Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 3 of 3
Full-Text Articles in Biological and Physical Anthropology
Diversity And Evolution Of Human Eccrine Sweat Gland Density, Andrew W. Best
Diversity And Evolution Of Human Eccrine Sweat Gland Density, Andrew W. Best
Doctoral Dissertations
Human eccrine density is highly derived. However, little is known about contemporary variation in this trait, what shapes it, and how it influences heat dissipation. This project explores 3 questions: 1) Is variation in functional eccrine density (FED) explained by childhood climate? 2) Is this variation patterned by geographic ancestry? 3) Is variation in FED associated with differences in heat dissipation capacity? We measured FED and sweat production in 6 body areas via pharmacological stimulation and impressions of sweating skin in 72 participants. Childhood climate variables were taken from the WorldClim database and geographic ancestry was estimated with 23andMe tests. …
Evolution Of Endurance Running Genes Across Primates, Natalia T. Grube
Evolution Of Endurance Running Genes Across Primates, Natalia T. Grube
Theses and Dissertations
The endurance running hypothesis has emerged as a key idea to explain several unique anatomical, physiological, and genetic features of modern humans—among these features is the evolution of ACTN3 (Bramble & Lieberman 2004, Nature), a gene linked to human athletic performance. An additional gene linked to human endurance performance is ACE. Because endurance running is a uniquely human trait, I predicted that ACE and ACTN3 genes would be evolving adaptively in the human lineage when examined in a wider primatological framework. To test this I compiled ACE and ACTN3 genes from 14 primate species and phylogenetically tested if these genes …
A Multivariate Test Of Evolutionary Stasis In Homo Sapiens, Jon Geoffrey Kleckner
A Multivariate Test Of Evolutionary Stasis In Homo Sapiens, Jon Geoffrey Kleckner
Dissertations and Theses
In the past, efforts to prove or disprove stasis in hominids have relied upon univariate tests such as Students's t-test. Severe methodological and interpretive problems arise from the misapplication of univariate statistics to questions concerning variation in shape through time. These are questions best addressed using the multivariate approach of morphometrics. Eighteen cranial dimensions drawn from 33 mid and late Pleistocene Homo sapiens were examined using principal component analysis (PCA). PCA divided the sample into two distinct morphologies. Archaic Homo sapiens of the mid Pleistocene clustered with Wurm I neanderthals and apart from post Gottweig early anatomically modern Homo sapiens. …