Introduction

doi:10.1017/CBO9780511542565.001

1 - Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 August 2009

A. J. Nelson and

Edited by

G. E. Krovitz and

G. E. Krovitz: Affiliation:
Postdoctoral research associate in the Department of Anthropology Pennsylvania State University
A. J. Nelson: Affiliation:
Associate Professor in the Department of Anthro-pology University of Western Ontario
J. L. Thompson: Affiliation:
Paleoanthropologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology and Ethnic Studies, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
J. L. Thompson: Affiliation:
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
G. E. Krovitz: Affiliation:
Pennsylvania State University
A. J. Nelson: Affiliation:
University of Western Ontario

Book contents

Get access

Summary

Background

The field of paleoanthropology has traditionally concentrated on the adult form of our fossil predecessors. This work has led to detailed insights in the fields of phylogeny, biomechanics, function, and environmental interactions, and has made enormous contributions to our understanding of hominid adaptation and evolution. There are many reasons for concentrating on adult morphology. First, most of the preserved fossils are adult individuals. Second, the adult form is relatively stable over many years of an individual's life, and thus represents a manifestation of the many evolutionary pressures acting on a particular individual and other members of the taxon. Lastly, there has been historical bias against the study of juvenile individuals (Johnston, 1968; Johnston & Schell, 1979; Johnston & Zimmer, 1989).

However, even the most detailed understanding of the adult form still gives an incomplete picture of the adaptation and evolution of our hominid predecessors. There are many reasons that the study of adult individuals alone is not sufficient. First, humans have a life-history pattern that includes a relatively (and absolutely) long juvenile period. Thus, if typical life expectancy among our recent hominid predecessors was only three or four decades (e.g., Bermúdez de Castro & Nicolas, 1997; Trinkaus, 1995; Trinkaus & Tompkins, 1990), less than half of the total life span of a typical individual would have been spent as an adult.

Type: Chapter
Information: Patterns of Growth and Development in the Genus Homo , pp. 1 - 12

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511542565.001 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2003

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Book purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Akazawa, T., Muhesen, S., Dodo, Y., Kondo, O., & Mizoguchi, Y. (1995). Neanderthal infant burial. Nature, 377, 585–586CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Antón, S. C. (1997). Developmental age and taxonomic affinity of the Mojokerto Child, Java, Indonesia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 102, 497–5143.0.CO;2-P>CrossRef Google Scholar

Arsuaga, J. L., Bermúdez de Castro, J. M., & Carbonell, E. (1997). The Sima de los Huesos hominid site. Journal of Human Evolution, 33CrossRef Google Scholar

Bermúdez de Castro, J. M., & Nicolas, M. E. (1997). Palaeodemography of the Atapuerca-SH Middle Pleistocene hominid samples. Journal of Human Evolution, 33, 333–355CrossRef Google Scholar

Bermúdez de Castro, J. M., Carbonell, E., & Arsuaga, J. L. (1999). Gran Dolina Site: TD6 Aurora Stratum (Burgos, Spain). Journal of Human Evolution, 37Google Scholar

Beynon, A. D., & Dean, M. C. (1988). Distinct development patterns in early fossil hominids. Nature, 335, 509–514CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Bromage, T. G. (1987). The biological and chronological maturation of early hominids. Journal of Human Evolution, 16, 257–272CrossRef Google Scholar

Bromage, T. G., & Dean, M. C. (1985). Re-evaluation of the age at death of immature fossil hominids. Nature, 317, 525–527CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Conroy, G. C., & Vannier, M. W. (1987). Dental development of the Taung skull from computerized tomography. Nature, 329, 625–627CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Dart, R. A. (1925). Australopithecus africanus: The man–ape of South Africa. Nature, 115, 195–199CrossRef Google Scholar

de Beer, G. R. (1958). Embryos and Ancestors, 3rd edn. Oxford: Clarendon Press

Dean, M. C. (1987). The dental developmental status of six East African juvenile fossil hominids. Journal of Human Evolution, 16, 197–213CrossRef Google Scholar

Dean, M. C., Stringer, C. B., & Bromage, T. G. (1986). Age at death of the Neanderthal child from Devil's Tower, Gibraltar and the implications for studies of general growth and development in Neandertals. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 70, 301–309CrossRef Google Scholar

Eveleth, P. B., & Tanner, J. M. (1991). Worldwide Variation in Human Growth, 2nd edn. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Frisancho, A. R. (1970). Developmental responses to high altitude hypoxia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 32, 401–408CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Golovanova, L. V., Hoffecker, J. F., Kharitonov, V. M., & Romanova, G. P. (1999). Mezmaiskaya Cave: A Neanderthal occupation in the Northern Caucasus. Current Anthropology, 40, 77–86CrossRef Google Scholar

Gould, S. J. (1977). Ontogeny and Phylogeny. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

Hoppa, R. D. (1992). Evaluating human skeletal growth: An Anglo-Saxon example. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 2, 275–288CrossRef Google Scholar

Hoppa, R. D., & FitzGerald, C. M. (eds.) (1999). Human Growth in the Past: Studies from Bones and Teeth. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Howells, W. W. (1971). Applications of multivariate analysis to craniofacial growth. In Craniofacial Growth in Man, eds. R. E. Moyers & W. M. Krogman, pp. 209–218. Oxford: Pergamon Press

Johnston, F. E. (1968). Growth in the skeleton of earlier peoples. In The Skeletal Biology of Earlier Human Populations. Symposia of the Society for the Study of Human Biology no. 8, ed. D. R. Brothwell, pp. 57–66. Oxford: Pergamon Press

Johnston, F. E., & Schell, L. M. (1979). Anthropometric variation of Native American children and adults. In The First Americans: Origins, Affinities, and Adaptations, eds. W. S. Laughlin & A. B. Harper, pp. 275–291. New York: Gustav Fischer

Johnston, F. E., & Zimmer, L. O. (1989). Assessment of growth and age in the immature skeleton. In Reconstructing Life from the Skeleton, eds. M. Y. Iscan & K. A. R. Kennedy, pp. 11–21. New York: Alan R. Liss

Lampl, M., & Johnston, F. E. (1996). Problems in the aging of skeletal juveniles: Perspectives from maturation assessments of living children. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 101, 345–3553.0.CO;2-Y>CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Leakey, L. S. B., Tobias, P. V., & Napier, J. R. (1964). A new species of the genus Homo from Olduvai Gorge. Nature, 202, 7–9CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Lewis, A. B., & Garn, S. M. (1960). The relationship between tooth formation and other maturational factors. Angle Orthodontics, 30, 70–77Google Scholar

Lieberman, D. E. (1995). Testing hypotheses about recent human evolution from skulls: Integrating morphology, function, development, and phylogeny. Current Anthropology, 36, 159–197CrossRef Google Scholar

Lieberman, D. E. (2000). Ontogeny, homology, and phylogeny in the hominid craniofacial skeleton: The problem of the browridge. In Development, Growth and Evolution: Implications for the Study of the Hominid Skeleton, eds. P. O'Higgins & M. J. Cohn, pp. 85–122. London: Academic Press

Mann, A. (1975). Paleodemographic Aspects of the South African Australopithecines. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press

Maureille, B. (2002). A lost Neanderthal neonate found. Nature, 419, 33–34CrossRef Google Scholar

Minugh-Purvis, N. (1988). Patterns of craniofacial growth and development in Upper Pleistocene hominids. PhD dissertation, University of Pennsylvania

Minugh-Purvis, N., & McNamara, K. J. (eds.) (2002). Human Evolution through Developmental Change. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press

Montagu, M. F. A. (1955). Time, morphology, and neoteny in the evolution of Man. American Anthropologist, 57, 13–27CrossRef Google Scholar

O'Higgins, P., & Cohn, M. J. (eds.) (2000). Development, Growth and Evolution: Implications for the Study of the Hominid Skeleton. London: Academic Press

Raff, R. A. (1996). The Shape of Life: Genes, Development, and the Evolution of Animal Form. Chicago: University of Chicago Press

Rak, Y., Kimbel, W. H., & Hovers, E. (1994). A Neandertal infant from Amud Cave, Israel. Journal of Human Evolution, 26, 313–324CrossRef Google Scholar

Saunders, S. R. (1992). Subadult skeletons and growth related studies. In Skeletal Biology of Past Peoples: Research Methods, eds. S. R. Saunders & M. A. Katzenberg, pp. 1–20. New York: Wiley-Liss

Saunders, S. R., & Hoppa, R. D. (1993). Growth deficit in survivors and non-survivors: Biological mortality bias in subadult skeletal samples. Yearbook of Physical Anthropology, 36, 127–151CrossRef Google Scholar

Schwartz, J. H., & Tattersall, I. (2002). The Human Fossil Record. Vol. 1, Terminology and Craniodental Morphology of Genus Homo (Europe). New York: John Wiley & Sons

Skinner, M. (1997). Age at death of Gibraltar 2. Journal of Human Evolution, 32, 469–470CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Smith, B. H. (1986). Dental development in Australopithecus and early Homo. Nature, 323, 327–330CrossRef Google Scholar

Smith, B. H. (1989a). Dental development as a measure of life history in primates. Evolution, 43, 683–688CrossRef Google Scholar

Smith, B. H. (1989b). Growth and development and its significance for early hominid behaviour. Ossa, 14, 63–96Google Scholar

Smith, B. H. (1991). Standards of human tooth formation and dental age assessment. In Advances in Dental Anthropology, eds. M. A. Kelley & C. S. Larsen, pp. 143–168. New York: Wiley-Liss

Smith, B. H. (1993). The physiological age of KNM-WT 15000. In The Nariokotome Homo erectus Skeleton, eds. A. Walker & R. Leakey, pp. 196–220. Cambridge: Harvard University PressCrossRef

Stringer, C. B., & Dean, M. C. (1997). Age at death of Gibraltar 2 – a reply. Journal of Human Evolution, 32, 471–472CrossRef Google Scholar

Stringer, C. B., Dean, M. C., & Martin, R. D. (1990). A comparative study of cranial and dental development within a recent British sample and among Neandertals. In Primate Life History and Evolution, ed. C. J. de Rousseau, pp. 115–152. New York: Wiley-Liss

Thompson, J. L., & Nelson, A. J. (2000). The place of Neandertals in the evolution of hominid patterns of growth and development. Journal of Human Evolution, 38, 475–495CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Tillier, A. M. (1979). Restes crâniens de l'enfant moustérien Homo 4 de Qafzeh (Israël): La mandible et les maxillaires. Paléorient, 5, 67–85CrossRef Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1981). Evolution de la région symphysaire chez les Homo sapiens juvéniles du Paléolithique moyen: Pech de l'Azé 1, Roc de Marsal, et la Chaise 13. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences de Paris, 293, 725–727Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1982). Les enfants néanderthaliens de Devil's Tower (Gibraltar). Zeitschrift für Morphologie und Anthropologie, 73, 125–148Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1983a). Le crâne d'enfant d'Engis 2: Un example de distribution des caractères juvéniles, primitifs et néanderthaliens. Bulletin de la Société royale Belge d'Anthropologie et de Préhistoire, 94, 51–75Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1983b). L'enfant néanderthalien du Roc de Marsal (Campagne du Bugue, Dordogne): Le squelette facial. Annales de Paléontologie, 69, 137–149Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1984). L'enfant Homo 11 de Qafzeh (Israël) et son apport à la compréhension des modalités de la croissance de squelettes Moustériens. Paléorient, 10, 7–48CrossRef Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1986a). Ordre d'apparition des caractères Néanderthaliens sur le squelette crânien au cours de la croissance: Problèmes d'analyse phylogénétique. In Definition et Origines de l'Homme, ed. M. Sakka, pp. 263–271. Paris: Editions du CNRS

Tillier, A. M. (1986b). Quelques aspects de l'ontogenèse du squelette cranien des Néandertaliens. Anthropos (Brno), 23, 207–216Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1987). L'enfant néanderthalien de la Quina H 18 et l'ontogénie des Néanderthaliens. In Préhistoire de Poitou-Charentes: Problèmes actuels, ed. B. Vandermeersch, pp. 201–206. Paris: Comité des Travaux Historiques et Scientifiques

Tillier, A. M. (1988). La place de restes de Devil's Tower (Gibraltar) dans l'ontogenèse des Néanderthaliens. Bulletins et Mémoires de la Société d'Anthropologie de Paris, 14, 257–266CrossRef Google Scholar

Tillier, A. M. (1989). The evolution of modern humans: Evidence from young Mousterian individuals. In The Human Revolution: Behavioral and Biological Perspectives on the Origins of Modern Humans, eds. P. Mellars & C. Stringer, pp. 286–297. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press

Tillier, A. M. (1992). The origins of modern humans in Southwest Asia: Ontogenetic aspects. In The Evolution and Dispersal of Modern Humans in Asia, eds. T. Akazawa, K. Aoki, & T. Kimura, pp. 15–28. Tokyo: Hukusen-sha

Tompkins, R. L., & Trinkaus, E. (1987). La Ferrassie 6 and the development of Neandertal pubic morphology. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 73, 233–239CrossRef Google Scholar PubMed

Trinkaus, E. (1990). Why bother with the Neandertals?Quaternaria Nova, 1, 639–652Google Scholar

Trinkaus, E. (1995). Neanderthal mortality patterns. Journal of Archaeological Science, 22, 121–142CrossRef Google Scholar

Trinkaus, E., & Tompkins, R. L. (1990). The Neandertal life cycle: The possibility, probability, and perceptability of contrasts with recent humans. In Primate Life History and Evolution, ed. C. J. de Rousseau, pp. 153–180. New York: Wiley-Liss

Ubelaker, D. H. (1989). Human Skeletal Remains, 2nd edn. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press

Walker, A., & Leakey, R. (eds.) (1993). The Nariokotome Homo erectus Skeleton. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

Wood, J. W., Milner, G. R., Harpending, H. C., & Weiss, K. M. (1992). The osteological paradox: Problems from inferring prehistoric health from skeletal samples. Current Anthropology, 33, 343–370CrossRef Google Scholar