- Titre du projet
- Bony labyrinth of pygmy crania
- Descriptif du projet
- Forests impose evolutionary selective pressures that are responsible for changes in both the size and proportions of the bodies of people who live there. It can be hypothesised that adaptation to forest living should extend to the bony labyrinth of the temporal bone, the hollow space within the cranium that houses the organ of balance, the semicircular ducts. Differences in the form of the canals, which can be evaluated via micro computed tomography of dry crania, are associated with variation in locomotor behaviours in mammals. The proposed project will compare the bony labyrinth of short-statured African forest people to those of non-forest-adapted populations. The size, shape and position of the individual canals will be analysed. This will provide insights into the behavioural changes necessitated by closed-canopy habitats on people.
Travaux réalisés par la plateforme AST-RX
