Intraspecific variation and sexual dimorphism in cranial and dental variables among higher primates and their bearing on the hominid fossil record.
Year: 1991
Type: article
Abstract: The extent and nature of dental and cranial sexual dimorphisms in extant hominoids have been investigated using reliably sexed samples of Homo sapiens (n = 75), Pan troglodytes (n = 51), Gorilla gorilla (n = 64) and Pongo pygmaeus (n = 43). Seventy nine measurements (35 dental, 16 mandibular and 28 cranial) formed the basis of the study. The patterns of mean differences and dispersions between the taxa were compared across the anatomical regions and the group structures of the separate sex samples were analysed using multivariate (PCA and CVA) analysis. Within and between group variations were compared across the taxa to investigate whether any variables were consistently effective sex or taxonomic discriminators. The study confirmed that there were differences in degree and pattern of sexual dimorphism between the extant higher primates, but the results did not substantiate the distribution of patterns as suggested by Oxnard et al. (1985); in particular there was no evidence of the dispersion differences noted by those authors. There were sufficient consistencies in the behaviour of variables across the four taxa to suggest that all canine dimensions, postcanine crown buccolingual dimensions and mandibular and cranial breadths are generally good sex discriminators, whereas some incisor dimensions, postcanine crown mesiodistal dimensions and facial heights are more effective at discriminating between the four extant taxa included in this study.
Source: Europe PMC (PubMed Central)
Authors: B A Wood, Y Li, C Willoughby
Institutions: University of Liverpool, Queen's University Belfast
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology (arts and humanities)
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2193421800