]
- Fundacion Atapuerca
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Seventeen Middle Pleistocene crania from the Sima de los Huesos site (Atapuerca, Spain) are analyzed, including seven new specimens. This sample makes it possible to thoroughly characterize a Middle Pleistocene hominin paleodeme and to address hypotheses about the origin and evolution of the Neandertals. Using a variety of techniques, the hominin-bearing layer could be reassigned to a period around 430,000 years ago. The sample shows a consistent morphological pattern with derived Neandertal features present in the face and anterior vault, many of which are related to the masticatory apparatus. This suggests that facial modification was the first step in the evolution of the Neandertal lineage, pointing to a mosaic pattern of evolution, with different anatomical and functional modules evolving at different rates.
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