Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Adolf Lorenz Gasse 2, A-3422 Altenberg, Austria.
J Hum Evol. 2011 Dec;61(6):688-702. doi: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2011.09.004. Epub 2011 Nov 1.
This paper continues the series of articles initiated in 2006 that analyse hominin dental crown morphology by means of geometric morphometric techniques. The detailed study of both upper premolar occlusal morphologies in a comprehensive sample of hominin fossils, including those coming from the Gran Dolina-TD6 and Sima de los Huesos sites from Atapuerca, Spain, complement previous works on lower first and second premolars and upper first molars. A morphological gradient consisting of the change from asymmetric to symmetric upper premolars and a marked reduction of the lingual cusp in recent Homo species has been observed in both premolars. Although percentages of correct classification based on upper premolar morphologies are not very high, significant morphological differences between Neanderthals (and European middle Pleistocene fossils) and modern humans have been identified, especially in upper second premolars. The study of morphological integration between premolar morphologies reveals significant correlations that are weaker between upper premolars than between lower ones and significant correlations between antagonists. These results have important implications for understanding the genetic and functional factors underlying dental phenotypic variation and covariation.
本文延续了自 2006 年开始的一系列文章，通过几何形态测量技术分析人属牙齿冠形态。对来自西班牙阿塔普埃尔卡的格兰·多利纳-TD6 和西玛德洛斯 huesos 遗址的人属化石综合样本中的上颌前磨牙的咬合形态进行了详细研究，补充了以前关于下颌第一和第二前磨牙以及上颌第一磨牙的研究。在这两种前磨牙中，都观察到了一个形态梯度，即上颌前磨牙从不对称到对称的变化，以及最近的 Homo 物种中舌尖的显著减小。虽然基于上颌前磨牙形态的分类正确率不是很高，但已经确定了尼安德特人（和欧洲中更新世化石）和现代人之间的显著形态差异，尤其是在上颌第二前磨牙中。对前磨牙形态之间形态整合的研究揭示了显著的相关性，在上颌前磨牙之间的相关性比在下颌前磨牙之间的相关性弱，并且在上颌前磨牙之间的相关性比在拮抗物之间的相关性弱。这些结果对于理解牙齿表型变异和协同的遗传和功能因素具有重要意义。
