Data from: Pervasive genetic integration directs the evolution of human skull shape

It has long been unclear whether the different derived cranial traits of
modern humans evolved independently in response to separate selection
pressures or whether they resulted from the inherent morphological
integration throughout the skull. In a novel approach to this issue, we
combine evolutionary quantitative genetics and geometric morphometrics to
analyze genetic and phenotypic integration in human skull shape. We
measured human skulls in the ossuary of Hallstatt (Austria), which offer a
unique opportunity because they are associated with genealogical data. Our
results indicate pronounced covariation of traits throughout the skull.
Separate simulations of selection for localized shape changes
corresponding to some of the principal derived characters of modern human
skulls produced outcomes that were similar to each other and involved a
joint response in all of these traits. The data for both genetic and
phenotypic shape variation were not consistent with the hypothesis that
the face, cranial base and cranial vault are completely independent
modules but relatively strongly integrated structures. These results
indicate pervasive integration in the human skull and suggest a
reinterpretation of the selective scenario for human evolution where the
origin of any one of the derived characters may have facilitated the
evolution of the others.