Browsing by Subject "Hominidae"
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Item Open Access A comparison of temperament in nonhuman apes and human infants.(Dev Sci, 2011-11) Herrmann, Esther; Hare, Brian; Cissewski, Julia; Tomasello, MichaelThe adaptive behavior of primates, including humans, is often mediated by temperament. Human behavior likely differs from that of other primates in part due to temperament. In the current study we compared the reaction of bonobos, chimpanzees, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human infants to novel objects and people - as a measure of their shyness-boldness, a key temperamental trait. Human children at the age of 2.5 years avoided novelty of all kinds far more than the other ape species. This response was most similar to that seen in bonobos and least like that of chimpanzees and orangutans. This comparison represents a first step in characterizing the temperamental profiles of species in the hominoid clade, and these findings are consistent with the hypothesis that human temperament has evolved since our lineage diverged from the other apes in ways that likely have broad effects on behavior. These findings also provide new insights into how species differences in ecology may shape differences in temperament.Item Open Access Adaptive sequence divergence forged new neurodevelopmental enhancers in humans.(Cell, 2022-11) Mangan, Riley J; Alsina, Fernando C; Mosti, Federica; Sotelo-Fonseca, Jesús Emiliano; Snellings, Daniel A; Au, Eric H; Carvalho, Juliana; Sathyan, Laya; Johnson, Graham D; Reddy, Timothy E; Silver, Debra L; Lowe, Craig BSearches for the genetic underpinnings of uniquely human traits have focused on human-specific divergence in conserved genomic regions, which reflects adaptive modifications of existing functional elements. However, the study of conserved regions excludes functional elements that descended from previously neutral regions. Here, we demonstrate that the fastest-evolved regions of the human genome, which we term "human ancestor quickly evolved regions" (HAQERs), rapidly diverged in an episodic burst of directional positive selection prior to the human-Neanderthal split, before transitioning to constraint within hominins. HAQERs are enriched for bivalent chromatin states, particularly in gastrointestinal and neurodevelopmental tissues, and genetic variants linked to neurodevelopmental disease. We developed a multiplex, single-cell in vivo enhancer assay to discover that rapid sequence divergence in HAQERs generated hominin-unique enhancers in the developing cerebral cortex. We propose that a lack of pleiotropic constraints and elevated mutation rates poised HAQERs for rapid adaptation and subsequent susceptibility to disease.Item Open Access Ancestral population genomics: the coalescent hidden Markov model approach.(Genetics, 2009-09) Dutheil, Julien Y; Ganapathy, Ganesh; Hobolth, Asger; Mailund, Thomas; Uyenoyama, Marcy K; Schierup, Mikkel HWith incomplete lineage sorting (ILS), the genealogy of closely related species differs along their genomes. The amount of ILS depends on population parameters such as the ancestral effective population sizes and the recombination rate, but also on the number of generations between speciation events. We use a hidden Markov model parameterized according to coalescent theory to infer the genealogy along a four-species genome alignment of closely related species and estimate population parameters. We analyze a basic, panmictic demographic model and study its properties using an extensive set of coalescent simulations. We assess the effect of the model assumptions and demonstrate that the Markov property provides a good approximation to the ancestral recombination graph. Using a too restricted set of possible genealogies, necessary to reduce the computational load, can bias parameter estimates. We propose a simple correction for this bias and suggest directions for future extensions of the model. We show that the patterns of ILS along a sequence alignment can be recovered efficiently together with the ancestral recombination rate. Finally, we introduce an extension of the basic model that allows for mutation rate heterogeneity and reanalyze human-chimpanzee-gorilla-orangutan alignments, using the new models. We expect that this framework will prove useful for population genomics and provide exciting insights into genome evolution.Item Open Access Catarrhine hallucal metatarsals from the early Miocene site of Songhor, Kenya.(Journal of human evolution, 2017-07) Patel, Biren A; Yapuncich, Gabriel S; Tran, Cassandra; Nengo, Isaiah OSonghor is an early Miocene fossil locality in Kenya known for its diverse primate assemblage that includes catarrhine species belonging to the genera Kalepithecus, Limnopithecus, Dendropithecus, Rangwapithecus, and Proconsul. Expeditions to Songhor since the 1930s have recovered unassociated catarrhine postcranial remains from both the fore- and hindlimbs, including multiple elements from the feet. In this study, we describe KNM-SO 31233, a complete left hallucal metatarsal (Mt1), along with several other fragmentary Mt1 specimens (KNM-SO 1080, 5129, 5141, 22235). These fossils were compared to extant catarrhines and platyrrhines, as well as available fossil Miocene catarrhine Mt1s. Morphometric data were obtained from 3D surface renderings and subjected to a number of analyses to assess their phenetic affinity with the comparative sample, make predictions of body mass, and to infer their functional morphology. The size and shape of the Songhor Mt1s are diverse, exhibiting a large robust morph (KNM-SO 5141) similar in size but not in shape to extant African apes, medium-sized morphs (KNM-SO 1080, 5129 and 22235), and a smaller, slender one (KNM-SO 31233) that has a shape resembling arboreal quadrupedal leaping monkeys and suspensory atelines and hylobatids. KNM-SO 31233 is unlike other known fossil Mt1s, and in general, none of the Songhor Mt1s resembled any single extant anthropoid clade or species. The morpho-functional diversity of Songhor Mt1s is consistent with an extensive morphological and phylogenetic catarrhine diversity in the early part of the Miocene epoch.Item Open Access Considering the role of social dynamics and positional behavior in gestural communication research.(Am J Primatol, 2013-09) Smith, Lindsey W; Delgado, Roberto AWhile the hominin fossil record cannot inform us on either the presence or extent of social and cognitive abilities that may have paved the way for the emergence of language, studying non-vocal communication among our closest living relatives, the African apes, may provide valuable information about how language originated. Although much has been learned from gestural signaling in non-human primates, we have not yet established how and why gestural repertoires vary across species, what factors influence this variation, and how knowledge of these differences can contribute to an understanding of gestural signaling's contribution to language evolution. In this paper, we review arguments surrounding the theory that language evolved from gestural signaling and suggest some important factors to consider when conducting comparative studies of gestural communication among African apes. Specifically, we propose that social dynamics and positional behavior are critical components that shape the frequency and nature of gestural signaling across species and we argue that an understanding of these factors could shed light on how gestural communication may have been the basis of human language. We outline predictions for the influence of these factors on the frequencies and types of gestures used across the African apes and highlight the importance of including these factors in future gestural communication research with primates.Item Open Access Direct and indirect reputation formation in nonhuman great apes (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and human children (Homo sapiens).(J Comp Psychol, 2013-02) Herrmann, Esther; Keupp, Stefanie; Hare, Brian; Vaish, Amrisha; Tomasello, MichaelHumans make decisions about when and with whom to cooperate based on their reputations. People either learn about others by direct interaction or by observing third-party interactions or gossip. An important question is whether other animal species, especially our closest living relatives, the nonhuman great apes, also form reputations of others. In Study 1, chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, and 2.5-year-old human children experienced a nice experimenter who tried to give food/toys to the subject and a mean experimenter who interrupted the food/toy giving. In studies 2 and 3, nonhuman great apes and human children could only passively observe a similar interaction, in which a nice experimenter and a mean experimenter interacted with a third party. Orangutans and 2.5-year-old human children preferred to approach the nice experimenter rather than the mean one after having directly experienced their respective behaviors. Orangutans, chimpanzees, and 2.5-year-old human children also took into account experimenter actions toward third parties in forming reputations. These studies show that the human ability to form direct and indirect reputation judgment is already present in young children and shared with at least some of the other great apes.Item Open Access Evidence for an Asian origin of stem anthropoids.(Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2012-06-26) Kay, Richard FItem Open Access Fatty acid composition of wild anthropoid primate milks.(Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol, 2008-01) Milligan, Lauren A; Rapoport, Stanley I; Cranfield, Michael R; Dittus, Wolfgang; Glander, Kenneth E; Oftedal, Olav T; Power, Michael L; Whittier, Christopher A; Bazinet, Richard PFatty acids in milk reflect the interplay between species-specific physiological mechanisms and maternal diet. Anthropoid primates (apes, Old and New World monkeys) vary in patterns of growth and development and dietary strategies. Milk fatty acid profiles also are predicted to vary widely. This study investigates milk fatty acid composition of five wild anthropoids (Alouatta palliata, Callithrix jacchus, Gorilla beringei beringei, Leontopithecus rosalia, Macaca sinica) to test the null hypothesis of a generalized anthropoid milk fatty acid composition. Milk from New and Old World monkeys had significantly more 8:0 and 10:0 than milk from apes. The leaf eating species G. b. beringei and A. paliatta had a significantly higher proportion of milk 18:3n-3, a fatty acid found primarily in plant lipids. Mean percent composition of 22:6n-3 was significantly different among monkeys and apes, but was similar to the lowest reported values for human milk. Mountain gorillas were unique among anthropoids in the high proportion of milk 20:4n-6. This seems to be unrelated to requirements of a larger brain and may instead reflect species-specific metabolic processes or an unknown source of this fatty acid in the mountain gorilla diet.Item Open Access First record of the Miocene hominoid Sivapithecus from Kutch, Gujarat state, western India.(PloS one, 2018-01) Bhandari, Ansuya; Kay, Richard F; Williams, Blythe A; Tiwari, Brahma Nand; Bajpai, Sunil; Hieronymus, TobinHominoid remains from Miocene deposits in India and Pakistan have played a pivotal role in understanding the evolution of great apes and humans since they were first described in the 19th Century. We describe here a hominoid maxillary fragment preserving the canine and cheek teeth collected in 2011 from the Kutch (= Kachchh) basin in the Kutch district, Gujarat state, western India. A basal Late Miocene age is proposed based on the associated faunal assemblage that includes Hipparion and other age-diagnostic mammalian taxa. Miocene Hominoidea are known previously from several areas of the Siwalik Group in the outer western Himalayas of India, Pakistan, and Nepal. This is the first record of a hominoid from the Neogene of the Kutch Basin and represents a significant southern range extension of Miocene hominoids in the Indian peninsula. The specimen is assigned to the Genus Sivapithecus, species unspecified.Item Open Access Footprint evidence of early hominin locomotor diversity at Laetoli, Tanzania.(Nature, 2021-12) McNutt, Ellison J; Hatala, Kevin G; Miller, Catherine; Adams, James; Casana, Jesse; Deane, Andrew S; Dominy, Nathaniel J; Fabian, Kallisti; Fannin, Luke D; Gaughan, Stephen; Gill, Simone V; Gurtu, Josephat; Gustafson, Ellie; Hill, Austin C; Johnson, Camille; Kallindo, Said; Kilham, Benjamin; Kilham, Phoebe; Kim, Elizabeth; Liutkus-Pierce, Cynthia; Maley, Blaine; Prabhat, Anjali; Reader, John; Rubin, Shirley; Thompson, Nathan E; Thornburg, Rebeca; Williams-Hatala, Erin Marie; Zimmer, Brian; Musiba, Charles M; DeSilva, Jeremy MBipedal trackways discovered in 1978 at Laetoli site G, Tanzania and dated to 3.66 million years ago are widely accepted as the oldest unequivocal evidence of obligate bipedalism in the human lineage1-3. Another trackway discovered two years earlier at nearby site A was partially excavated and attributed to a hominin, but curious affinities with bears (ursids) marginalized its importance to the paleoanthropological community, and the location of these footprints fell into obscurity3-5. In 2019, we located, excavated and cleaned the site A trackway, producing a digital archive using 3D photogrammetry and laser scanning. Here we compare the footprints at this site with those of American black bears, chimpanzees and humans, and we show that they resemble those of hominins more than ursids. In fact, the narrow step width corroborates the original interpretation of a small, cross-stepping bipedal hominin. However, the inferred foot proportions, gait parameters and 3D morphologies of footprints at site A are readily distinguished from those at site G, indicating that a minimum of two hominin taxa with different feet and gaits coexisted at Laetoli.Item Open Access Four reasons for scepticism about a human major transition in social individuality.(Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences, 2023-03) McShea, Daniel WThe 'major transitions in evolution' are mainly about the rise of hierarchy, new individuals arising at ever higher levels of nestedness, in particular the eukaryotic cell arising from prokaryotes, multicellular individuals from solitary protists and individuated societies from multicellular individuals. Some lists include human societies as a major transition, but based on a comparison with the non-human transitions, there are reasons for scepticism. (i) The foundation of the major transitions is hierarchy, but the cross-cutting interactions in human societies undermine hierarchical structure. (ii) Natural selection operates in three modes-stability, growth and reproductive success-and only the third produces the complex adaptations seen in fully individuated higher levels. But human societies probably evolve mainly in the stability and growth modes. (iii) Highly individuated entities are marked by division of labour and commitment to morphological differentiation, but in humans differentiation is mostly behavioural and mostly reversible. (iv) As higher-level individuals arise, selection drains complexity, drains parts, from lower-level individuals. But there is little evidence of a drain in humans. In sum, a comparison with the other transitions gives reasons to doubt that human social individuation has proceeded very far, or if it has, to doubt that it is a transition of the same sort. This article is part of the theme issue 'Human socio-cultural evolution in light of evolutionary transitions'.Item Open Access Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa.(eLife, 2015-09) Dirks, Paul HGM; Berger, Lee R; Roberts, Eric M; Kramers, Jan D; Hawks, John; Randolph-Quinney, Patrick S; Elliott, Marina; Musiba, Charles M; Churchill, Steven E; de Ruiter, Darryl J; Schmid, Peter; Backwell, Lucinda R; Belyanin, Georgy A; Boshoff, Pedro; Hunter, K Lindsay; Feuerriegel, Elen M; Gurtov, Alia; Harrison, James du G; Hunter, Rick; Kruger, Ashley; Morris, Hannah; Makhubela, Tebogo V; Peixotto, Becca; Tucker, StevenWe describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date.Item Open Access Hip extensor mechanics and the evolution of walking and climbing capabilities in humans, apes, and fossil hominins.(Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2018-04-02) Kozma, Elaine E; Webb, Nicole M; Harcourt-Smith, William EH; Raichlen, David A; D'Août, Kristiaan; Brown, Mary H; Finestone, Emma M; Ross, Stephen R; Aerts, Peter; Pontzer, HermanThe evolutionary emergence of humans' remarkably economical walking gait remains a focus of research and debate, but experimentally validated approaches linking locomotor capability to postcranial anatomy are limited. In this study, we integrated 3D morphometrics of hominoid pelvic shape with experimental measurements of hip kinematics and kinetics during walking and climbing, hamstring activity, and passive range of hip extension in humans, apes, and other primates to assess arboreal-terrestrial trade-offs in ischium morphology among living taxa. We show that hamstring-powered hip extension during habitual walking and climbing in living apes and humans is strongly predicted, and likely constrained, by the relative length and orientation of the ischium. Ape pelves permit greater extensor moments at the hip, enhancing climbing capability, but limit their range of hip extension, resulting in a crouched gait. Human pelves reduce hip extensor moments but permit a greater degree of hip extension, which greatly improves walking economy (i.e., distance traveled/energy consumed). Applying these results to fossil pelves suggests that early hominins differed from both humans and extant apes in having an economical walking gait without sacrificing climbing capability. Ardipithecus was capable of nearly human-like hip extension during bipedal walking, but retained the capacity for powerful, ape-like hip extension during vertical climbing. Hip extension capability was essentially human-like in Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus africanus, suggesting an economical walking gait but reduced mechanical advantage for powered hip extension during climbing.Item Open Access Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa.(eLife, 2015-09) Berger, Lee R; Hawks, John; de Ruiter, Darryl J; Churchill, Steven E; Schmid, Peter; Delezene, Lucas K; Kivell, Tracy L; Garvin, Heather M; Williams, Scott A; DeSilva, Jeremy M; Skinner, Matthew M; Musiba, Charles M; Cameron, Noel; Holliday, Trenton W; Harcourt-Smith, William; Ackermann, Rebecca R; Bastir, Markus; Bogin, Barry; Bolter, Debra; Brophy, Juliet; Cofran, Zachary D; Congdon, Kimberly A; Deane, Andrew S; Dembo, Mana; Drapeau, Michelle; Elliott, Marina C; Feuerriegel, Elen M; Garcia-Martinez, Daniel; Green, David J; Gurtov, Alia; Irish, Joel D; Kruger, Ashley; Laird, Myra F; Marchi, Damiano; Meyer, Marc R; Nalla, Shahed; Negash, Enquye W; Orr, Caley M; Radovcic, Davorka; Schroeder, Lauren; Scott, Jill E; Throckmorton, Zachary; Tocheri, Matthew W; VanSickle, Caroline; Walker, Christopher S; Wei, Pianpian; Zipfel, BernhardHomo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.Item Open Access How does cognition evolve? Phylogenetic comparative psychology.(Anim Cogn, 2012-03) MacLean, Evan L; Matthews, Luke J; Hare, Brian A; Nunn, Charles L; Anderson, Rindy C; Aureli, Filippo; Brannon, Elizabeth M; Call, Josep; Drea, Christine M; Emery, Nathan J; Haun, Daniel BM; Herrmann, Esther; Jacobs, Lucia F; Platt, Michael L; Rosati, Alexandra G; Sandel, Aaron A; Schroepfer, Kara K; Seed, Amanda M; Tan, Jingzhi; van Schaik, Carel P; Wobber, VictoriaNow more than ever animal studies have the potential to test hypotheses regarding how cognition evolves. Comparative psychologists have developed new techniques to probe the cognitive mechanisms underlying animal behavior, and they have become increasingly skillful at adapting methodologies to test multiple species. Meanwhile, evolutionary biologists have generated quantitative approaches to investigate the phylogenetic distribution and function of phenotypic traits, including cognition. In particular, phylogenetic methods can quantitatively (1) test whether specific cognitive abilities are correlated with life history (e.g., lifespan), morphology (e.g., brain size), or socio-ecological variables (e.g., social system), (2) measure how strongly phylogenetic relatedness predicts the distribution of cognitive skills across species, and (3) estimate the ancestral state of a given cognitive trait using measures of cognitive performance from extant species. Phylogenetic methods can also be used to guide the selection of species comparisons that offer the strongest tests of a priori predictions of cognitive evolutionary hypotheses (i.e., phylogenetic targeting). Here, we explain how an integration of comparative psychology and evolutionary biology will answer a host of questions regarding the phylogenetic distribution and history of cognitive traits, as well as the evolutionary processes that drove their evolution.Item Open Access The effect of high wear diets on the relative pulp volume of the lower molars.(American journal of physical anthropology, 2021-04) Selig, Keegan R; Kupczik, Kornelius; Silcox, Mary TObjectives
One role of dental pulp is in the upkeep and maintenance of dentine. Under wear, odontoblasts in the pulp deposit tertiary dentine to ensure the sensitive internal dental tissues are not exposed and vulnerable to infection. It follows that there may be an adaptive advantage for increasing molar pulp volume in anthropoid primate taxa that are prone to high levels of wear. The relative volume of dental pulp is therefore predicted to covary with dietary abrasiveness (in the sense of including foods that cause high degrees of wear).Materials and methods
We examined relatively unworn lower second molars in pairs of species of extant hominoids, cebids, and pitheciids that vary in the abrasiveness of their diet (n = 36). Using micro-CT scans, we measured the percent of tooth that is pulp (PTP) as the ratio of pulp volume to that of the total volume of the tooth.Results
We found that in each pair of species, the taxa that consume a more abrasive diet had a significantly higher PTP than the closely related taxa that consume a softer diet.Conclusions
Our results point to an adaptive mechanism in the molars of taxa that consume abrasive diets and are thus subject to higher levels of wear. Our results provide additional understanding of the relationship between dental pulp and diet and may offer insight into the diet of extinct taxa such as Paranthropus boisei or into the adaptive context of the taurodont molars of Neanderthals.