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Biological and Physical Anthropology Commons™
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- Biomechanics (3)
- Fossil hominids (3)
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Articles 1 - 14 of 14
Full-Text Articles in Biological and Physical Anthropology
The Evolution Of Sex Differences In Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx): Micro- And Macroevolution, Jerred Klint Schafer
The Evolution Of Sex Differences In Mandrills (Mandrillus Sphinx): Micro- And Macroevolution, Jerred Klint Schafer
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Primates show diverse patterns of adaptive color and body size dimorphism produced by inter- and intrasexual selection. However, the specific microevolutionary processes that produce variation in secondary sexual characteristics remain largely unexplored in primates. Furthermore, sexual conflict theory predicts that female and male secondary sexual traits can coevolve in an antagonistic manner and promote speciation. This dissertation explores the microevolution of secondary sexual characteristics in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and the macroevolution of these characters in anthropoid primates. I address the microevolution of mandrill facial coloration and body mass by estimating the heritability, phenotypic selection, and genetic evolution of these traits …
Intergenerational Embodiment Of Stress : How The Broader Sociocultural Environment Can Shape Child Growth And Development, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth
Intergenerational Embodiment Of Stress : How The Broader Sociocultural Environment Can Shape Child Growth And Development, Elizabeth A. Holdsworth
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Childhood growth has been a means of identifying systemic, material inequalities within populations. The plasticity of growth is responsive to multiple environmental factors, most notably adequate nutrition, but also psychosocial stress. Psychosocial stress can be a function of the social and political economic ecology, reinforcing power hierarchies within societies. This dissertation proposes that childhood growth can also reflect inequality in the distribution of psychosocial stress exposure through mothers’ feelings of a chronically stressful environment conveyed through maternal-infant interactions.
Bayesian Analysis In Adult Skeletal Age-At-Death Estimation, With Additional Consideration Of Pathological Variables, Jessica L. Campbell
Bayesian Analysis In Adult Skeletal Age-At-Death Estimation, With Additional Consideration Of Pathological Variables, Jessica L. Campbell
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
A common task bioarchaeologists face is to estimate age-at-death in populations that have no corresponding documentation. This poses many challenges, the first of which is that age-at-death is highly variable within and among populations and can be further confounded by genetic and environmental influences, as well as other components of the biological profile. Estimating age-at-death in a historic sample can be even more challenging due to missing age indicators or taphonomic changes that obscure the features. Bayesian Analysis offers the potential to mitigate these challenges and to estimate age-at-death with lower degrees of uncertainty and higher probabilities of increased accuracy …
Evolution Of Lemur Pelage Color Variation, Amanda Nicole Spriggs
Evolution Of Lemur Pelage Color Variation, Amanda Nicole Spriggs
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This dissertation investigates the selective pressures that may be driving variation in pelage color patterns in Eulemur, Varecia, and Propithecus. This is addressed by exploring the relationship between the lemur pelage colors and ecological variables, such as habitat type, predation pressures, visibility variables, and level of sympatry. The following model is presented here to describe the evolutionary mechanisms that are thought to be maintaining pelage coloration in lemurs: Pelage color and pattern are potentially used to (1) signal to conspecifics information such as mate quality, (2) signal to congenerics species identity, and (3) avoid signaling the individual’s presence to predators. …
Antibiotics, The Microbiome, And Immunity : A Case Study In Bangladesh, Carmen Fagnani
Antibiotics, The Microbiome, And Immunity : A Case Study In Bangladesh, Carmen Fagnani
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The purpose of this study was to establish a theoretical impact of antibiotic misuse on the microbiome and its effects on immunity. Recent studies indicate the importance of a microbiome on the immune system. Both the leptin signaling pathways and CD4T cell production are influenced by the microbiome (Mazmanian, et al. 2005). The use of antibiotics has been associated with dysbiosis, a microbial imbalance in the digestive tract. The immune system is limited when the microbiome is dysbiotic.
Human Feeding Biomechanics : Intraspecific Variation And Evolution, Justin Ledogar
Human Feeding Biomechanics : Intraspecific Variation And Evolution, Justin Ledogar
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This study examines feeding biomechanics in modern human crania and those of extinct early members of the human lineage in order to better understand the selective pressures that influenced human craniofacial evolution. Specifically, this study uses finite element analysis to examine: 1) human feeding performance, in terms bite force production and craniofacial strength; 2) intraspecific variation in human feeding biomechanics; 3) feeding biomechanics in fossil hominins, including Australopithecus sediba and Homo habilis, species that are potentially at the root of modern human lineage, and 4) the functional role of purported facial buttresses.
Examining The Craniofacial Biomechanics Of Paranthropus Boisei, Amanda L. Smith
Examining The Craniofacial Biomechanics Of Paranthropus Boisei, Amanda L. Smith
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
An engineering method, finite element analysis (FEA), was used to examine the craniofacial biomechanics of Paranthropus boisei. The craniofacial morphology of Paranthropus boisei exhibits a number of highly derived characteristics that have commonly been thought to be related to feeding. This series of studies includes an ex vivo strain gage study (validation of techniques), an assessment of the effects of intraspecific craniofacial shape variation in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), and an examination of the feeding biomechanics of Paranthropus boisei. Modeling experiments were also conducted to test mechanical hypotheses regarding the effects of specific derived craniofacial features on Paranthropus feeding function.
The Biomechanical And Behavioral Significance Of The Neanderthal Femur, Kelli Hamm Tamvada
The Biomechanical And Behavioral Significance Of The Neanderthal Femur, Kelli Hamm Tamvada
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The Neanderthal (Homo neanderthalensis) femur is distinct from that of recent modern humans (Homo sapiens). Broadly speaking, the Neanderthal femur is more "robust", meaning that it appears to be biomechanically stronger, and it is more curved, which may enhance the predictability of the stresses and strains experienced by the bone. It has been hypothesized that the Neanderthal morphology is an adaptation to withstand elevated and repetitive loads associated with increased mobility. This study tests the mobility hypothesis using comparative and biomechanical methods. Specifically, this study sought to test the mobility hypothesis by a) determining whether or not a relationship exists …
A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten
A Biocultural Perspective On The Transition To Agriculture In Ukraine, Jordan Kenneth Karsten
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The development of agriculture and its spread around the globe is one of the most consequential events in the history of our species. The transition to agriculture is associated with many cultural developments, such as craft specialization, urbanization, and the creation of social hierarchies. Many social theorists believe that these changes associated with the adoption of farming were beneficial to the human condition, however, not all agree. The goal of this research is to evaluate the impact of the adoption of agriculture on human health. To do this, bioarchaeological analysis is employed, comparing the skeletal and dental health of Mesolithic …
Developmental Adaptation Hypothesis : Aerobic Capacity, Submaximal Arterial Saturation And Pulmonary Volumes In Peruvian Quechua Natives, Melisa Kiyamu Tsuchiya
Developmental Adaptation Hypothesis : Aerobic Capacity, Submaximal Arterial Saturation And Pulmonary Volumes In Peruvian Quechua Natives, Melisa Kiyamu Tsuchiya
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The Quechua populations have inhabited the Andes for hundreds of generations. The ability to thrive in this hostile environment, leading an active and healthy life has generated research questions about the special phenotype of Andean highlanders compared to their sea-level counterparts, such as their higher pulmonary volumes and their outstanding work capacity in spite of the challenge of oxygen transport and delivery in hypoxia. In high altitude natives, there have been two main explanations for the origins of the aforementioned traits: genetic adaptation through natural selection and developmental adaptation through the exposure to hypoxia during growth.
Anthropometric Correlates Of Reproductive Success, Facial Configuration, Risk Taking And Sexual Behaviors Among Indigenous And Western Populations : The Role Of Hand-Grip Strength And Wrist Width, Jeremy Andrew Atkinson
Anthropometric Correlates Of Reproductive Success, Facial Configuration, Risk Taking And Sexual Behaviors Among Indigenous And Western Populations : The Role Of Hand-Grip Strength And Wrist Width, Jeremy Andrew Atkinson
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Correlating a sexually dimorphic trait with reproductive success (RS) remains the `gold standard' in evolutionary psychology research. Within each sex, if more dimorphic individuals have increased RS then this is strong evidence that the trait is an important phenotypic fitness marker and potentially used as a same-sex and/or mate-assessment criterion. Many studies have investigated some of these traits, like shoulder to hip ratio (SHR) in males and waist to hip ratio (WHR) in females and have found that a more sex-typical body configuration does indeed indicate higher phenotypic quality and is used in mate assessment. However these traits are aggregate …
A Comparison Of Robusticity Of Archaic, Woodland, And Historic Period Populations Within New York State As Based On Musculoskeletal Markers, Julie Emily Ferguson
A Comparison Of Robusticity Of Archaic, Woodland, And Historic Period Populations Within New York State As Based On Musculoskeletal Markers, Julie Emily Ferguson
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
The purpose of this project is to compare the relative robusticity between native populations in New York State from the Archaic, Woodland, and Historic time periods. Musculoskeletal markers are used to determine any similarities and differences in robusticity between ages, sexes, and time periods. Relative robusticity is also assessed in terms of upper and lower limbs to further investigate any habitual activity patterns that can be discerned between groups. It is hypothesized that the Archaic populations would be comparatively more robust than the Woodland and Historic periods. In addition, males would be more robust than females, and robusticity would increase …
Body Size And Mortality In Post-Medieval England, Gail Margaret Hughes-Morey
Body Size And Mortality In Post-Medieval England, Gail Margaret Hughes-Morey
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
Short stature and body mass at both extremes of the distribution have consistently been linked to poor health outcomes in modern populations, but the nature of the relationship between body size and mortality is poorly understood. This dissertation examines the relationship between stature, body mass, and mortality, and how that relationship may have varied with socioeconomic status and evidence of morbidity in post-medieval England. Adults from Chelsea Old Church, an 18th-19th century high status skeletal collection from the outskirts of London, and Lower Saint Bride's, an 18th-19th century low status skeletal collection from central London, both housed at the Museum …
Glossolalia Influences On Stress Response Among Apostolic Pentecostals, Christopher Dana Lynn
Glossolalia Influences On Stress Response Among Apostolic Pentecostals, Christopher Dana Lynn
Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)
This study tests the hypothesis that long–term experience of Apostolic Pentecostal glossolalia or “speaking in tongues” reduces the reactivity of biological stress response to normal or "daily" stressors. Glossolalia is a form of religious dissociation. Dissociation is a universal capacity often conflated with “trance.” It refers to the partitioning of awareness associated with a variety of cross–cultural forms, from daydreaming and denial to possession trance, shamanic spirit journeys, and dissociative identity disorder. Dissociation is believed to reduce or filter stress by mediating evaluation of potential stressors and reactivity of the mechanisms of biological stress response. Previous studies have examined these …