Journal article
The Ontogeny of Nasal Floor Shape Variation in Extant Humans
American journal of physical anthropology, Vol.155(3), pp.369-378
11/01/2014
DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22570
PMID: 25043897
Abstract
Variation in nasal floor topography has generated both neontological and paleontological interest. Three categories of nasal floor shape (Franciscus: J Hum Evol 44 (2003) 699-727) have been used when analyzing this trait in extant humans and fossil Homo: flat, sloped, and depressed (or bi-level). Variation in the frequency of these configurations within and among extant and fossil humans has been well-documented (Franciscus: J Hum Evol 44 (2003) 699-727; Wu et al.: Anthropol Sci 120 (2012) 217-226). However, variation in this trait in Homo has been observed primarily in adults, with comparatively small subadult sample sizes and/or large age gradients that may not sufficiently track key ontogenetic changes. In this study, we investigate the ontogeny of nasal floor shape in a relatively large cross-sectional age sample of extant humans (n = 382) ranging from 4.0 months fetal to 21 years post-natal. Results indicate that no fetal or young infant individuals possess a depressed nasal floor, and that a depressed nasal floor, when present (ca. 21% of the sample), does not occur until 3.0 years postnatal. A canonical variates analysis of maxillary shape revealed that individuals with depressed nasal floors were also characterized by relatively taller anterior alveolar regions. This suggests that palate remodeling at about 3.0-3.5 years after birth, under the influence of tooth development, strongly influences nasal floor variation, and that various aspects of dental development, including larger crown/root size, may contribute to the development of a depressed nasal floor. These results in extant humans may help explain the high frequency of this trait found in Neandertal and other archaic Homo maxillae. Am J Phys Anthropol 155:369-378, 2014. (c) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The Ontogeny of Nasal Floor Shape Variation in Extant Humans
- Creators
- Christina L. Nicholas - University of IowaRobert G. Franciscus - University of Iowa
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Publication Details
- American journal of physical anthropology, Vol.155(3), pp.369-378
- Publisher
- Wiley
- DOI
- 10.1002/ajpa.22570
- PMID
- 25043897
- ISSN
- 0002-9483
- eISSN
- 1096-8644
- Number of pages
- 10
- Grant note
- UI Stanley Graduate Award for International Research SBR-9312567 / National Science Foundation; National Science Foundation (NSF) Leakey Foundation UI Old Gold Fellowship UI Department of Anthropology
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 11/01/2014
- Academic Unit
- Orthodontics; Anthropology
- Record Identifier
- 9984271555902771
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