It is generally accepted that the earliest human ancestors grew more like apes than like humans today. If they did so, and we are now different, when, how and why did our modern growth patterns evolve? Originally published in 2003, this book focuses on species within the genus Homo to investigate the evolutionary origins of characteristic human patterns and rates of craniofacial and postcranial growth and development, and to explore unique ontogenetic patterns within each fossil species. Experts examine growth patterns found within available Plio-Pleistocene hominid samples, and analyse variation in ontogenetic patterns and rates of development in recent modern humans in order to provide a comparative context for fossil hominid studies. Presenting studies of some of the newer juvenile fossil specimens and information on Homo antecessor, this book will provide a rich data source with which anthropologists and evolutionary biologists can address the questions posed above.
• Presents studies of both some of the newest juvenile fossil specimens and the newest species assigned to Homo - H. antecessor • Presents reader with both theoretical and empirical studies to give a fully rounded picture • Contributors are leading scholars in the field
Contents
List of contributors; Acknowledgements; Introduction G. E. Krovitz, A. J. Nelson and J. L. Thompson; Part I. Setting the Stage: What Do we Know about Human Growth and Development?: 2. The human pattern of growth and development in paleontological perspective B. Bogin; 3. Postnatal ontogeny of facial position in Homo sapiens and Pan troglodytes B. McBratney-Owen and D. E. Lieberman; 4. Variation in modern human dental development H. Liversidge; 5. Developmental variation in the facial skeleton on anatomically modern Homo sapiens U. Strand Vidarsdóttir and P. O'Higgins; 6. Linear growth variation in the archaeological record L. T. Humphrey; 7. Hominid growth and development: the modern context J. L. Thompson, A. J. Nelson and G. E. Krovitz; Part II. The First Steps: From Australopithecines to Middle Pleistocene Homo: 8. Reconstructing australopithecine growth and development: what do we think we know? K. L. Kuykendall; 9. Growth and life history in Homo erectus S. C. Antón and S. R. Leigh; 10. Patterns of dental development in Lower and Middle Pleistocene hominins from Atapuerca (Spain) J. M. Bermúdez de Castro, F. Ramírez Rozzi, M. Martinón-Torres, S. Sarimiento Pérez and A. Rosas; 11. Hominid growth and development from australopithecines to Middle Pleistocene Homo G. E. Krovitz, J. L. Thompson and A. J. Nelson; Part III. The Last Steps: The Approach to Modern Humans: 12. Diagnosing heterochronic perturbations in the craniofacial evolution of Homo (Neandertals and modern humans) and Pan (P. troglodytes and P. paniscus) F. L. Williams, L. R. Godfrey and M. R. Sutherland; 13. Shape and growth differences between Neandertals and modern humans: grounds for a species-level distinction? G. E. Krovitz; 14. Ontogenetic patterning and phylogenetic significance of mental foramen number and position in the evolution of Upper Pleistocene Homo sapiens H. Coqueugniot and N. Minugh-Purvis; 15. A new approach to the quantitative analysis of postcranial growth in Neandertals and modern humans: evidence from the hipbone T. Majó and A. –M. Tillier; 16. Ontogenetic variation in the Dederiych Neandertal infants: postcranial evidence O. Kondo and H. Ishida; 17. Hominid growth and development in Upper Pleistocene Homo A. J. Nelson, G. E. Krovitz and J. L. Thompson; 18. Conclusions: putting it all together A. J. Nelson, J. L. Thompson and G. E. Krovitz; Index.
Reviews
Review of the hardback: 'This volume shows how far research in this area has come in the last few decades … This book is an excellent addition to the literature on growth and development, and a long overdue examination of our own genus's growth and development.' Osteoarchaeology
Review of the hardback: 'This book is an excellent addition to the literature on growth and development, and a long overdue examination of our own genus's growth and development.' International Journal of Osteoarchaeology
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