Thesis (M.S.)--University of Florida, 2004. / Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 77 pages. Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Anthropology, December 1999. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.) University of Missouri-Columbia, 2006. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (May 20, 2007) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2006. / Title from title screen. Frank L. Williams, committee chair; Cassandra White, Susan C. McCombie, committee members. Description based on contents viewed June 25, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-99).

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, October 29, 2014. / Teeth are the most common element in the fossil record and play a critical role in taxonomic assessments. Size, relative width and cusp arrangements on enamel crown surfaces are used to help assess relationships between specimens. In this exploratory study, a model is developed for the placement of landmarks on images of lower first molars to maximise key information from crown surfaces of molars of African Plio-Pleistocene hominin fossils representing species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus and Homo. Lower first molar data of four extant species (Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla and Homo sapiens) are visualised in a principal components analysis to detect whether landmark placements are adequate to identify species groupings and overlaps and patterns indicative of sexual dimorphism. The role of size as a differentiator between extant species is visualised using Procrustes Form Space as the basis for the analysis. A series of analyses, including linear diameter plots, Procrustes averaging, principal components analyses, discriminant function analyses and log sem (based on regression analyses) are used to test whether species groupings agree with currently accepted taxonomic classifications of thirty-six African Plio-Pleistocene hominin lower 2 first molars. Specimens in the sample that consistently fail to group with current species designations are flagged as “anomalous”. Six specimens are identified as anomalous and these are ultimately removed from the analyses. The resultant principal components plot of the fossil specimens appears to show distinctions between currently accepted species groups. The statistical regression analyses (log sem) confirm the results from the geometric morphometric analyses, and are associated with an average log sem value of -1.61 for conspecific pairwise comparisons. The log sem value of -1.61 has been proposed by Thackeray (2007a) as an approximation of a biological species constant (T), based on pairwise comparisons of modern vertebrate taxa, using cranial data. The anomalies confirm the hypothesis that certain specimens from the sample may have been misclassified, and that certain species groups as currently defined may comprise more than one morphotype.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Science, 2000.

The Paranthropus head is characterized by features traditionally thought to be related to heavy chewing. McCollum [Science 284 (1999) : 301-305] proposed that palatal thickening is a response to developmental integration between the mandibular ramus, oral and nasal functional matrices, and the vomer, which inserts onto the premaxilla in Paranthropus and causes the palate to thicken instead of rotate during vertical expansion. I tested whether palate thickness increases as a byproduct of differential increases in the sizes of the oral and nasal functional matrices compared to growth in the mandibular ramus. To do so, I collected 3D volume and landmark data from computed tomography (CT) scans of extant (Homo sapiens, Pan troglodytes, Gorilla gorilla, Pongo pygmaeus) and extinct taxa (Australopithecus and Paranthropus), and tested counterpart relationships for bones in the cranium using scaling analyses. Results suggest that developmental constraints related to growth counterpart relationships in the skulll are unlikely to affect palate thickness in the genus Paranthropus. / by Brittany A. Burdelsky. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

The timing of skeletal growth spurts in modern humans is unique among mammals. In modern humans, peak growth occurs after puberty during the adolescent period, whereas large-bodied non-human primates exhibit an earlier juvenile growth spurt. Based on limited data, previous researchers have suggested that Neanderthals experienced a late, modern human-like adolescent growth spurt. In this study, I examined the timing of stature and facial growth spurts in Neanderthals to test the hypothesis that Neanderthals grew like modern humans. In order to assess the timing of Neanderthal growth spurts, I plotted a non-human primate regression estimate of age at puberty onto Neanderthal stature and mandibular velocity growth curves. The mandibular growth curve exhibits a discernible growth spurt after puberty, reminiscent of the modern human adolescent growth spurt. Future research on additional regions of the skeleton is necessary to further refine this estimate for the timing of Neanderthal growth spurts. / by Amy C. Lupo. / Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2010. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2010. Mode of access: World Wide Web.

A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Science University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg for the Degree of Master of Science January, 1990 / This is a study of the morphological and functional aspects of A. africanus thoracic and lumbar vertebrae in comparison with those of modern human and anthropoid ape vertebrae. The purpose is to determine if any derived features in the morphology of hominids, as distinct from primitive features shared with non-hominids, were present and if so to what stage of attainment of full erectness such features point. The major results of this study are as follows: (i) There is a difference in the configuration of the lumbar articular facets between pongids, on the one hand, and modern human and A. africanus, on the other hand. This difference suggests that similar stresses operate in these regions in the two hominid groups. (ii) Bony adaptation to a developed lumbar lordosis is present in A. africanus. (iii) Major agreement has been found in the relative dimensions of modern human and A. africanus lumbar vertebrae, in contrast to those of pongid vertebrae. This indicates probable correspondence in the pattern of weight transmission to the pelvis in modern humans and A. africanus. (iv) The decrease of inferior lumbar vertebral body area starts at higher levels in sts 14 (an A. africanus partial skeleton) than in modern man, suggesting a longer curved lower lumbar region in A. africanus. From these results it may be concluded that the trunk was probably carried in a fully erect posture in A. africanus. The bony adaptation thereto, however, may not have been fully developed as in modern man. It is proposed that, in Sts 14, the last two lumbar vertebrae were carried at an angle relative to each other and to the sacrum, in contrast to the abrupt change in direction between L5 and the sacrum in modern man.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2004. / Supervisor: John Kappelman. Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available from UMI.