This study addresses how the human temporal bone develops the population-specific
pattern of morphology observed among adults and at what point in ontogeny those patterns
arise. Three-dimensional temporal bone shape was captured using 15 landmarks on
ontogenetic series of specimens from seven modern human populations. Discriminant
function analysis revealed that population-specific temporal bone morphology is evident
early in ontogeny, with significant shape differences among many human populations …

The morphology of the temporal bone has been determined to reflect both phylogenetic
relationships among hominoid species and population history among modern human
groups. It is a tightly genetically determined component of the skull in adults; however, it is
currently unknown at what point during development this pattern emerges, and whether
diverse human populations follow the same ontogenetic trajectories for temporal bone
growth. To address these questions, 15 ectocranial landmarks were digitized on an …