Abstract
X-ray microtomographic acquisition of the Hofmeyr cranium provides visualization of the cavity system of the inner ear of the right petrous temporal. This structure is of significant interest given its close relationship with locomotor behaviors, the sense of hearing and basicranial morphology. Moreover, owing to its strong genetic component, the structure of the bony labyrinth provides a solid basis to aid in the assessment of the phenotypic and phylogenetic relationships among hominin groups. Investigation of the Hofmeyr inner ear presented challenges related to the virtual removal of the sediment that fills the cavity and the slight damage to the cochlea from taphonomic processes. As a result, a few features required some degree of estimation. We present a descriptive and comparative study of the Hofmeyr bony labyrinth, comparing it to a large sample of recent humans, Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene fossils from Africa and Eurasia and to Neandertals. Results indicate that Hofmeyr is somewhat distinctive from recent humans in its cochlea, and the size and relative dimension of its anterior semicircular canal. The latter features tend to characterize the European Upper Palaeolithic as well as the Middle Palaeolithic Qafzeh/Skhūl specimens. This results in Hofmeyr showing closest affinities with these two groups in the multivariate analyses. These findings are consistent with previous morphometric analyses of the Hofmeyr cranium.
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Acknowledgements
We thank Heiko Temming, Max Planck Institute, Leipzig, for providing the µCT scan data of the Hofmeyr cranium, and Luci Betti-Nash for assistance with Fig. 10.1. We are grateful to Ronan Levedin, Université de Bordeaux, for the µCT acquisitions of the HI2 crania from Djibouti and the GQ-BU16 cranium from Somalia, and to Steve Brandt, University of Florida, and Henri Duday, Université de Bordeaux, for entrusting these specimens for examination. We also thank Patrick Semal, Jonathan Brecko and Aurore Mathys from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), for entrusting the LAK specimens from Shum Laka, Cameroon for examination and for µCT acquisitions in Brussels. We are grateful to José Braga and Rolf Quam for their careful review of our manuscript and their cogent comments and suggestions which have resulted in its improvement. This study was supported by the French Agence Nationale de la Recherche that founded the Big Dry Project (ANR-14-CE31), and by the LabEx LaScArBx (LASCARBX-AAP5-2015). This research also benefited from the scientific framework of the University of Bordeaux’s IdEx “Investments for the Future” program/GPR “Human Past”.
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Appendix 10.A1
Appendix 10.A1
Table 10.A1. Bony labyrinth dimensions of the indivdiual crania from Qafzeh and Skhūl.
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Crevecoeur, I., Thibeault, A., Bouchneb, L., Matu, M., Maureille, B., Ribot, I. (2022). The Hofmeyr Bony Labyrinth: Morphological Description and Affinity. In: Grine, F.E. (eds) Hofmeyr. Vertebrate Paleobiology and Paleoanthropology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07426-4_10
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