In order to better understand microevolutionary processes in Holocene Chinese craniofacial mor- phology, an analysis has been done on 21 metric traits on Neolithic (n=161), Bronze Age (n=423) and modern (n=134) adult ...In order to better understand microevolutionary processes in Holocene Chinese craniofacial mor- phology, an analysis has been done on 21 metric traits on Neolithic (n=161), Bronze Age (n=423) and modern (n=134) adult male skulls from northern China. The results indicate that the physical characters of these Chinese populations evolved throughout the Holocene. From the Neolithic to Bronze Age to present day, general trends include: cranial and facial sizes decrease; the nose gets narrower and longer; the orbits become narrower and higher; the head is more globular. The expression of the cranial features varies between the different time periods. The decrease in cranial size primarily occurred from the Bronze Age to present day. However, the decrease in facial size, the narrowing of the nose, and the elevation of the orbits took place throughout the Holocene. These traits are likely still evolving. This evolving pattern of the cranial features for the Holocene Chinese populations is similar to that found elsewhere in the world. The decrease in overall craniofacial size is associated with changes in climate and diet. In addition, it is possible that the craniofacial morphological microevolution is controlled by human evolutionary mechanisms.展开更多
To better understand variation of Holocene Chinese mandiblular morphology, a study was conducted on 23 metric traits of Neolithic (n=54), Bronze-Iron Ages (n=184) and modern (n=92) adult male mandibles from northern C...To better understand variation of Holocene Chinese mandiblular morphology, a study was conducted on 23 metric traits of Neolithic (n=54), Bronze-Iron Ages (n=184) and modern (n=92) adult male mandibles from northern China. Results indicate that the linear characters of these Chinese mandibles evolved in the past 7000 years. From the Neolithic to Bronze-Iron Ages to present day, the overall size of mandibles decreased. The linear characters of the mandiblular features varied between different time periods. The decrease of thickness and height of the mandibular corpus primarily occurred during the Neolithic to Bronze-Iron Ages. The decrease in main size was during the Bronze-Iron Ages to present day. It is possible that mandibles became thinner before the overall size decreased. Comparisons also indicate that the bottom part of the face may have decreased more greatly in breadth than the upper portion. The decrease in mandible size may be associated with changes in climate and diet, and with changes in the craniums size.展开更多
基金Supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sci-ences (Grant No. KZCX2-YW-106)Major Basic Research Projects (Grant No. 2006CB806400)+1 种基金Jilin University "985 Projects"the National Natural Science Foundation of China for Fostering Talents in Basic Research Special Research Dis-ciplinary Unit (Grant Nos. J0530189 and J0530184)
文摘In order to better understand microevolutionary processes in Holocene Chinese craniofacial mor- phology, an analysis has been done on 21 metric traits on Neolithic (n=161), Bronze Age (n=423) and modern (n=134) adult male skulls from northern China. The results indicate that the physical characters of these Chinese populations evolved throughout the Holocene. From the Neolithic to Bronze Age to present day, general trends include: cranial and facial sizes decrease; the nose gets narrower and longer; the orbits become narrower and higher; the head is more globular. The expression of the cranial features varies between the different time periods. The decrease in cranial size primarily occurred from the Bronze Age to present day. However, the decrease in facial size, the narrowing of the nose, and the elevation of the orbits took place throughout the Holocene. These traits are likely still evolving. This evolving pattern of the cranial features for the Holocene Chinese populations is similar to that found elsewhere in the world. The decrease in overall craniofacial size is associated with changes in climate and diet. In addition, it is possible that the craniofacial morphological microevolution is controlled by human evolutionary mechanisms.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(41102015)the Projects from the Chinese Academy of Sciences(XDA05130102 and KZCX2-YW-159)the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(2009DFB20580)
文摘To better understand variation of Holocene Chinese mandiblular morphology, a study was conducted on 23 metric traits of Neolithic (n=54), Bronze-Iron Ages (n=184) and modern (n=92) adult male mandibles from northern China. Results indicate that the linear characters of these Chinese mandibles evolved in the past 7000 years. From the Neolithic to Bronze-Iron Ages to present day, the overall size of mandibles decreased. The linear characters of the mandiblular features varied between different time periods. The decrease of thickness and height of the mandibular corpus primarily occurred during the Neolithic to Bronze-Iron Ages. The decrease in main size was during the Bronze-Iron Ages to present day. It is possible that mandibles became thinner before the overall size decreased. Comparisons also indicate that the bottom part of the face may have decreased more greatly in breadth than the upper portion. The decrease in mandible size may be associated with changes in climate and diet, and with changes in the craniums size.
