Doct. Phil.--Anthropology--New Brunswick--State university of New Jersay, 1999. / Bibliogr. p. 419-437.

Paleoanthropology has been beset by controversies concerning the number of hominid species at any given time. This thesis examines the case for one or more species from the time of early H. erectus using the biological and evolutionary species concepts as frames of reference. To accomplish this task, measurements were made on casts of African and Asian fossil hominid skulls with previously published data used as both a control and a supplement. Due to the fragmentary nature of the data and the small sample size, principle components analysis was used to create a usable data set. Linear regression was then used to calculate mean differences between the African and Asian fossil samples for PC 1 (a derived factor denoted overall cranial size) and XCB (maximum cranial breadth). This data was then compared to that of 28 pair-wise comparisons of eight modem human populations from the same general regions as the fossils. Since a number of these comparisons had mean differences greater or equal to that of the fossils, the finding are suggestive of the fossils all being from the same species, Homo erectus. / Department of Anthropology

Diss.--Kulturgeschichte und Kulturkunde--Universität Hamburg, 1994. / Bibliogr. p. 311-327.

The early human paleoanthropological site at Ngandong, Central Java, Indonesia has significant impact on the models for human migration and evolution out of the African continent. Located on an abandoned stream bank above the Solo River, Ngandong archaeological digs have uncovered fourteen Homo erectus fossils that, based on their unique shape, are believed to have lived more recently than any other known examples of Homo erectus. However, this hypothesis has not been substantiated by previous studies at Ngandong due to a general lack of understanding about the formation of the site as a whole. This study seeks to overcome the limits of these previous studies by thoroughly examining the grain size, grain shape, mineralogy, geochemistry, and stratigraphy of the site to understand how it formed, and in turn, provide a necessary geological context to the Ngandong Homo erectus fossils. The results outlined in this dissertation suggest the fossil-bearing layers were deposited at the site (at the time a channel bottom) over a short period of time and were sourced from the volcanic arc that forms the southern portion of Java island.

abstract: Extremely thick cranial vaults have been noted as a diagnostic characteristic of Homo erectus since the first fossil of the species was identified, but potential mechanisms underlying this seemingly unique trait have not been rigorously investigated. Cranial vault thickness (CVT) is not a monolithic trait, and the responsiveness of its layers to environmental stimuli is unknown. Identifying factors that affect CVT would be exceedingly valuable in teasing apart potential contributors to thick vaults in the Pleistocene. Four hypotheses were tested using CT scans of skulls of more than 1100 human and non-human primates. Data on total frontal, parietal, and occipital bone thickness and bone composition were collected to test the hypotheses: H1. CVT is an allometric consequence of brain or body size. H2. Thick cranial vaults are a response to long, low cranial vault shape. H3. High masticatory stress causes localized thickening of cranial vaults. H4. Activity-mediated systemic hormone levels affect CVT. Traditional comparative methods were used to identify features that covary with CVT across primates to establish behavior patterns that might correlate with thick cranial vaults. Secondly, novel experimental manipulation of a model organism, Mus musculus, was used to evaluate the relative plasticity of CVT. Finally, measures of CVT in fossil hominins were described and discussed in light of the extant comparative and experimental results. This dissertation reveals previously unknown variation among extant primates and humans and illustrates that Homo erectus is not entirely unique among primates in its CVT. The research suggests that it is very difficult to make a mouse grow a thick head, although it can be genetically programmed to have one. The project also identifies a possible hominin synapomorphy: high diploë ratios compared to non-human primates. It also found that extant humans differ from non-human primates in overall pattern of which cranial vault bones are thickest. What this project was unable to do was definitively provide an explanation for why and how Homo erectus grew thick skulls. Caution is required when using CVT as a diagnostic trait for Homo erectus, as the results presented here underscore the complexity inherent in its evolution and development. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Anthropology 2012

This essay is a meta-study that assesses the existing theories and hypotheses regarding the origins of language. The development of language is one of the most remarkable historical developments for humankind. Through different historical periods and from multiple perspectives, renowned theorists such as Rousseau, Jespersen and Chomsky have tried to find the origins of language and trace its evolution. The natural sound source, for instance, connects the origins of language with the imitation of natural sounds. The gesture primary  hypothesis states that gesture language existed before the development of spoken language. A gradual development of protolanguage during the period of the existence of the homynim Homo erectus took place closely in connection with social interaction and the progress of multiple activities. Music has significance in the human brain and language development and, therefore the importance of music as part of  human evolution will be as well part of this research. The process of human civilization has an effect on brain activity and cognition because it projects abstract concepts to sounds, accumulating gradually knowledge and experience. In this essay, a selection of parables, songs and gestural communication situations are described in order to illustrate relevant parts of the theory. Finally, the author will select what is considered the most convincing theory/hypothesis for explaining the origins of language.

No description available.

Stunned by the implications of Colage's analysis of the cultural activation of the brain's Visual Word Form Area and the potential role of cultural neural reuse in the evolution of biology and culture, the authors build on his work in proposing a context for the first rudimentary hominin moral systems. They cross-reference six domains: neuroscience on sleep, creativity, plasticity, and the Left Hemisphere Interpreter; palaeobiology; cognitive science; philosophy; traditional archaeology; and cognitive archaeology's theories on sleep changes in Homo erectus and consequences for later humans. The authors hypothesize that the human genome, when analyzed with findings from neuroscience and cognitive science, will confirm the evolutionary timing of an internal running monologue and other neural components that constitute moral decision making. The authors rely on practical modern philosophers to identify continuities with earlier primates, and one major discontinuitysome bright white moral line that may have been crossed more than once during the long and successful tenure of Homo erectus on Earth.