Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/16294
Title: LB1's virtual endocast, microcephaly, and hominin brain evolution
Contributor(s): Falk, Dean (author); Hildebolt, Charles (author); Smith, Kirk (author); Morwood, M J  (author); Sutikna, Thomas (author); Jatmiko, Jatmiko (author); Wayhu Saptomo, E (author); Prior, Fred (author)
Publication Date: 2009
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2008.10.008
Handle Link: https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/16294
Abstract: 

Earlier observations of the virtual endocast of LB1, the type specimen for Homo floresiensis, are reviewed, extended, and interpreted. Seven derived features of LB1’s cerebral cortex are detailed: a caudally positioned occipital lobe, lack of a rostrally-located lunate sulcus, a caudally-expanded temporal lobe, advanced morphology of the lateral prefrontal cortex, shape of the rostral prefrontal cortex, enlarged gyri in the frontopolar region, and an expanded orbitofrontal cortex. These features indicate that LB1’s brain was globally reorganized despite its ape-sized cranial capacity (417 cm3 ). Neurological reorganization may thus form the basis for the cognitive abilities attributed to H. floresiensis. Because of its tiny cranial capacity, some workers think that LB1 represents a Homo sapiens individual that was afflicted with microcephaly, or some other pathology, rather than a new species of hominin. We respond to concerns about our earlier study of microcephalics compared with normal individuals, and reaffirm that LB1 did not suffer from this pathology. The intense controversy about LB1 reflects an older continuing dispute about the relative evolutionary importance of brain size versus neurological reorganization. LB1 may help resolve this debate and illuminate constraints that governed hominin brain evolution.

Publication Type: Journal Article
Source of Publication: Journal of Human Evolution, 57(5), p. 597-607
Publisher: Academic Press
Place of Publication: United Kingdom
ISSN: 1095-8606
0047-2484
Fields of Research (FoR) 2008: 060311 Speciation and Extinction
Socio-Economic Objective (SEO) 2008: 970106 Expanding Knowledge in the Biological Sciences
Peer Reviewed: Yes
HERDC Category Description: C1 Refereed Article in a Scholarly Journal
Appears in Collections:Journal Article

Files in This Item:
2 files
File Description SizeFormat 
Show full item record

SCOPUSTM   
Citations

85
checked on Jun 8, 2024

Page view(s)

1,158
checked on Jun 23, 2024
Google Media

Google ScholarTM

Check

Altmetric


Items in Research UNE are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.