1
|
Rowan J, Wood B. Dart and the Taung juvenile: making sense of a century-old record of hominin evolution in Africa. Biol Lett 2024; 20:20240185. [PMID: 39045658 PMCID: PMC11267397 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2024] [Revised: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/25/2024] Open
Abstract
The announcement in 1925 by Raymond Dart of the discovery of the Taung juvenile's skull in a quarry in sub-Saharan Africa is deservedly a classic publication in the history of palaeoanthropology. Dart's paper-which designated Taung as the type specimen of the early hominin species Australopithecus africanus-provided the first fossil evidence supporting Charles Darwin's 1871 prediction that Africa was where the human lineage originated. The Taung juvenile's combination of ape and human characteristics eventually led to a paradigm shift in our understanding of human evolution. This contribution focuses on the milieu in which Dart's paper appeared (i.e. what was understood in 1925 about human evolution), the fossil evidence as set out by Dart, his interpretation of how a species represented by a fossilized juvenile's skull fitted within prevailing narratives about human evolution and the significance of the fossil being found in an environment inferred to be very different from that occupied by living apes. We also briefly review subsequent fossil finds that have corroborated the argument Dart made for having discovered evidence of a hitherto unknown close relative of humans, and summarize our current understanding of the earliest stages of human evolution and its environmental context.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- John Rowan
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, CambridgeCB2 3DZ, UK
| | - Bernard Wood
- CASHP, Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC20052, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cazenave M, Pina M, Hammond AS, Böhme M, Begun DR, Spassov N, Gazabón AV, Zanolli C, Bergeret-Medina A, Marchi D, Macchiarelli R, Wood B. Postcranial evidence does not support habitual bipedalism in Sahelanthropus tchadensis: A reply to Daver et al. (2022). J Hum Evol 2024:103557. [PMID: 38918139 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103557] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2023] [Revised: 06/02/2024] [Accepted: 06/03/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024]
Affiliation(s)
- Marine Cazenave
- Department of Human Origins, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, 04103, Germany; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, NY 10024, USA; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, 0084 Pretoria, South Africa.
| | - Marta Pina
- South Bank Applied BioEngineering Research (SABER), School of Engineering, Division of Mechanical Engineering and Design, London South Bank University, SE1 0AA London, UK; Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Edifici ICTA-ICP, c/ Columnes s/n, Campus de la UAB, Barcelona, Cerdanyola del Vallès, 08193, Spain
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, NY 10024, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP) at AMNH, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Madelaine Böhme
- Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Department of Geoscience, Sigwartstr. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany; Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment, Sigwartstr. 10, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - David R Begun
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2S2, Canada
| | - Nikolai Spassov
- Department of Paleontology and Mineralogy, National Museum of Natural History, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, BG-1000, Sofia, Bulgaria
| | - Alessandra Vecino Gazabón
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, NY 10024, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP) at AMNH, New York, NY 10024, USA; Richard Gilder Graduate School (RGGS) at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Univ. Bordeaux, CNRS, MCC, PACEA, UMR 5199, F-33600 Pessac, France; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Damiano Marchi
- Department of Biology, University of Pisa, 56126 Pisa, Italy; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, 1 Jan Smuts Avenue, Braamfontein 2000, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | | | - Bernard Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology and Department of Anthropology, George Washington University, Washington, DC, 20052, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Foley RA, Mirazón Lahr M. Ghosts of extinct apes: genomic insights into African hominid evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:456-466. [PMID: 38302324 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.12.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2023] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/03/2024]
Abstract
We are accustomed to regular announcements of new hominin fossils. There are now some 6000 hominin fossils, and up to 31 species. However, where are the announcements of African ape fossils? The answer is that there are almost none. Our knowledge of African ape evolution is based entirely on genomic analyses, which show that extant diversity is very young. This contrasts with the extensive and deep diversity of hominins known from fossils. Does this difference point to low and late diversification of ape lineages, or high rates of extinction? The comparative evolutionary dynamics of African hominids are central to interpreting living ape adaptations, as well as understanding the patterns of hominin evolution and the nature of the last common ancestor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Foley
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK.
| | - Marta Mirazón Lahr
- Leverhulme Centre for Human Evolutionary Studies, Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, The Henry Wellcome Building, Fitzwilliam Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QH, UK
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Druelle F, Ghislieri M, Molina-Vila P, Rimbaud B, Agostini V, Berillon G. A comparative study of muscle activity and synergies during walking in baboons and humans. J Hum Evol 2024; 189:103513. [PMID: 38401300 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2023] [Revised: 02/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/26/2024]
Abstract
Bipedal locomotion was a major functional change during hominin evolution, yet, our understanding of this gradual and complex process remains strongly debated. Based on fossil discoveries, it is possible to address functional hypotheses related to bipedal anatomy, however, motor control remains intangible with this approach. Using comparative models which occasionally walk bipedally has proved to be relevant to shed light on the evolutionary transition toward habitual bipedalism. Here, we explored the organization of the neuromuscular control using surface electromyography (sEMG) for six extrinsic muscles in two baboon individuals when they walk quadrupedally and bipedally on the ground. We compared their muscular coordination to five human subjects walking bipedally. We extracted muscle synergies from the sEMG envelopes using the non-negative matrix factorization algorithm which allows decomposing the sEMG data in the linear combination of two non-negative matrixes (muscle weight vectors and activation coefficients). We calculated different parameters to estimate the complexity of the sEMG signals, the duration of the activation of the synergies, and the generalizability of the muscle synergy model across species and walking conditions. We found that the motor control strategy is less complex in baboons when they walk bipedally, with an increased muscular activity and muscle coactivation. When comparing the baboon bipedal and quadrupedal pattern of walking to human bipedalism, we observed that the baboon bipedal pattern of walking is closer to human bipedalism for both baboons, although substantial differences remain. Overall, our findings show that the muscle activity of a non-adapted biped effectively fulfills the basic mechanical requirements (propulsion and balance) for walking bipedally, but substantial refinements are possible to optimize the efficiency of bipedal locomotion. In the evolutionary context of an expanding reliance on bipedal behaviors, even minor morphological alterations, reducing muscle coactivation, could have faced strong selection pressure, ultimately driving bipedal evolution in hominins.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- François Druelle
- Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, UMR 7194, CNRS-MNHN-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris, France; Primatology Station of the CNRS, UAR 846, 2230 route des quatre tours, 13790 Rousset, France; Functional Morphology Laboratory, University of Antwerp, Campus Drie Eiken (Building D), Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Marco Ghislieri
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, Italy; PoliTo(BIO)Med Lab, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Pablo Molina-Vila
- Primatology Station of the CNRS, UAR 846, 2230 route des quatre tours, 13790 Rousset, France
| | - Brigitte Rimbaud
- Primatology Station of the CNRS, UAR 846, 2230 route des quatre tours, 13790 Rousset, France
| | - Valentina Agostini
- Department of Electronics and Telecommunications, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, Italy; PoliTo(BIO)Med Lab, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca degli Abruzzi, 24, 10129 Turin, Italy
| | - Gilles Berillon
- Histoire Naturelle de l'Homme Préhistorique, UMR 7194, CNRS-MNHN-UPVD, Musée de l'Homme, 17 place du Trocadéro, 75116 Paris, France; Primatology Station of the CNRS, UAR 846, 2230 route des quatre tours, 13790 Rousset, France
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Zhang Y, Ni X, Li Q, Stidham T, Lu D, Gao F, Zhang C, Harrison T. Lufengpithecus inner ear provides evidence of a common locomotor repertoire ancestral to human bipedalism. Innovation (N Y) 2024; 5:100580. [PMID: 38476202 PMCID: PMC10928440 DOI: 10.1016/j.xinn.2024.100580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/13/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Various lines of evidence have been used to infer the origin of human bipedalism, but the paucity of hominoid postcranial fossils and the diversity of inferred locomotor modes have tended to confound the reconstruction of ancestral morphotypes. Examination of the bony labyrinth morphology of the inner ear of extinct and living hominoids provides independent evidence for inferring the evolution of hominoid locomotor patterns. New computed tomography data and morphometric analyses of the Late Miocene ape Lufengpithecus indicate that it and other stem great apes possess labyrinths similar to one another and show that hominoids initially evolved from a positional repertoire that included orthogrady, below-branch forelimb suspension and progression, above-branch bipedalism, climbing, clambering, and leaping (hylobatid-like) to one that comprised above-branch quadrupedalism, below-branch forelimb suspension, vertical climbing, limited leaping, terrestrial quadrupedal running and walking, possibly with knuckle walking, and short bouts of bipedalism (chimpanzee-like). The bony labyrinth morphology of Lufengpithecus indicates that it probably conforms more closely to the last common ancestors of crown hominoids and hominids in its locomotor behavior than do other Miocene hominoids. Human bipedalism evolved from this common archetypal Lufengpithecus-like locomotor repertoire. The low evolutionary rate of semicircular canal morphology suggests that Lufengpithecus experienced a relative stasis in locomotor behavior, probably due to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, which created a stable environment in the Miocene of southwestern China.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yinan Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Xijun Ni
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Qiang Li
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Thomas Stidham
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Dan Lu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Feng Gao
- Yunnan Institute of Cultural Relics and Archeology, Kunming 650118, China
| | - Chi Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Terry Harrison
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Prang TC. The relative size of the calcaneal tuber reflects heel strike plantigrady in African apes and humans. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2024; 183:e24865. [PMID: 38058279 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The positional repertoire of the human-chimpanzee last common ancestor is critical for reconstructing the evolution of bipedalism. African apes and humans share a heel strike plantigrade foot posture associated with terrestriality. Previous research has established that modern humans have a relatively large and intrinsically robust calcaneal tuber equipped to withstand heel strike forces associated with bipedal walking and running. However, it is unclear whether African apes have a relatively larger calcaneal tuber than non-heel-striking primates, and how this trait might have evolved among anthropoids. Here, I test the hypothesis that heel-striking primates have a relatively larger calcaneal tuber than non-heel-striking primates. METHODS The comparative sample includes 331 individuals and 53 taxa representing hominoids, cercopithecoids, and platyrrhines. Evolutionary modeling was used to test for the effect of foot posture on the relative size of the calcaneal tuber in a phylogenetic framework that accounts for adaptation and inertia. Bayesian evolutionary modeling was used to identify selective regime shifts in the relative size of the calcaneal tuber among anthropoids. RESULTS The best fitting evolutionary model was a Brownian motion model with regime-dependent trends characterized by relatively large calcaneal tubers among African apes and humans. Evolutionary modeling provided support for an evolutionary shift toward a larger calcaneal tuber at the base of the African ape and human clade. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study support the view that African apes and humans share derived traits related to heel strike plantigrady, which implies that humans evolved from a semi-terrestrial quadrupedal ancestor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas C Prang
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| |
Collapse
|