Broadfield D C, Holloway R L, Mowbray K, Silvers A, Yuan M S, Márquez S
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York 10029, USA.
Anat Rec. 2001 Apr 1;262(4):369-79. doi: 10.1002/ar.1047.
A new fossil calvaria, Sambungmacan 3 (Sm 3), described in New Fossil Hominid Calvaria From Indonesia--Sambungmacan 3 by Márquez et al., this volume, yields one of the most advanced and complete endocasts yet recovered from Java. This communication provides a thorough interpretation of the external anatomical landmarks observable on Sm 3. Using computer tomography (CT) and traditional morphological measurements, our comparative paleoneurological analyses show that while Sm 3 has a mosaic of features that are similar to both Indonesian and Chinese H. erectus, it also possesses significant characters reminiscent of later hominins. These include a greater degree of asymmetry characterized by a possible left-occipital, right-frontal petalial pattern, left-right volumetric cerebral asymmetry, and marked asymmetry in Broca's cap. Moreover, the frontal lobe offers a more rounded, shortened appearance in contrast to the flat, elongated appearance of other Indonesian fossils (e.g., Sangiran 17). Another unique trait is exhibited in the transverse plane where the widest breadth of Sm 3 occurs more superiorly than in other Indonesian H. erectus. Thus, the endocast of Sm 3 presents a unique morphology not seen previously in the hominin fossil record. While the strong modern human characteristics in this endocast may not represent a particular ancestry, they do allow us to recognize a new dimension of the remarkable variation in Indonesian Homo erectus.
一个新的颅骨化石，三邦马灿3号（Sm 3），在马尔克斯等人所著的《来自印度尼西亚的新人类颅骨化石——三邦马灿3号》（见本期）中有描述，它是迄今从爪哇发现的最先进、最完整的脑模之一。本报告对在Sm 3上可观察到的外部解剖学标志进行了全面解读。通过计算机断层扫描（CT）和传统形态测量，我们的比较古神经学分析表明，虽然Sm 3具有一系列与印度尼西亚和中国直立人相似的特征，但它也拥有一些让人联想到晚期人类的显著特征。这些特征包括更大程度的不对称，其特点可能是左枕叶、右额叶的花瓣状模式、左右脑容量不对称，以及布罗卡区帽的明显不对称。此外，与其他印度尼西亚化石（如桑吉兰17号）扁平、细长的外观相比，额叶呈现出更圆润、更短的外观。另一个独特特征出现在横断面上，Sm 3最宽处的位置比其他印度尼西亚直立人更靠上。因此，Sm 3的脑模呈现出一种在人类化石记录中前所未见的独特形态。虽然这个脑模中强烈的现代人类特征可能并不代表特定的祖先，但它们确实让我们认识到印度尼西亚直立人显著变异的一个新维度。
