Lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Lab Report Example These occipital condyles are projections from the bottom of the skull that attach the skull to the atlas and axis of the cervical vertebrae. This gives an indication of how upright the organism stood. The more centered that the occipital condyles are along the Frankfurt plane, the higher the probability the hominid was upright. 4) Nasal cavity shape – the nasal cavity shape helps establish ancestry and racial origin. A wider nasal chamber indicates a sub Saharan origin as compared to a narrower flared/heartshaped one in the European skull. The Mystery skull 1 belongs to anatomically modern Homo sapiens. The reason I assigned this taxon is due to the high uv/tv ratio. This implies that the hominid had a lower brow and thus the frontal lobes were higher than eye level. The tw/tv ratio is also large meaning that the foramen magnum is high. This implies an upright posture. The index of condylar position is also large implying that the foramen magnum is nearly centrally placed under the skull. This also implies a near upright gait. The facial features such as zygomatic bones are not as prominent, thus showing that the hominid did not have need for large mastication muscles. The maxillary jaw is also less protruded. This is characteristic of the more evolved hominids. The saggital sutures also close to form a well rounded calvaria characteristic of higher hominids. Mystery skull 2 belongs to the Neanderthal. The reason I assigned this taxon is due to the fact that the uv/tv ratio is relatively large. This implies that the brow ridge is not as high, and thus the brain is slightly higher placed than the eyes. The tw/tv ratio shows that the foramen magnum is located lower on the skull and thus the hominid may not have been entirely upright. The xy/xz ratio is quite large. This implies that the foramen magnum was almost centred, meaning that although the hominid was not entirely upright, it may have employed bipedal gait. The