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Increasing breadth of the frontal lobe but decreasing height of the human brain between two Chinese samples from a Neolithic site and from living humans
Author(s) -
Liu Chao,
Tang Yuchun,
Ge Haitao,
Wang Fen,
Sun Huafu,
Meng Haiwei,
Wang Shaoyu,
Xu Junhai,
Fan Rong,
Fan Lingzhong,
Zhang Zhonghe,
Shan Tao,
Yuan Hongtu,
Zhan Jinfeng,
Yu Qiaowen,
Ge Xinting,
Tang Haiyan,
Leng Yuan,
Ding Shihai,
Liu Shuwei
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.22476
Subject(s) - endocast , homo sapiens , brain size , sexual dimorphism , human brain , frontal lobe , human evolution , hunter gatherer , evolutionary biology , biology , archaeology , anatomy , zoology , geography , skull , neuroscience , medicine , radiology , magnetic resonance imaging
Morphological observation and measurements of endocasts have played a vital role in research on the evolution of the human brain. However, endocasts have never been used to investigate how the human brain has evolved since the Neolithic period. We investigated the evolution of the human brain during the Holocene by comparing virtual endocasts from Beiqian site (a Neolithic Chinese site) and a sample of Chinese modern‐day humans. Standardized measurements and indices were taken to provide quantification of the overall endocast shape, including the length, breadth, height, frontal breadth, and the ratio of frontal breadth to breadth, as well as the cranial capacity. We found that the height of the endocasts and cranial capacity have decreased between our two samples, whereas the frontal breadth and sexual dimorphism have increased. We argue that these changes can be caused by random genetic mutation and epigenetic change in response to changes in the environment. Am J Phys Anthropol 154:94–103, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.