Robert Franciscus: Domestication and Human Evolution – Craniofacial Feminization in Evolution
Robert Franciscus (Univ of Iowa) explains that anatomically modern humans are recognized in the fossil record primarily by retraction and diminution of the facial skeleton compared to pre-modern “archaic” humans. He then describes a promising model for the advent of facial diminution, which suggests that anatomically modern humans represent a ‘self-domesticated’ species where selection for increased social tolerance led to growth and developmental alterations producing craniofacial “feminization,” which itself results in a phenotypic signal of reduced aggressiveness. Recorded on 10/10/2014. Series: “CARTA – Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny” [Science] [Show ID: 28897]
[Video and text source: University of California Television (UCTV) YouTube channel]
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