Brain Growth Development in South African Baboons
The field of biological anthropology can be defined as the study of the evolution of humans. This discipline of anthropology has looked at the relationship of some of our closest living relatives including chimpanzees, orangutans, and baboons. The project evaluates the cranial growth development in the papionin clade, a group of Old World monkeys that includes macaques and baboons. The objective of this research is to compare cranial development in fossil and living papionin species. This will provide an answer to ultimate questions of the research such as how and when distinctive patterns of cranial development evolved. To accomplish this, three-dimensional coordinate measurements were taken from fossil and contemporary skulls. These points were used to calculate linear measurements that were analyzed using regression methods. The results show that contemporary baboon facial forms are derived in some ways and that no contemporary papionin facial shape is the same as an adult ancestor. Departure from the ancestral shape is driven by size increases or decreases along a commonly shared developmental trajectory. This may contrast with morphological phylogeny, as well as the theory that the Papio form is ancestral. Why this has occurred will necessitate further investigation into genetic research, understanding the changes in paleoenvironment, and diet quality.
School:
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Department:
Anthropology
Research Advisor:
Steven Leigh
Department of Research Advisor:
Anthropology
Year of Publication:
2002