Reconstructing cranial evolution in an extinct hominin

Homo erectus occupies a central position in human evolution as a likely ancestor of the modern human (Homo sapiens) and Neanderthal / Denisovan lineages and the first hominin species with a truly cosmopolitan distribution. Understanding the evolutionary population dynamics of Homo erectus has larger implications for the emergence of later Homo lineages in the Middle Pleistocene. Quantitative genetics models provide a means of interrogating aspects of longstanding Homo erectus population history narratives. For the current study, cranial fossils were sorted into six major paleodemes from sites across Africa and Asia spanning 1.8 to 0.1 Ma. Three-dimensional shape data from the occipital and frontal bones were used to test population genetic hypotheses. Results indicate that Homo erectus had higher individual and group variation than Homo sapiens, likely reflecting different levels of genetic diversity and population history in these spatially disperse species. This study also revealed di...