Biomedical subjects
M H Wolpoff
Publications and source records attributed to M H Wolpoff.
Zuttiyeh face: a view from the East.
We analyze the phylogenetic position of the frontofacial fragment from Zuttiyeh, Israel. This specimen is dated to the Middle Pleistocene (the latest estimate is between 250 and 350 kyr) and is associated with the Acheulo-Yabrudian, which makes it the oldest cranium from the region. It has been previously regarded as a Neandertal, and early "anatomically modern Homo sapiens," and a generalized specimen ancestral to both. These different phylogenetic interpretations of its features have a historic basis but in our view also result from a confusion of grade and intraspecies clade as valid sources of variation. We show here that generally the differences that distinguish Zuttiyeh from Neandertals are similarities it shares with the Zhoukoudian remains. These similarities involve a unique combination of features, and suggest the possibility of an ancestral relationship. It is less likely that Middle Pleistocene remains from Europe or sub-Saharan Africa are uniquely or significantly ancestral to Zuttiyeh. An accurate understanding of the relationship between populations of eastern and western Asia is important for resolving the more general questions surrounding the position of the Upper Pleistocene Levant populations in human evolution, including (1) whether there are significantly different contemporary Mousterian populations in the Upper Pleistocene, (2) whether Neandertals are clearly intrusive in the region, and (3) whether there is an early appearance of (what many workers call) "anatomically modern Homo sapiens." The hypothesis of a recent unique African ancestry for all modern humans is disproved by our study, which shows Asia as a significant source area for at least some living populations.
The multiregional evolution of humans.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Anterior dental cutting at Laetolil.
No evidence supports the interpretation of malocclusion in the LH-14 right P3. The pattern of anterior cutting shown in the younger laetolil specimens has its analogue in the deciduous dentitions of Pongo.
Regional continuity in Australasian Pleistocene hominid evolution.
A reconstruction of the Indonesian male Homo erectus specimen Sangiran 17 reveals a suite of features that suggests regional morphological continuity in Australasia during the middle and late Pleistocene. Characteristics reflecting a morphological clade are established through a comparison with the males from Kow Swamp, the late Pleistocene Australian site with the largest number of hominid specimens. It is argued that the "center and edge" hypothesis could account for the initial appearance of regional variation, and that a dynamic model of geneflow and opposing selection provides the mechanism that maintained a long-standing dynamic clinal equilibrium in this area.
The Krapina dental remains.
An analysis of age, specimen associations, demographic characteristics, and metric features is presented for the Krapina dental sample. A critical analysis of emergence criteria applicable to skeletal samples leads to an occlusal eruption schedule which can be used to determine wear rates. These are used to provide dental ages for the Krapina jaws and isolated teeth. A number of individual associations of isolated teeth with existing jaws and with each other result in an estimated individual count between 75 and 82. Demographic analysis indicates that the specimens do not accurately sample a living population; numerous adults as well as children under the age of three are not represented. Metric analysis indicates a moderate range of variation. The interproximal wear rates are low, and no evidence of tooth size associated differential survivorship can be demonstrated. The sample fits in a European evolutionary sequence of reducing posterior and expanding anterior permanent teeth, while the deciduous teeth seem to undergo expansion through the Würm glaciation.
Some notes on the Vértesszöllös occipital.
An examination of the Vértesszöllös occipital bone indicates the need for takings its condition and preservation as well as certain aspects of its morphology into account prior to a metric assessment of its features. This analysis confirms the presence of extrasutural bones on the lambdoidal suture as well as some distortion in the sagittal curvature of this region. The advisability of using the endocranial sutures as well as other data for defining lambda in cases such as this is discussed, and a procedure for determining the position of opisthion is indicated. A metric and morphological analysis is used to support the claim that the specimen can be considered a large late representative of Homo erectus in Europe.
A reexamination of the ER 733 cranium.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Dental reduction and the probable mutation effect.
A recent test of the probable mutation effect can be interpreted to suggest the operations of mutations under conditions of reduced selection in the late Pleistocene reduction of the human dentition.
Posterior tooth size, body size, and diet in South African gracile Australopithecines.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Is Vertesszöllös II an occipital of European Homo erectus?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Is the new composite cranium from Swartkrans a small robust australopithecine?
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Interstitial wear.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Taxonomy and cranial capacity of Olduvai hominid 7 (continued).
Explore the source record for details and available documents.