Ancient Jomon genome sequence analysis sheds light on migration patterns of early East Asian populations.

Anatomically modern humans reached East Asia more than 40,000 years ago. However, key questions still remain unanswered with regard to the route(s) and the number of wave(s) in the dispersal into East Eurasia. Ancient genomes at the edge of the region may elucidate a more detailed picture of the peopling of East Eurasia.

The prehistoric peopling of Southeast Asia.

The human occupation history of Southeast Asia (SEA) remains heavily debated. Current evidence suggests that SEA was occupied by Hòabìnhian hunter-gatherers until ~4000 years ago, when farming economies developed and expanded, restricting foraging groups to remote habitats. Some argue that agricultural development was indigenous; others favor the "two-layer" hypothesis that posits a southward expansion of farmers giving rise to present-day Southeast Asian genetic diversity.

Osteological and genetic analysis of the extinct Ezo wolf (Canis lupus hattai) from Hokkaido Island, Japan.

The Ezo wolf (Canis lupus hattai Kishida, 1931 ) is an extinct subspecies that inhabited Hokkaido in Japan until the middle of the Meiji Period. Because there are very few preserved skeletons, no osteological and/or genetic analyses of the Ezo wolf have been conducted. In this study, 20 cranial and eight mandibular characters were measured on Ezo wolf skeletons, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was analyzed to assess genetic relationships between the Ezo wolf and other wolf lineages, including the Japanese wolf on Honshu.

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the Japanese wolf (Canis lupus hodophilax Temminck, 1839) and comparison with representative wolf and domestic dog haplotypes.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop control region sequences ranging In length from 583 to 598 bp were determined for eight Japanese wolf specimens (Canis lupus hodophilax Temminck, 1839) collected from several sites and compared with 105 haplotypes from the domestic dog (C. lupus familiaris) and continental grey wolf (C. lupus lupus).

Meaning of the canine sexual dimorphism in fossil owl monkey, Aotus dindensis from the middle Miocene of La Venta, Colombia.

The owl monkey, Aotus, is the only modern nocturnal anthropoid with monogamous social structure. It has been demonstrated by the fossil species, Aotus dindensis, discovered from La Venta, Colombia, that the Aotus lineage had emerged as early as the middle Miocene (12-15 Ma). The type specimen of A.

Reconstruction of human exposure to heavy metals using synchrotron radiation microbeams in prehistoric and modern humans.

Objective: Teeth can serve as records of environmental exposure to heavy metals during their formation. We applied a new technology - synchrotron radiation microbeams (SRXRF) - for analysis of heavy metals in human permanent teeth in modern and historical samples.

Methods: Each tooth was cut in half.

A morphometric analysis of the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) mandibular cheek teeth from the Torihama Shell-midden, Early Jomon Period, Fukui Prefecture, Japan.

We quantitatively examined the differences in the size and proportion of the Japanese macaque (Macaca fuscata) by comparing the Early Jomon specimens from Torihama shell-midden, Fukui Prefecture and modern specimens from Fukui Prefecture. The purpose of this study was to explore the temporal change in the proportion and size of teeth of the Japanese macaques based on the quantified data. The result of measurements of lower premolars and molars demonstrated that sexual dimorphism was evident only among the modern specimens where the females were significantly smaller than males.

Additional materials of Myanmarpithecus yarshensis (Amphipithecidae, Primates) from the middle Eocene Pondaung Formation.

Myanmarpithecus yarshensis is an amphipithecid primate from the middle Eocene Pondaung Formation in Myanmar. It was previously known based on maxillary fragments with P(4)-M(3) and mandibular fragments with C-P(3) and M(2-3). This study reports new materials for the genus, including a humeral head fragment, a lingual fragment of the right M(2), a lingual fragment of the right M(3), and a left I(1).

Variation in maxillary sinus anatomy among platyrrhine monkeys.

Variations in the maxillary sinus anatomy of extant and fossil catarrhine primates have been extensively examined using computed tomography (CT), and have potential utility for phylogenetic analyses. This approach has also been used to demonstrate its anatomical variation in eight of the 16 extant genera of platyrrhines and the absence of the sinus in Saimiri and Cacajao. We used this approach to evaluate the three-dimensional anatomy of the maxillary sinus in all extant platyrrhine genera, and here argue the phylogenic implications of this variation.

The paleobiology of Amphipithecidae, South Asian late Eocene primates.

Analysis of the teeth, orbital, and gnathic regions of the skull, and fragmentary postcranial bones provides evidence for reconstructing a behavioral profile of Amphipithecidae: Pondaungia, Amphipithecus, Myanmarpithecus (late middle Eocene, Myanmar) and Siamopithecus (late Eocene, Thailand). At 5-8 kg, Pondaungia, Amphipithecus, and Siamopithecus are perhaps the largest known Eocene primates. The dental and mandibular anatomy suggest that large-bodied amphipithecids were hard-object feeders.

Endocranial cast and morphology of the olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus mogaungensis (latest middle Eocene of Myanmar).

A detailed endocranial cast of the olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus mogaungensis, a latest middle Eocene primate from the Pondaung Formation (Myanmar), was studied in comparison with some Paleogene primates, the olfactory bulb of which has been reported. The olfactory bulb of Amphipithecus is located just anterior to the postorbital constriction, that is, within the interorbital septum. It is relatively large and pedunculate, not overlapped by the frontal lobe, and consists of two parallel aligned bodies.

Variation in mitochondrial DNA of Vietnamese pigs: relationships with Asian domestic pigs and Ryukyu wild boars.

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences (574 bp) of 30 Vietnamese pigs (large and small) were examined and compared with those of 61 haplotypes from wild boars and domestic pigs from various locations in Asia. The large Vietnamese pigs had genetic links to Ryukyu wild boars in southern Japan. The small Vietnamese pigs were closely related to other East Asian domestic pigs.

The upper dentition and face of Pondaungia cotteri from central Myanmar.

A specimen of Pondaungia from the late middle Eocene Pondaung Formation in central Myanmar includes maxillary fragments and parts of the dentition, some hitherto undocumented, including the upper central incisor, canine, premolars and molars. Pondaungia has a large spatulate I1 closely resembling that of crown anthropoids. It possesses a stout projecting upper canine (like anthropoids) but differs from that tooth of crown anthropoids in lacking a strong mesial groove.