Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Description
Previous studies have demonstrated that cranial base anatomy is influenced primarily by three different characteristics: brain shape, positional behavior, and facial growth (Lieberman et al. 2000). Although the timing of cranial base growth is not fully understood, features of the cranial base are frequently used to interpret the hominin fossil

Previous studies have demonstrated that cranial base anatomy is influenced primarily by three different characteristics: brain shape, positional behavior, and facial growth (Lieberman et al. 2000). Although the timing of cranial base growth is not fully understood, features of the cranial base are frequently used to interpret the hominin fossil record (Guy et al. 2005; White et al. 1994; Brunet et al. 2002). While specific aspects of cranial base morphology may be species-specific, there is sparse information on the developmental mechanisms driving these adult morphologies. The aim of this study is to 1) examine changes in the human cranial base form throughout ontogeny and 2) determine their relationship to the development of positional behavior and brain growth. This research asks: to what extent does human cranial base morphology vary before and after adult positional behavior is acquired? The null hypothesis is that there is no relationship between features of the cranial base and the development of positional behavior. Data are collected using 3D landmarks on n=35 human crania and analyzed with both Morphologika (O'Higgins and Jones 1999) and MorphoJ (Klingenberg 2011) to identify age related changes in shape. Results of this study demonstrate that most of the changes in cranial base form occur between dental eruption stages N and NJ1 between 0 and 2 years of age. These changes consist of a relative shortening of the anterior-posterior cranial base length, a more posterior positioning of the foramen magnum, and a more anterior position of the occipital condyles and separate the N and NJ1 dental development groups from other groups. This change coincides with the transition to upright posture in human children (Abitbol 1993), a significant period of brain growth (Neubauer 2009) and has implications for reconstructing positional behavior in fossil hominins. Despite new insights into the development of cranial base morphology, the utility of the cranial base in assigning hominin taxonomy remains inconclusive.
ContributorsMcgechie, Faye Rachele (Author) / Kimbel, William (Thesis director) / Schwartz, Gary (Committee member) / Hill, Cheryl (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Description
Mammals with a habitually orthograde trunk posture possess a more anterior foramen magnum than mammals with non-orthograde trunk postures. Russo & Kirk (2013) also found that bipedal orthograde mammals possess a more anteriorly placed foramen magnum than those that are just habitually orthograde. This finding has allowed us to use

Mammals with a habitually orthograde trunk posture possess a more anterior foramen magnum than mammals with non-orthograde trunk postures. Russo & Kirk (2013) also found that bipedal orthograde mammals possess a more anteriorly placed foramen magnum than those that are just habitually orthograde. This finding has allowed us to use foramen magnum position as a predictor of trunk posture in early hominins. This prompts more research of how the other landmarks on the cranial base move in relation to this shift in foramen magnum positioning. I collected landmark data on images of 125 mammalian basicrania spanning 41 species that differed in trunk posture. Using Procrustes and Principal Components Analysis (PCA), I attempted to evaluate the effects of trunk posture on basicranial morphology, primarily focusing on the placement of the carotid and jugular foramina. The results supported Russo and Kirk's finding of a more anterior foramen magnum placement in orthograde mammals; in addition, the results displayed correlations between foramen magnum position and carotid foramen position among primates and diprotodonts.
ContributorsPena, Angela (Author) / Kimbel, William (Thesis director) / Schwartz, Gary T. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05