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The extrpolation of the Evo-Devo perspective in the cognitive sciences realm is promising but at the same time it can carry some interesting epistemic problems. Such considerations are engaged with the different type of explanation or conceptualization of causality in the hierarchichal systems of Evo-Devo, vis-à-vis the typical explanations of characteristic hierarchichal systems of cognitive sciences. Frans de Waal and Pier F. Ferrari had established a bottom-up hypothesis for explaining the imitative behaviors of primates during affective interactions. From this point of view, they suggest that "deep homology" a concept from Evo-Devo can be used to analyze the most inferior hierarchichal levels that underlie the functioning of mirror neurons. In accordance with my analysis, the model proposed by the authors do not satisfactorily calrify if the mirror neurons of different primate species share a set of common genetic-embriologic determinants, a mandatorily condition for a valid use of the concept of deep homology. Due to the possibility that different regulatory networks could give place to sets of mirror neurons with similar functional properties, it would be frail to establish that behavioral capabilities, which are in fact functional properties, depend on a straightforward anatomical and functional implementation in primates. From a historical and epistemological analysis of the concept of homology I revise the previous hypothesis and propose some relevant aspects for its assessment. I close this paper with a commentary on the broad epistemic landscape in which this interesting hypothesis is framed, the bioanthropological discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Here I review some of the newsworthy developments in biological anthropology for the year 2014. This review essay focuses broadly upon three areas: (1) the illumination of sexual harassment and assault issues in fieldwork settings by Clancy and colleagues (2014), (2) the abandonment of traditional concept of race in favor of a more sophisticated geographic and genetic view of ancestry in human populations, and (3) the increasing importance of using ancient DNA techniques toward an understanding of human prehistoric movements and adaptations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT 2013 was a remarkable year in biological anthropology. From perplexing fossil hominin discoveries to revealing genome analyses, discussions of ethics in the field, and the continuing public dissemination of our work, we grappled with a lot both within and outside the academy. Here I explore some of these major accomplishments across four main themes: (1) new hominin finds and resulting consideration of the complex landscapes across which our various ancestors lived, adapted, and possibly interbred; (2) recent news from (nonhuman) primate evolution and contemporary primatological practice; (3) the demonstrated relevance of biological anthropology to anthropology with examples from integrative biocultural and ethnoprimatological approaches that move beyond dated subfield constraints; and (4) the value of social media and engagement of the public. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research produced in biological anthropology over the past year spans a dizzying array of topics, methodologies, and perspectives on human evolution and variation. In this essay, I attempt to encapsulate a slice of that research into a broader discussion of the discipline. In this view, what stands out most notably in the past year's research is the way in which new observations, the product of new technologies and new interactions across disciplinary and subdisciplinary boundaries, have dramatically shifted understandings of long-studied anthropological questions. The origin of modern humans, the evolution of human birth, and the locomotion of our hominin ancestors are just three topics that exemplify such changes in perspective over the past year. An additional shift within the discipline is the increasing importance of open access and online forums for the research process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The measurement of craniofacial parameters have clinical, forensic and anthropologic significance. Local data on inner canthal and outer canthal distances and the canthal index may reveal the pattern of differential growth in craniofacial features resulting from factors such as sex, diet and genetic distinctions. In the present study, we provide normative data on canthal distances in a Nigerian population which has not been studied previously, utilizing a study design which optimises the effect of age and minimise bias and confounding than previous studies in Nigerian groups. The mean inner canthal distance was 1.85±0.30cm and 2.07±0.29cm (males vs. females, p= 0.000)- mean outer canthal distance, 10.39±0.56cm and 10.40±0.98cm (males vs. female, p= 0.899). The results were found to be considerably lower than what has been reported among Nigerian groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We combined ethnographic investigations with repeated ecological transect surveys in the Dzanga-Sangha Dense Forest Reserve (RDS), Central African Republic, to elucidate consequences of intensifying mixed use of forests. We devised a framework for transvaluation of wildlife species, which means the valuing of species on the basis of their ecological, economic, and symbolic roles in human lives. We measured responses to hunting, tourism, and conservation of two transvalued species in RDS: elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis ) and gorillas (Gorilla gorilla ). Our methods included collecting data on encounter rates and habitat use on line transects. We recorded cross-cultural variation in ideas about and interactions with these species during participant observation of hunting and tourism encounters and ethnographic interviews with hunters, conservation staff, researchers, and tourists. Ecologically, gorillas used human-modified landscapes successfully, and elephants were more vulnerable than gorillas to hunting. Economically, tourism and encounters with elephants and gorillas generated revenues and other benefits for local participants. Symbolically, transvaluation of species seemed to undergird competing institutions of forest management that could prove unsustainable. Nevertheless, transvaluation may also offer alternatives to existing social hierarchies, thereby integrating local and transnational support for conservation measures. The study of transvaluation requires attention to transnational flows of ideas and resources because they influence transspecies interactions. Cross-disciplinary in nature, transvalution of species addresses the political and economic challenges to conservation because it recognizes the varied human communities that shape the survival of wildlife in a given site. Transvaluation of species could foster more socially inclusive management and monitoring approaches attuned to competing economic demands, specific species behaviors, and human practices at local scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]