Understanding the influence of feeding behavior on mandibular morphology is necessary for interpreting dietary change in fossil hominins. However, mandibular morphology is also likely to have an effect on feeding behavior, including jaw kinematics. Here we examine the relationships between mandibular morphology and jaw kinematics in humans using landmark-based morphometrics to quantify jaw movement. Three-dimensional movements of reflective markers coupled to the mandible and cranium were used to capture jaw movements while subjects chewed cubes of raw and cooked sweet potato. Geometric morphometric methods were adapted to quantify and analyze gape cycle motion paths. Gape cycles varied significantly across chewing sequences and between raw and cooked sweet potato. Variation in gape cycle size and shape is related to the width (intergonial distance) and length of the mandible. These results underline the fact that jaw kinematic variation within and between taxa is related to and may be influenced by mandibular morphology. Future studies examining kinematic variation should assess the influence of morphological differences on movement.

中文翻译：

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人的下颌运动学和下颌形态。

理解进食行为对下颌形态的影响对于解释化石人类蛋白的饮食变化是必要的。但是，下颌形态也可能对进食行为（包括下颌运动学）产生影响。在这里，我们使用基于界标的形态计量学来量化下颌运动，从而研究了人类下颌形态与下颌运动学之间的关系。反射标记物的三维运动与下颌骨和颅骨结合，用于捕获颌骨运动，而受试者咀嚼着生和熟的红薯块。几何形态计量学方法适用于量化和分析气隙循环运动路径。在咀嚼顺序之间以及生熟和煮熟的甘薯之间，裂口周期差异很大。间隙周期的大小和形状的变化与下颌骨的宽度（晶间距离）和长度有关。这些结果强调了一个事实，即在分类单元之内和之间的下颌运动学变化与下颌形态有关，并可能受其影响。未来研究运动学变化的研究应评估形态学差异对运动的影响。