Brief communication: "Pathological" deformation in the skull of LB1, the type specimen of Homo floresiensis.
If the holotype of Homo floresiensis, LB1, suffered from a severe developmental pathology, this could undermine its status as the holotype of a new species. One of the proposed pathological indicators that still remains untested is asymmetric distortion in the skull of LB1 (Jacob et al.: Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103 (2006) 13421-13426). Here, we present evidence that LB1 exhibits antemortem craniofacial deformities that are consistent with posterior deformational (positional) plagiocephaly. This is a relatively common condition in modern people with no serious associated health problems and does not represent a severe developmental abnormality in LB1.
Kaifu
Yousuke
Y
Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Nature and Science, Tokyo 169-0073, Japan. kaifu@kahaku.go.jp
Baba
Hisao
H
Kurniawan
Iwan
I
Sutikna
Thomas
T
Saptomo
E Wahyu
EW
Jatmiko
Awe
Rokhus Due
RD
Kaneko
Tsuyoshi
T
Aziz
Fachroel
F
Djubiantono
Tony
T
D000818:Animals; D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D015186:Hominidae / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification*; D006801:Humans; D012886:Skull / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*