NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
THE TABUN C2 MANDIBLE: AN ASSESSMENT
OF
MANDIBULAR RAMUS AND
RETROMOLAR SPACE MORPHOLOGY
A
THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
IN
PARTIAL FULFULLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR
THE DEGREE
MASTER OF ARTS
DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY
BY
NATHAN
E. HOLTON
©
2002 Nathan E. Holton
DEKALB,
ILLINOIS
DECEMBER 2002
The Tabun C2 mandible, derived from Mousterian deposits at Mount Carmel, Israel, has been a source of contention among researchers due to the mosaic morphology exhibited by this specimen. Given the geographic location of the Tabun C2 mandible, an understanding of its morphology is important to help determine the relationship between modern humans and Neandertals.
This analysis examines two aspects of the mandible by comparing Tabun C2 to an early modern (n=9), recent modern (n=25) and Neandertal (n=10) sample. First, the nature of the retromolar space is examined by comparing the morphology of the modern humans and Neandertal retromolar space. The Tabun C2 mandible is then compared to each sample to determine what type this specimen exhibits. Second, the size and shape of the mandibular ramus is examined by means of log size-and-shape and log shape principle component analysis as well as cluster analysis.
The results of this analysis reveal a distinct difference in the nature of the modern human and Neandertal retromolar space with Tabun C2 exhibiting the Neandertal condition. This specimen appears to be modern in terms of the morphology of the mandibular ramus. Therefore, the combination of modern and archaic features is maintained by this analysis.
The mosaic morphology of this specimen provides further support to ideas regarding gene flow around the Mediterranean Sea. Ample evidence of this has been provided of the exchange of modern and archaic genes in Northern Africa. The Tabun C2 mandible provides a strong link between modern and archaic populations along the eastern extension of this pattern of gene flow.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
There are several people who were instrumental to helping me complete this thesis. First I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to my advisor Fred H. Smith for his assistance, for teaching me how to conduct research and for helping me travel to Israel. I am incredibly fortunate to have worked under his direction. Fred has been a source of constant encouragement and it is because of him that I feel confident in my abilities and in continuing my research at the doctoral level.
Furthermore I would like to thank Yoel Rak at the University of Tel Aviv for providing access to the fossil and skeletal remains used in this study as well as for all the free coffee. I would also like to thank Daniel Gebo for the endless conversation about paleontology and for helping me see things in a different light. I am also grateful to Denise Hodges for providing valuable feedback for the final draft of this thesis. I must also thank my fellow graduate students for listening to my constant one-sided conversation about mandibles.
I would also like to thank Mark Griffin, my undergraduate advisor for pointing me in the right direction and for providing me with a solid foundation in physical anthropology.
I am also thankful to my family for their support, financial and otherwise. I am especially grateful to my mother, Judith King, for teaching me, by example, how to excel at my studies. It is because of her that I have made it this far. I would also like to thank my brother, Christopher Holton for keeping me in good spirits and making me laugh when I needed it the most. Last but not least I would like to thank Olivia Hook, who has put up with me and this thesis for the last two years. She has helped me more than she will ever know and I will be forever grateful.
Abstract
Chapter II - Chronology and Fossil Record of the Levant