Dental phenotypic shape variation supports a multiple dispersal model for anatomically modern humans in Southeast Asia

Publication date: November 2017
Source:Journal of Human Evolution, Volume 112
Author(s): Julien Corny, Manon Galland, Marta Arzarello, Anne-Marie Bacon, Fabrice Demeter, Dominique Grimaud-Hervé, Charles Higham, Hirofumi Matsumura, Lan Cuong Nguyen, Thi Kim Thuy Nguyen, Viet Nguyen, Marc Oxenham, Thongsa Sayavongkhamdy, François Sémah, Laura L. Shackelford, Florent Détroit
The population history of anatomically modern humans (AMH) in Southeast Asia (SEA) is a highly debated topic. The impact of sea level variations related to the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the Neolithic diffusion on past population dispersals are two key issues. We have investigated competing AMH dispersal hypotheses in SEA through the analysis of dental phenotype shape variation on the basis of very large archaeological samples employing two complementary approaches. We first explored the structure of between- and within-group shape variation of permanent human molar crowns. Second, we undertook a direct test of competing hypotheses through a modeling approach. Our results identify a significant LGM-mediated AMH expansion and a strong biological impact of the spread of Neolithic farmers into SEA during the Holocene. The present work thus favors a "multiple AMH dispersal" hypothesis for the population history of SEA, reconciling phenotypic and recent genomic data.



http://ift.tt/2xRA0zW