Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.

<h4>Unlabelled</h4>Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo.<h4>Background</h4>Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the ro...

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Main Authors: Lee R Berger, Steven E Churchill, Bonita De Klerk, Rhonda L Quinn
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2008-03-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18347737/?tool=EBI
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author Lee R Berger
Steven E Churchill
Bonita De Klerk
Rhonda L Quinn
author_facet Lee R Berger
Steven E Churchill
Bonita De Klerk
Rhonda L Quinn
author_sort Lee R Berger
collection DOAJ
description <h4>Unlabelled</h4>Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo.<h4>Background</h4>Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp.<h4>Principle findings</h4>Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo.<h4>Significance</h4>These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if so, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo.
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spelling doaj.art-e9d7793e31cf4be2bb730d75600e07142022-12-21T19:53:06ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032008-03-0133e178010.1371/journal.pone.0001780Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.Lee R BergerSteven E ChurchillBonita De KlerkRhonda L Quinn<h4>Unlabelled</h4>Newly discovered fossil assemblages of small bodied Homo sapiens from Palau, Micronesia possess characters thought to be taxonomically primitive for the genus Homo.<h4>Background</h4>Recent surface collection and test excavation in limestone caves in the rock islands of Palau, Micronesia, has produced a sizeable sample of human skeletal remains dating roughly between 940-2890 cal ybp.<h4>Principle findings</h4>Preliminary analysis indicates that this material is important for two reasons. First, individuals from the older time horizons are small in body size even relative to "pygmoid" populations from Southeast Asia and Indonesia, and thus may represent a marked case of human insular dwarfism. Second, while possessing a number of derived features that align them with Homo sapiens, the human remains from Palau also exhibit several skeletal traits that are considered to be primitive for the genus Homo.<h4>Significance</h4>These features may be previously unrecognized developmental correlates of small body size and, if so, they may have important implications for interpreting the taxonomic affinities of fossil specimens of Homo.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18347737/?tool=EBI
spellingShingle Lee R Berger
Steven E Churchill
Bonita De Klerk
Rhonda L Quinn
Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
PLoS ONE
title Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
title_full Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
title_fullStr Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
title_full_unstemmed Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
title_short Small-bodied humans from Palau, Micronesia.
title_sort small bodied humans from palau micronesia
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/18347737/?tool=EBI
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