Genetic variation contains detailed and quantitative evidence about the history of populations. The historical traces of demographic growth and contraction, as well as the history of human disease, have left traces on the patterns of modern variation and can be studied by sampling present-day populations. However, the data sets that are necessary in order to take full advantage of this living archaeological record have not been available until recently. The quality and quantity of data have increased dramatically during the past decade because of the identification of polymorphisms, including SNPs and microsatellites, that are much more amenable to mathematical modeling and efficient genotyping than earlier marker systems. The research in this thesis has been carried out in response to the need to provide new methods of analysis to match the new types of data. Chapter 1 describes multilocus tests of demographic history and their application to real data. Chapter 2 describes how the pattern of linkage disequilibrium around a disease-predisposing mutation can be used to estimate the date of a mutation that is, the age of the most recent common ancestor of a set of modern samples. Finally, Chapter 3 draws several direct connections between human evolutionary history and medical genetics.

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Masters of Science. Johannesburg, March 2017. / Images in human evolution play a pivotal role in helping learners understand the nature and characteristics of early humans which are central to understanding human ancestry and identity. These images, like any sign systems, were created from a particular perspective and are prone to have multiple interpretations depending on the ideological and cultural disposition of both the creator and the reader. Therefore, there is a potential that unintended meanings and associations with the representations could propagate misconceptions about human evolution. This study aims to investigate how Grade 12 Life Sciences textbooks portray human evolution through the use of a semiotic analysis based on Barthes’ (1977) semiotic theory. Through conducting my analysis, I found out that multiple modes of representation were used to portray human evolution. I also found that the degree of accuracy varied with graphs being the most accurate in comparison to other modes of representations. Furthermore, some images latently communicate race and gender related biases as well as the idea that apes are ancestors of human beings. The implications of this study are that there is need to make Life Sciences teachers more aware of the multiple meanings associated with images of human evolution so that they can articulate the multiple meanings of these images. Furthermore, there is a need for further study regarding how teachers and learners interpret the meanings associated with human evolution images with an aim of revising them if need be so as to enhance learning of the relevant concepts about the broader concept of human evolution. / LG2017

No abstract available. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Durban-Westville, 1986.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Universitat Herisau, Switzerland, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 208-231).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-85).

abstract: Facial projection--i.e., the position of the upper face relative to the anterior cranial fossa--is an important component of craniofacial architecture in primates. Study of its variation is therefore important to understanding the bases of primate craniofacial form. Such research is relevant to studies of human evolution because the condition in Homo sapiens--in which facial projection is highly reduced, with the facial skeleton located primarily inferior (rather than anterior) to the braincase--is derived vis-à-vis other primates species, including others in the genus Homo. Previous research suggested that variation in facial projection is explained by: (1) cranial base angulation; (2) upper facial length; (3) anterior cranial base length; (4) anterior sphenoid length; and/or (5) anterior middle cranial fossa length. However, previous research was based on taxonomically narrow samples and relatively small sample sizes, and comparative data on facial projection in anthropoid primates, with which these observations could be contextualized, do not currently exist. This dissertation fills this gap in knowledge. Specifically, data corresponding to the hypotheses listed above were collected from radiographs from a sample of anthropoid primates (N = 37 species; 756 specimens) . These data were subjected to phylogenetically-controlled multiple regression analyses. In addition, multivariate and univariate models were statistically compared, and the position of Homo sapiens relative to univariate and multivariate regression models was evaluated. The results suggest that upper facial length, anterior cranial base length, and, to a lesser extent, cranial base angle are the most important predictors of facial projection. Homo sapiens conforms to the patterns found in anthropoid primates, suggesting that these same factors explain the condition in this species. However, a consideration of the evidence from the fossil record in the context of these findings suggests that upper facial length is the most likely cause of the extremely low degree of facial projection in Homo sapiens. These results downplay the role of the brain in shaping the form of the human cranium. Instead, these results suggest that reduction in facial skeleton size--which may be due to changes in diet--may be more important than previously suggested. / Doctoral Dissertation Anthropology 2014

No description available.

No description available.

No / ...lethal inventions are predicated on our intelligence, the usual story of which involves competition, the accumulated advantages of smartness, and the extinction of the weak. Yet we are the weak, and without technology cannot be strong. So the standard evolutionary tale of us becoming brainier by degrees until we were able to make stuff cannot be true. The alternative, that things came first, evolving us, seems counter-intuitive. But it fits the evidence.

Sterkfontein West Pit, dated to 1.7-1.9 Ma, has yielded a number of fossils that are difficult to classify, such as StW 252, which comprises cranial bone fragments, and a full set of robust maxillary anterior and posterior teeth. The purpose of this study is to ascertain whether dental measurements of StW 252 more closely align with those of Australopithecus africanus, Australopithecus robustus, Homo sapiens or the African apes. For M1 and M2, StW 252 is distinct from the comparative samples, and is particularly large buccolingually for M1 and mesiodistally for M2, partly resembling the dimensions of A. africanus, whereas for M3, StW 252 is mesiodistally and buccolingually large. Canonical scores axes show StW 252 as extreme in terms of size and polarized from A. robustus in terms of shape. StW 252 is distinct from both A. africanus and A. robustus, indicating an additional hominin taxon may be represented at Sterkfontein West Pit.