title: Neandertal roots: Cranial and chronological evidence from Sima de los Huesos.
abstract: Seventeen Middle Pleistocene crania from the Sima de los Huesos site (Atapuerca, Spain) are analyzed, including seven new specimens. This sample makes it possible to thoroughly characterize a Middle Pleistocene hominin paleodeme and to address hypotheses about the origin and evolution of the Neandertals. Using a variety of techniques, the hominin-bearing layer could be reassigned to a period around 430,000 years ago. The sample shows a consistent morphological pattern with derived Neandertal features present in the face and anterior vault, many of which are related to the masticatory apparatus. This suggests that facial modification was the first step in the evolution of the Neandertal lineage, pointing to a mosaic pattern of evolution, with different anatomical and functional modules evolving at different rates.
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain. jlarsuaga@isciii.es.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Arsuaga
authors.affiliation: Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Geología, Geografía y Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain.Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Martínez
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, the Environment Institute, and the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Arnold
authors.affiliation: Departamento Mineralogía y Petrología, Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Universidad del País Vasco, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aranburu
authors.affiliation: Área de Paleontología, Departamento de Geología, Geografía y Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Alcalá, Spain.Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gracia-Téllez
authors.affiliation: Berkeley Geochronology Center, Berkeley, CA, USA.
authors.forename: W D
authors.initials: WD
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University (State University of New York), Binghamton, NY, USA. Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, NY, USA.Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Quam
authors.affiliation: Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Falguères
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pantoja-Pérez
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA,USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bischoff
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Poza-Rey
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Parés
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Carretero
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain. Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing (IPAS), School of Chemistry and Physics, University of Adelaide, Australia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demuro
authors.affiliation: Àrea de Prehistòria, Departamento d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain. Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona, Spain.Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lorenzo
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Sala
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Martinón-Torres
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alcázar de Velasco
authors.affiliation: Paleontología, Aragosaurus-IUCA and Facultad Ciencias, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cuenca-Bescós
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. PAVE Research Group, Division of Biological Anthropology, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gómez-Olivencia
authors.affiliation: Département de Préhistoire, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France. Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moreno
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain. Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pablos
authors.affiliation: High-Precision Mass Spectrometry and Environment Change Laboratory (HISPEC), Department of Geosciences, National Taiwan University, Taiwan ROC.
authors.forename: C-C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rodríguez
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: A I
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Ortega
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Evolución Humana, Departamento de Ciencias Históricas y Geografía, Universidad de Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: García
authors.affiliation: Centro Mixto UCM-ISCIII de Evolución y Comportamiento Humanos, Madrid, Spain. Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonmatí
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana Burgos, Spain.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bermúdez de Castro
authors.affiliation: Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona, Spain. Àrea de Prehistòria, Departamento d'Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain. Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Beijing (IVPP), China.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carbonell
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D053476:Extinction, Biological; D005580:Fossils; D040961:Genetic Drift; D006801:Humans; D059125:Neanderthals / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000235:genetics*; D009929:Organ Size; D060047:Reproductive Isolation; D012886:Skull / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013030:Spain