SHESC Themes: Human origins, Evolution and Diversity

Field specializations: human osteology, medical anthropology, modeling and simulation, physical anthropology, primatology, spatial technologies

Regional focus: International, North America

• About Research
• Select Publications
• Curriculum Vitae
• Contact

About Research
Marzke’s research is in the area of comparative functional and evolutionary biology of primates, with a focus on the evolution of the hand and bipedality. Her approaches include laser scanning with 3D analysis of wrist joint surface areas, angles and curvatures, in vivo kinematic and electromyographic studies of human hand and wrist movements and muscle recruitment during the manufacture and manipulation of prehistoric tools, and in vitro measurement of joint ranges of motion and muscle cross sectional areas, tendon excursion and moment arms in catarrhine primates.

She is a founding member of the ASU Partnership for Research in Spatial Modeling (PRISM), initially funded by the NSF, where extensive and important new capabilities for 3D analysis of joint surfaces have been developed, and is Co-Director of the ASU IGERT Program, Neural and Musculoskeletal Adaptations in Form and Function, also funded by the NSF. She is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and an Honorary Member of the American Society for Surgery of the Hand.

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Select Publications
Marzke MW (1997)
Precision grips, hand morphology and tools. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 102:91-110 Marzke MW (1998) Anthropology and comparative anatomy. In WP Cooney, RL Linscheid, JA Dobyns (eds.), The Wrist: Diagnosis and Operative Treatment. Mosby Year Book Company. (A 2nd edition is in press.)

Marzke MW (in press)
Who made stone tools? In V Roux and B Brill (eds.), Stone Knapping: the Necessary Conditions for a Uniquely Hominid Behaviour. McDonald Institute Monograph Series, Cambridge.

Marzke MW, Toth N, Schick K, Reece S, Steinberg B, Hunt K, Linscheid RL, An K-H (1998)
EMG study of hand muscle recruitment during hard hammer percussion manufacture of Oldowan tools. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 105:315-332.

Marzke MW, Marzke RF, Linscheid RL, Smutz P, Steinberg B, Reece S, An K-N (1999)
Chimpanzee muscle cross sections, moment arms and potential torques, and comparisons with humans. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 110:163- 178.

Marzke MW, Marzke RF (2000)
Evolution of the human hand: Approaches to acquiring, analyzing and interpreting the anatomical evidence. Journal of Anatomy 197, Part 1:121-140.

Shrewsbury M, Marzke MW, Linscheid RL, Reece SP (2003)
Comparative morphology of the pollical distal phalanx. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 121:30-47.

Tocheri MW, Razdan A, Williams RC, Marzke MW (2005 published online)
A 3D quantitative comparison of trapezium and trapezoid relative articular and nonarticular surface areas in modern humans and great apes. Journal of Human Evolution.

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Contact: Mary Marzke