Global human mandibular variation reflects differences in agricultural and hunter-gatherer subsistence strategies.

ABSTRACT: Variation in the masticatory behavior of hunter-gatherer and agricultural populations is hypothesized to be one of the major forces affecting the form of the human mandible. However, this has yet to be analyzed at a global level. Here, the relationship between global mandibular shape variation and subsistence economy is tested, while controlling for the potentially confounding effects of shared population history, geography, and climate. The results demonstrate that the mandible, in contrast to the cranium, significantly reflects subsistence strategy rather than neutral genetic patterns, with hunter-gatherers having consistently longer and narrower mandibles than agriculturalists. These results support notions that a decrease in masticatory stress among agriculturalists causes the mandible

SUBMITTER: von Cramon-Taubadel N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3241821 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature