Cranial and Brain Evolution in Late Pleistocene and Domesticated Artiodactyls

Abstract

This dissertation is a collection of studies on the evolution of the skull and brain systems under the evolutionary model of domestication. Comparative studies of extant versus fossil forms contribute to our understanding of how the brain evolved to the diverse states known today. Thus, one study is devoted to larger-scale patterns in mammalian brain evolution. Artiodactyls encompass the majority of taxa that have been domesticated. They are one of the most morphologically diverse clades within Mammalia, and possess some of the most c Show more