Melanie Chang

Portland State University, Anthropology, Adjunct

University of Victoria BC, Anthropology, Adjunct

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http://www.pdx.edu/anthropology/profile/dr-melanie-chang
Address: Portland, Oregon, United States

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Papers by Melanie Chang

Science, the Media, and Interpretations of Upper Paleolithic Figurines.

by Melanie Chang and April Nowell

Using the recent discovery of the Hohle Fels figurine as a catalyst, in this article we briefly r... more Using the recent discovery of the Hohle Fels figurine as a catalyst, in this article we briefly review the history of scholarship regarding Upper Paleolithic figurines that are often referred to as “Venus” figurines. We integrate this review with a critical examination of the assumptions underlying the “Venus hypothesis”—the perspective that these artifacts are best understood as sexual objects—based on the available data from both inside and outside of the field of Paleolithic archaeology. We suggest that interpreting the figurines in a purely sexual context obstructs their objective, scientific study and has unintended social consequences. Following from this, we
consider why the Venus hypothesis persists in the popular media and scholarly research despite decades of reflexive
critiques. Finally, building on these critiques, we argue for the importance of contextualization in the study of Upper
Paleolithic figurines and discuss new approaches to their study. [Upper Paleolithic, figurines, pop culture, media, science]

Interglacial and glacial desert refugia and the Middle Paleolithic of the Azraq Oasis, Jordan

by Melanie Chang, Michael Bisson, and April Nowell

Quaternary International, 2013

A geoarchaeological study of sediments in the Azraq Oasis, in the Eastern Desert of Jordan, provi... more A geoarchaeological study of sediments in the Azraq Oasis, in the Eastern Desert of Jordan, provides information on the fluctuations of the geomorphic and hydrologic systems in this region in relation to the local Middle Paleolithic and Upper Paleolithic occupations. The study shows that local geomorphic and hydrological environments fluctuated between marsh, lake and playa (dry lake bed with eolian activity and/or carbonate accumulation). In some instances, local wet conditions correlate with those registered in other regional paleoclimatic records, as is the case of the period comprising MIS 5a and probably early MIS 4. In other cases, however, local wet conditions represented by marsh deposits with hominin occupations are asynchronous with regional wet conditions. This suggests that the Azraq oases may have acted as desert refugia at times of regional adverse climatic conditions. The fact that Azraq represents a potential desert refugia has important consequences for understanding major issues in the Middle Paleolithic of Southwest Asia, namely (1) the arrival, survival, and extinction of populations of both Neanderthals and early modern humans. The location of Azraq at a crossroads between the Levant, the Arabian Peninsula and other regions of the Middle East, is also an important geographic aspect of desert refugia during the critical period of hominin dynamics in the Middle Paleolithic.

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(2005) Functional morphology of the Neandertal nose

by Melanie Chang and Marc Meyer

Neandertals have exceptionally broad nasal apertures. The Neandertal nose has been referred to as... more Neandertals have exceptionally broad nasal apertures. The Neandertal nose has been referred to as "the prime architect of the Neandertal face" (Coon 1962) - functional explanations for the size of Neandertal noses have historically considered them to be specializations for a cold, arid environment. The adaptive nature of human nasal form is suggested by some studies of modern skeletal samples documenting a positive correlation between nasal indices and climate, but others have cautioned that these indices may not be independent of non-adaptive variables affecting facial form and that in many studies, these other variables have not been controlled for.
Meyer et al. (2003) showed that in modern humans nasal breadth has a negligible relationship with climatic variables, and is more highly correlated with bi-canine breadth and especially palate breadth. Thus, the form of the nasal aperture is not independent of adjacent structures, contra Hylander (1977) and Carey and Steegman (1981), who argue that nasal form is subject to selection independent of the rest of the face.

We evaluate the form of the nasal aperture in relation to non-nasal measurements of facial breadth in ten Middle Pleistocene and Neandertal fossils and 460 modern human crania of known provenience to test whether the nasal aperture is constrained by other aspects of facial morphology. Then, we examine the relationship between non-nasal measurements of facial breadth and climate, using historical and ancient climatic data collected for each cranium's locality, to test the hypothesis that only the nasal capsule responds to selection related to climate. Our results indicate that nasal morphology is subject to functional constraints that affect other parts of the face, and that Neandertal nasal morphology may have a stronger association with masticatory or paramasticatory functions than with climate.

Science, the Media, and Interpretations of Upper Paleolithic Figurines

American Anthropologist, Sep 2014

Using the recent discovery of the Hohle Fels figurine as a catalyst, in this article we briefly r... more Using the recent discovery of the Hohle Fels figurine as a catalyst, in this article we briefly review the history of scholarship regarding Upper Paleolithic figurines that are often referred to as “Venus” figurines. We integrate this review with a critical examination of the assumptions underlying the “Venus hypothesis”—the perspective that these artifacts are best understood as sexual objects—based on the available data from both inside and outside of the field of Paleolithic archaeology. We suggest that interpreting the figurines in a purely sexual context obstructs their objective, scientific study and has unintended social consequences. Following from this, we consider why the Venus hypothesis persists in the popular media and scholarly research despite decades of reflexive critiques. Finally, building on these critiques, we argue for the importance of contextualization in the study of Upper Paleolithic figurines and discuss new approaches to their study.

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The Case Against Sexual Selection as an Explanation of Handaxe Morphology

Paleoanthropology, 2009

Many explanations have been put forward to account for the distinctive symmetrical teardrop shape... more Many explanations have been put forward to account for the distinctive symmetrical teardrop shape of Acheulian handaxes but none is perhaps as controversial as the sexual selection hypothesis. In this paper, we outline the necessary assumptions and conditions underlying the argument for sexual selection as an explanation for handaxe morphology, critique this argument on the basis of the available evidence from comparative ethology, experimen- tal psychology, and the archaeological record, and present several more parsimonious alternative explanations that are directly based on this available hard data.

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Intrabreed Stratification Related to Divergent Selection Regimes in Purebred Dogs May Affect the Interpretation of Genetic Association Studies

Journal of Heredity, 2009

Until recently, canine genetic research has not focused on population structure within breeds, wh... more Until recently, canine genetic research has not focused on population structure within breeds, which may confound the results of case–control studies by introducing spurious correlations between phenotype and genotype that reflect population history. Intrabreed structure may exist when geographical origin or divergent selection regimes influence the choices of potential mates for breeding dogs. We present evidence for intrabreed stratification from a genome-wide marker survey in a sample of unrelated dogs. We genotyped 76 Border Collies, 49 Australian Shepherds, 17 German Shepherd Dogs, and 17 Portuguese Water Dogs for our primary analyses using Affymetrix Canine v2.0 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays. Subsets of autosomal markers were examined using clustering algorithms to facilitate assignment of individuals to populations and estimation of the number of populations represented in the sample. SNPs passing stringent quality control filters were employed for explicitly phylogenetic analyses reconstructing relationships between individuals using maximum parsimony and Bayesian methods. We used simulation studies to explore the possible effects of intrabreed stratification on genome-wide association studies. These analyses demonstrate significant stratification in at least one of our primary breeds of interest, the Border Collie. Demographic and pedigree data suggest that this population substructure may result from geographic isolation or divergent selection regimes practiced by breeders with different breeding program goals. Simulation studies indicate that such stratification could result in false discovery rates significant enough to confound genome-wide association analyses. Intrabreed stratification should be accounted for when designing and interpreting the results of case– control association studies using purebred dogs.

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Understanding the genetic basis of canine anxiety: phenotyping dogs for behavioral, neurochemical, and genetic assessment

Journal of Veterinary Behavior-clinical Applications and Research, 2006

Behavioral problems account for the death, relinquishment, or the end of breeding careers of more... more

Large-Scale SNP Genotyping with Canine Buccal Swab DNA

by Melanie Chang and Steve Hamilton

Journal of Heredity, 2007

The dog is an attractive model for genetic studies of complex disease. With drafts of the canine ... more The dog is an attractive model for genetic studies of complex disease. With drafts of the canine genome complete, a large number of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that are potentially useful for gene-mapping studies and empirical esti- mations of canine diversity and linkage disequilibrium (LD) are now available. Unfortunately, most canine SNPs remain uncharacterized, and the amount and quality of DNA available from population-based samples are limited. We assessed how these real-world challenges influence automated SNP genotyping methods such as Illumina’s GoldenGate assay. We examined 384 SNPs on canine chromosome 9 and successfully genotyped a minimum of 217 and a maximum of 275 SNPs using buccal swab samples for 181 dogs (86 beagles, 76 border collies, and 15 Australian shepherds). Call rates per SNP and sample averaged 97%, with reproducibility within and between analyses averaging 98%. The majority of these SNPs were polymorphic across all 3 breeds. We observed extensive LD, albeit less than reported for surveys using fewer dogs, consistent between breeds. Analyses of population substructure indicated that beagles are distinct from border collies and Australian shepherds. These results demonstrate the suitability of amplified canine buccal samples for high-throughput mul- tiplex genotyping and confirm extensive LD in the dog.

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Taxonomic Characters in Middle Pleistocene Systematics

Periodicum Biologorum, 2006

Hominin taxonomies distinguish taxa by criteria of time, space, and morphology. These »species« a... more Hominin taxonomies distinguish taxa by criteria of time, space, and morphology. These »species« are defined typologically and described using a mixture of primitive and derived characters. The adoption of a cladistic perspective has led to an extension of phylogenetic principles to the problem of taxon definition, and often resulted in the simple recasting of these descriptive characters as apomorphies of their respective taxa. However, characters cannot be identified as apomorphies in the absence of a well- supported phylogenetic hypothesis for these taxa.
The present study is a phylogenetic analysis of Middle to Late Pleistocene fossil specimens assigned to Homo antecessor, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens, employing characters that are con- sidered taxonomically significant for these groups. Craniodental specimens were examined and scored for a maximum of 77 discrete and continuous characters. Phylogenetic analyses employing a variety of character and taxon matrices, coding schemes, and outgroup taxa were conducted using PAUP* and MacClade, with the resulting phylogenies and synapomorphies supporting clades compared to current systematic hypotheses concerning these fossils.
Neandertals and modern H. sapiens both formed consistent, well-sup- ported clades. H. heidelbergensis was not monophyletic in the results of any analyses and is most likely a grade taxon. There was no support for the identification of H. antecessor as the unique ancestor of modern humans. Very few traditional »taxonomic characters« support the clades they are meant to describe. These results suggest that paleoanthropologists should be more cautious about their identification of species in the fossil record and phylogenetic hypotheses concerning these taxa.

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Phylogenetic Analysis of Morphological Data (book review)

Human Biology, 2004

Ireland and what they can tell us about population history. The interesting chapter by L. Leidy S... more

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