Trabecular bone ontogeny tracks neural development and life history among humans and non-human primates.

Trabecular bone-the spongy bone inside marrow cavities-adapts to its mechanical environment during growth and development. Trabecular structure can therefore be interpreted as a functional record of locomotor behavior in extinct vertebrates. In this paper, we expand upon traditional links between form and function by situating ontogenetic trajectories of trabecular bone in four primate species into the broader developmental context of neural development, locomotor control, and ultimately life history. Our aim is to show that trabecular bone structure provides insights into ontogenetic variation in locomotor loading conditions as the product of interactions between increases in body mass and neuromuscular maturation. Our results demonstrate that age-related changes in trabecular bone volume fraction (BV/TV) are strongly and linearly associated with ontogenetic changes in locomotor kinetics. Age-related variation in locomotor kinetics and BV/TV is in turn strongly associated with brain and body size growth in all species. These results imply that age-related variation in BV/TV is a strong proxy for both locomotor kinetics and neuromuscular maturation. Finally, we show that distinct changes in the slope of age-related variation in bone volume fraction correspond to the age of the onset of locomotion and the age of locomotor maturity. Our findings compliment previous studies linking bone development to locomotor mechanics by providing a fundamental link to brain development and life history. This implies that trabecular structure of fossil subadults can be a proxy for the rate of neuromuscular maturation and major life history events like locomotor onset and the achievement of adult-like locomotor repertoires.

Growth and development of trabecular structure in the calcaneus of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata) reflects locomotor behavior, life history, and neuromuscular development.

Bone structure dynamically adapts to its mechanical environment throughout ontogeny by altering the structure of trabecular bone, the three-dimensional mesh-like structure found underneath joint surfaces. Trabecular structure, then, can provide a record of variation in loading directions and magnitude; and in ontogenetic samples, it can potentially be used to track developmental shifts in limb posture. We aim to broaden the analysis of trabecular bone ontogeny by incorporating interactions between ontogenetic variation in locomotor repertoire, neuromuscular maturation, and life history. We examine the associations between these variables and age-related variation in trabecular structure in the calcaneus of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We used high-resolution micro-computed tomography scanning to image the calcaneus in a cross-sectional sample of 34 juvenile M. fuscata aged between 0 and 7 years old at the Primate Research Institute, Japan. We calculated whole bone averages of standard trabecular properties and generated whole-bone morphometric maps of bone volume fraction and Young's modulus. Trabecular structure becomes increasingly heterogeneous in older individuals. Bone volume fraction (BV/total volume [TV]) decreases during the first month of life and increases afterward, coinciding with the onset of independent locomotion in M. fuscata. At birth, primary Young's modulus is oriented orthogonal to the ossification center, but after locomotor onset bone structure becomes stiffest in the direction of joint surfaces and muscle attachments. Age-related variation in bone volume fraction is best predicted by an interaction between the estimated percentage of adult brain size, body mass, and locomotor onset. To explain our findings, we propose a model where interactions between age-related increases in body weight and maturation of the neuromuscular system alter the loading environment of the calcaneus, to which the internal trabecular structure dynamically adapts. This model cannot be directly tested based on our cross-sectional data. However, confirmation of the model by longitudinal experiments and in multiple species would show that trabecular structure can be used both to infer behavior from fossil morphology and serve as a valuable proxy for neuromuscular maturation and life history events like locomotor onset and the achievement of an adult-like gait. This approach could significantly expand our knowledge of the biology and behavior of fossil species.

Combinations of trabecular and cortical bone properties distinguish various loading modalities between athletes and controls.

OBJECTIVES: Variation in trabecular and cortical bone properties is often used to infer habitual behavior in the past. However, the structures of both types of bone are rarely considered together and may even contradict each other in functional interpretations. We examine trabecular and cortical bone properties in various athletes and sedentary controls to clarify the associations between combinations of cortical and trabecular bone properties and various loading modalities. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We compare trabecular and cortical bone properties using peripheral quantitative computed tomography scans of the tibia between groups of 83 male athletes (running, hockey, swimming, cricket) and sedentary controls using Bayesian multilevel models. We quantify midshaft cortical bone rigidity and area (J, CA), midshaft shape index (Imax/Imin), and mean trabecular bone mineral density (BMD) in the distal tibia. RESULTS: All groups show unique combinations of biomechanical properties. Cortical bone rigidity is high in sports that involve impact loading (cricket, running, hockey) and low in nonimpact loaded swimmers and controls. Runners have more anteroposteriorly elliptical midshafts compared to other groups. Interestingly, all athletes have greater trabecular BMD compared to controls, but do not differ credibly among each other. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that cortical midshaft hypertrophy is associated with impact loading while trabecular BMD is positively associated with both impact and nonimpact loading. Midshaft shape is associated with directionality of loading. Individuals from the different categories overlap substantially, but group means differ credibly, suggesting that nuanced group-level inferences of habitual behavior are possible when combinations of trabecular and cortical bone are analyzed.

Automated resolution independent method for comparing in vivo and dry trabecular bone.

OBJECTIVES: Variation in human trabecular bone morphology can be linked to habitual behavior, but it is difficult to investigate in vivo due to the radiation required at high resolution. Consequently, functional interpretations of trabecular morphology remain inferential. Here we introduce a method to link low- and high-resolution CT data from dry and fresh bone, enabling bone functional adaptation to be studied in vivo and results compared to the fossil and archaeological record. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examine 51 human dry bone distal tibiae from Nile Valley and UK and two pig tibiae containing soft tissues. We compare low-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) parameters and high-resolution micro CT (µCT) in homologous single slices at 4% bone length and compare results to our novel Bone Ratio Predictor (BRP) method. RESULTS: Regression slopes between linear attenuation coefficients of low-resolution pQCT images and bone area/total area (BA/TA) of high-resolution µCT scans differ substantially between geographical subsamples, presumably due to diagenesis. BRP accurately predicts BA/TA (R2 = .97) and eliminates the geographic clustering. BRP accurately estimates BA/TA in pigs containing soft tissues (R2 = 0.98) without requiring knowledge of true density or phantom calibration of the scans. DISCUSSION: BRP allows automated comparison of image data from different image modalities (pQCT, µCT) using different energy settings, in archeological bone and wet specimens. The method enables low-resolution data generated in vivo to be compared with the fossil and archaeological record. Such experimental approaches would substantially improve behavioral inferences based on trabecular bone microstructure.

Human-like hip joint loading in Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus.

Adaptations indicative of habitual bipedalism are present in the earliest recognized hominins. However, debate persists about various aspects of bipedal locomotor behavior in fossil hominins, including the nature of gait kinematics, locomotor variability across different species, and the degree to which various australopith species engaged in arboreal behaviors. In this study, we analyze variation in trabecular bone structure of the femoral head using a sample of modern humans, extant non-human hominoids, baboons, and fossil hominins attributed to Australopithecus africanus, Paranthropus robustus, and the genus Homo. We use µCT data to characterize the fabric anisotropy, material orientation, and bone volume fraction of trabecular bone to reconstruct hip joint loading conditions in these fossil hominins. Femoral head trabecular bone fabric structure in australopiths is more similar to that of modern humans and Pleistocene Homo than extant apes, indicating that these australopith individuals walked with human-like hip kinematics, including a more limited range of habitual hip joint postures (e.g., a more extended hip) during bipedalism. Our results also indicate that australopiths have robust femoral head trabecular bone, suggesting overall increased loading of the musculoskeletal system comparable to that imposed by extant apes. These results provide new evidence of human-like bipedal locomotion in Pliocene hominins, even while other aspects of their musculoskeletal systems retain ape-like characteristics.

Evidence of Levy walk foraging patterns in human hunter-gatherers.

When searching for food, many organisms adopt a superdiffusive, scale-free movement pattern called a Lévy walk, which is considered optimal when foraging for heterogeneously located resources with little prior knowledge of distribution patterns [Viswanathan GM, da Luz MGE, Raposo EP, Stanley HE (2011) The Physics of Foraging: An Introduction to Random Searches and Biological Encounters]. Although memory of food locations and higher cognition may limit the benefits of random walk strategies, no studies to date have fully explored search patterns in human foraging. Here, we show that human hunter-gatherers, the Hadza of northern Tanzania, perform Lévy walks in nearly one-half of all foraging bouts. Lévy walks occur when searching for a wide variety of foods from animal prey to underground tubers, suggesting that, even in the most cognitively complex forager on Earth, such patterns are essential to understanding elementary foraging mechanisms. This movement pattern may be fundamental to how humans experience and interact with the world across a wide range of ecological contexts, and it may be adaptive to food distribution patterns on the landscape, which previous studies suggested for organisms with more limited cognition. Additionally, Lévy walks may have become common early in our genus when hunting and gathering arose as a major foraging strategy, playing an important role in the evolution of human mobility.

Primate energy expenditure and life history.

Humans and other primates are distinct among placental mammals in having exceptionally slow rates of growth, reproduction, and aging. Primates' slow life history schedules are generally thought to reflect an evolved strategy of allocating energy away from growth and reproduction and toward somatic investment, particularly to the development and maintenance of large brains. Here we examine an alternative explanation: that primates' slow life histories reflect low total energy expenditure (TEE) (kilocalories per day) relative to other placental mammals. We compared doubly labeled water measurements of TEE among 17 primate species with similar measures for other placental mammals. We found that primates use remarkably little energy each day, expending on average only 50% of the energy expected for a placental mammal of similar mass. Such large differences in TEE are not easily explained by differences in physical activity, and instead appear to reflect systemic metabolic adaptation for low energy expenditures in primates. Indeed, comparisons of wild and captive primate populations indicate similar levels of energy expenditure. Broad interspecific comparisons of growth, reproduction, and maximum life span indicate that primates' slow metabolic rates contribute to their characteristically slow life histories.

Transparency, usability, and reproducibility: Guiding principles for improving comparative databases using primates as examples.

Recent decades have seen rapid development of new analytical methods to investigate patterns of interspecific variation. Yet these cutting-edge statistical analyses often rely on data of questionable origin, varying accuracy, and weak comparability, which seem to have reduced the reproducibility of studies. It is time to improve the transparency of comparative data while also making these improved data more widely available. We, the authors, met to discuss how transparency, usability, and reproducibility of comparative data can best be achieved. We propose four guiding principles: 1) data identification with explicit operational definitions and complete descriptions of methods; 2) inclusion of metadata that capture key characteristics of the data, such as sample size, geographic coordinates, and nutrient availability (for example, captive versus wild animals); 3) documentation of the original reference for each datum; and 4) facilitation of effective interactions with the data via user friendly and transparent interfaces. We urge reviewers, editors, publishers, database developers and users, funding agencies, researchers publishing their primary data, and those performing comparative analyses to embrace these standards to increase the transparency, usability, and reproducibility of comparative studies.

Does the primate pattern hold up? Testing the functional significance of infraorbital foramen size variation among marsupials.

OBJECTIVES: The relative size of the infraorbital foramen (IOF) has been used to infer the ecology of extinct primates for several decades. Primates have relatively smaller IOFs than most other mammals, which may result from the fact that they pre-process and manipulate food with their hands rather than their muzzles. In primates, relative IOF area co-varies with diet, where insectivores and folivores have relatively smaller IOFs than frugivores. We wanted to determine whether the observed patterns associated with IOF variation hold across other orders. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined how relative IOF area differs among marsupials occupying different ecological niches. Marsupials were chosen because they converge with primates in both ecology and morphology, but unlike primates, some marsupials approach and pre-process foods only with their muzzles. We measured IOF area and cranial lengths from 72 marsupial species, and behavioral feeding data were obtained from a subset of this sample (N = 20). RESULTS: Relative IOF area did not vary significantly between substrate preferences. However, relative IOF area differed significantly by diet category (P < 0.001). Species that specialize in feeding on non-grassy leaves have significantly smaller relative IOF areas than species which primarily feed on grasses, insects, vertebrates, or some combination thereof. Behavioral analyses support that folivorous marsupials approach and remove food with the hands more often than marsupials from other dietary groups. DISCUSSION: Results suggest that relatively small IOF area may reflect increased reliance on the hands while feeding, and that relative IOF size can be used as an indicator of feeding behavior.

An ontogenetic framework linking locomotion and trabecular bone architecture with applications for reconstructing hominin life history.

The ontogeny of bipedal walking is considered uniquely challenging, due in part to the balance requirements of single limb support. Thus, locomotor development in humans and our bipedal ancestors may track developmental milestones including the maturation of the neuromuscular control system. Here, we examined the ontogeny of locomotor mechanics in children aged 1-8, and bone growth and development in an age-matched skeletal sample to identify bony markers of locomotor development. We show that step-to-step variation in mediolateral tibia angle relative to the vertical decreases with age, an indication that older children increase stability. Analyses of trabecular bone architecture in the distal tibia of an age-matched skeletal sample (the Norris Farms #36 archaeological skeletal collection) show a bony signal of this shift in locomotor stability. Using a grid of eleven cubic volumes of interest (VOI) in the distal metaphysis of each tibia, we show that the degree of anisotropy (DA) of trabecular struts changes with age. Intra-individual variation in DA across these VOIs is generally high at young ages, likely reflecting variation in loading due to kinematic instability. With increasing age, mean DA converges on higher values and becomes less variable across the distal tibia. We believe the ontogeny of distal tibia trabecular architecture reflects the development of locomotor stability in bipeds. We suggest this novel bony marker of development may be used to assess the relationship between locomotor development and other life history milestones in fossil hominins.

Aging of the cerebral cortex differs between humans and chimpanzees.

Several biological changes characterize normal brain aging in humans. Although some of these age-associated neural alterations are also found in other species, overt volumetric decline of particular brain structures, such as the hippocampus and frontal lobe, has only been observed in humans. However, comparable data on the effects of aging on regional brain volumes have not previously been available from our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees. In this study, we used MRI to measure the volume of the whole brain, total neocortical gray matter, total neocortical white matter, frontal lobe gray matter, frontal lobe white matter, and the hippocampus in a cross-sectional sample of 99 chimpanzee brains encompassing the adult lifespan from 10 to 51 y of age. We compared these data to brain structure volumes measured in 87 adult humans from 22 to 88 y of age. In contrast to humans, who showed a decrease in the volume of all brain structures over the lifespan, chimpanzees did not display significant age-related changes. Using an iterative age-range reduction procedure, we found that the significant aging effects in humans were because of the leverage of individuals that were older than the maximum longevity of chimpanzees. Thus, we conclude that the increased magnitude of brain structure shrinkage in human aging is evolutionarily novel and the result of an extended lifespan.

Evaluating the use of pairwise dissimilarity metrics in paleoanthropology.

Questions of alpha taxonomy are best addressed by comparing unknown specimens to samples of the taxa to which they might belong. However, analysis of the hominin fossil record is riddled with methods that claim to evaluate whether pairs of individual fossils belong to the same species. Two such methods, log sem and the related STET method, have been introduced and used in studies of fossil hominins. Both methods attempt to quantify morphological dissimilarity for a pair of fossils and then evaluate a null hypothesis of conspecificity using the assumption that pairs of fossils that fall beneath a predefined dissimilarity threshold are likely to belong to the same species, whereas pairs of fossils above that threshold are likely to belong to different species. In this contribution, we address (1) whether these particular methods do what they claim to do, and (2) whether such approaches can ever reliably address the question of conspecificity. We show that log sem and STET do not reliably measure deviations from shape similarity, and that values of these measures for any pair of fossils are highly dependent upon the number of variables compared. To address these issues we develop a measure of shape dissimilarity, the Standard Deviation of Logged Ratios (sLR). We suggest that while pairwise dissimilarity metrics that accurately measure deviations from isometry (e.g., sLR) may be useful for addressing some questions that relate to morphological variation, no pairwise method can reliably answer the question of whether two fossils are conspecific.

Reassessing manual proportions in Australopithecus afarensis.

Previous analyses of hand morphology in Australopithecus afarensis have concluded that this taxon had modern human-like manual proportions, with relatively long thumbs and short fingers. These conclusions are based on the A.L.333 composite fossil assemblage from Hadar, Ethiopia, and are premised on the ability to assign phalanges to a single individual, and to the correct side and digit. Neither assignment is secure, however, given the taphonomy and sample composition at A.L.333. We use a resampling approach that includes the entire assemblage of complete hand elements at Hadar, and takes into account uncertainties in identifying phalanges by individual, side and digit number. This approach provides the most conservative estimates of manual proportions in Au. afarensis. We resampled hand long bone lengths in Au. afarensis and extant hominoids, and obtained confidence limits for distributions of manual proportions in the latter. Results confirm that intrinsic manual proportions in Au. afarensis are dissimilar to Pan and Pongo. However, manual proportions in Au. afarensis often fall at the upper end of the distribution in Gorilla, and very lower end in Homo, corresponding to disproportionately short thumbs and long medial digits in Homo. This suggests that manual proportions in Au. afarensis, particularly metacarpal proportions, were not as derived towards Homo as previously described, but rather are intermediate between gorillas and humans. Functionally, these results suggest Au. afarensis could not produce precision grips with the same efficiency as modern humans, which may in part account for the absence of lithic technology in this fossil taxon.

Females are the ecological sex: sex-specific body mass ecogeography in wild sifaka populations (Propithecus spp.).

Previous work in primates has shown that body size often covaries with ecological parameters related to resource or energy availability in the environment. This relationship may differ for males and females as access to resources has greater importance for reproductive success in females. We test the hypotheses that (1) female body mass may be more tightly constrained than male body mass by ecological variables, and (2) female body mass may respond more strongly than male body mass to changes in ecological variables (i.e., population-specific female mass may vary more across an ecological gradient than male mass). Specifically, we investigate the relationship between climatic variables and sex-specific body mass in Propithecus, a genus in which species-specific body mass has already been demonstrated to covary significantly with climatic variables. Data from 733 wild sifakas are used to identify sex-specific body mass for 27 populations representing all nine described sifaka species, and climatic data for each population are derived from the WorldClim database. We use phylogenetic generalized least squares models to demonstrate that body mass in both sexes is significantly correlated with annual rainfall and number of dry months. Furthermore, coefficients of determination are always higher for female models, and coefficients for each climatic variable are higher for females in all significant models. These results support the two hypotheses tested, indicating that ecological forces can have a greater impact on female mass than on male mass in primates.

Great ape skeletal collections: making the most of scarce and irreplaceable resources in the digital age.

Information about primate genomes has re-emphasized the importance of the great apes (Pan, Gorilla, and Pongo) as, for most purposes, the appropriate comparators when generating hypotheses about the most recent common ancestor of the hominins and panins, or the most recent common ancestor of the hominin clade. Great ape skeletal collections are thus an important and irreplaceable resource for researchers conducting these types of comparative analyses, yet the integrity of these collections is threatened by unnecessary use and their availability is threatened by financial pressures on the institutions in which the collections reside. We discuss the general history of great ape skeletal collections, and in order to get a better sense of the utility and potential of these important sources of data we assemble the equivalent of a biography of the Powell-Cotton Collection. We explore the history of how this collection of chimpanzee and gorilla skeletons was accumulated, how it came to be recognized as a potentially important source of comparative information, who has made use of it, and what types of data have been collected. We present a protocol for collecting information about each individual animal (e.g., which bones are preserved, their condition, etc.) and have made that information about the Powell-Cotton Collection freely available in an online relational database (Human Origins Database, www.humanoriginsdatabase.org). As an illustration of the practical application of these data, we developed a tabular summary of ontogenetic information about each individual (see Appendices A and B). Collections like the Powell-Cotton are irreplaceable sources of material regarding the hard-tissue evidence and recent history of the closest living relatives of modern humans. We end this contribution by suggesting ways that curators and the researchers who use and rely on these reference collections could work together to help preserve and protect them so that future generations can use and benefit from these priceless resources.

A resampling approach and implications for estimating the phalangeal index from unassociated hand bones in fossil primates.

Primate fossil assemblages often have metacarpals and phalanges from which functional/behavioral interpretations may be inferred. For example, intrinsic hand proportions can indicate hand function and substrate use. But, estimates of intrinsic hand proportions from unassociated hand elements can be imperfect due to digit misattribution. Although isolated metacarpals can be identified to a specific digit, phalanges are difficult to assign to a specific ray. We used a resampling approach to evaluate how estimates of intrinsic hand proportions are affected by such uncertainty. First, the phalangeal index-intermediate phalanx length plus proximal phalanx length divided by metacarpal length-for the third digit was calculated for associated specimens of terrestrial, semiterrestrial, and arboreal taxa. We then used resampling procedures to generate distributions of "composite digits" based on resampled ratios in which phalanges from the second, fourth, and fifth rays, and from different individuals, were chosen randomly. Results confirm that the phalangeal index for associated third digits significantly discriminates groups. We also found that resampled ratios had significantly lower means, indicating that using composite digits is prone to systematic underestimation. Resampled ratios also generated distributions with greater variance around the means that obscured distinctions between groups, although significant differences between the most arboreal and terrestrial taxa are maintained. We conclude that using unassociated phalanges to calculate a phalangeal index is prone to sampling bias. Nevertheless, a resampling approach has the potential to inform estimates of hand proportions for fossil taxa, provided that the comparative sample is constrained to mimic the fossil composition.

Hand pressure distribution during Oldowan stone tool production.

Modern humans possess a highly derived thumb that is robust and long relative to the other digits, with enhanced pollical musculature compared with extant apes. Researchers have hypothesized that this anatomy was initially selected for in early Homo in part to withstand high forces acting on the thumb during hard hammer percussion when producing stone tools. However, data are lacking on loads experienced during stone tool production and the distribution of these loads across the hand. Here we report the first quantitative data on manual normal forces (N) and pressures (kPa) acting on the hand during Oldowan stone tool production, captured at 200 Hz. Data were collected from six experienced subjects replicating Oldowan bifacial choppers. Our data do not support hypotheses asserting that the thumb experiences relatively high loads when making Oldowan stone tools. Peak normal force, pressure, impulse, and the pressure/time integral are significantly lower on the thumb than on digits 2 and/or digit 3 in every subject. Our findings call into question hypotheses linking modern human thumb robusticity specifically to load resistance during stone tool production.

Growth and the development of sexual size dimorphism in lorises and galagos.

Three fundamental ontogenetic pathways lead to the development of size differences between males and females. Males and females may grow at the same rate for different durations (bimaturism), grow for the same duration at different rates, or grow at a mix of rate and duration differences. While patterns of growth and the development of adult body size are well established for many haplorhines, the extent to which rate and duration differences affect strepsirrhine growth trajectories remains unclear. Here, we present iterative piecewise regression models that describe the ontogeny of adult body mass for males and females of five lorisoid species (i.e., lorises and galagos) from the Duke Lemur Center. We test the hypotheses that, like most haplorhines, sexual size dimorphism (SSD) is a result of bimaturism, and males and females of monomorphic species grow at the same rate for a similar duration. We confirm that the galagos in this sample (Galago moholi and Otolemur garnettii) show significant SSD that is achieved through bimaturism. Unlike monomorphic lemurids, the lorises in this sample show a diversity of ontogenetic patterns. Loris tardigradus does follow a lemur-like trajectory to monomorphism but Nycticebuscoucang and Nycticebus pygmaeus achieve larger adult female body sizes through a mixture of rate and duration differences. We show that contrary to previous assumptions, there are patterns of both similarity and difference in growth trajectories of comparably sized lorises and galagos. Furthermore, when ontogenetic profiles of lorisoid and lemurid growth are compared, it is evident that lorisoids grow faster for a shorter period of time.

The Homo floresiensis cranium (LB1): size, scaling, and early Homo affinities.

The skeletal remains of a diminutive small-brained hominin found in Late Pleistocene cave deposits on the island of Flores, Indonesia were assigned to a new species, Homo floresiensis [Brown P, et al. (2004) A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431: 1055-1061]. A dramatically different interpretation is that this material belongs not to a novel hominin taxon but to a population of small-bodied modern humans affected, or unaffected, by microcephaly. The debate has primarily focused on the size and shape of the endocranial cavity of the type specimen, LB1, with less attention being paid to the morphological evidence provided by the rest of the LB1 cranium and postcranium, and no study thus far has addressed the problem of how scaling would affect shape comparisons between a diminutive cranium like LB1 and the much larger crania of modern humans. We show that whether or not the effects of its small cranial size are accounted for, the external cranial morphology of the LB1 cranium cannot be accommodated within a large global sample of normal modern human crania. Instead, the shape of LB1, which is shown by multivariate analysis to differ significantly from that of modern humans, is similar to that of Homo erectus sensu lato, and, to a lesser extent, Homo habilis. Our results are consistent with hypotheses that suggest the Liang Bua specimens represent a diminutive population closely related to either early H. erectus s. l. from East Africa and/or Dmanisi or to H. habilis.