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Hoenecke H, Fiske JW, Tamayo AE, D'Lima DD. Evolution of the throwing shoulder: why apes don't throw well and how that applies to throwing athletes. J Shoulder Elbow Surg 2024; 33:1404-1417. [PMID: 38316235 DOI: 10.1016/j.jse.2023.12.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/17/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Humans have unique characteristics making us the only primate that can throw well while most other primates throw predominately underhand with poor speed and accuracy. The purpose of this study is to illuminate the uniquely human characteristics that allow us to throw so well. When treating an injury such as a labral tear or capsule tear, this study hopes the reader can gain a better understanding of the issues that lead to the tear and those that may determine the success of treatment besides the actual repair. METHODS In addition to a review of scientific and medical literature, information was obtained from interviews and experience with primate veterinarians, anthropologists, archeologists, and professional baseball players. These sources were used to study the connection between evolutionary throwing activities and current sports medicine issues. RESULTS Arm acceleration requires a functional kinetic chain, rapid motor sequences, and the ability to absorb elastic energy in the shoulder. Successful treatment of the throwing shoulder requires awareness of the shoulder's position in the kinetic chain and correction of defects in the ability to execute the kinetic chain. Some problems in the shoulder could reflect regression to a more primitive anatomy or dyskinesis. Return of performance requires regaining the elasticity in the tissues of the shoulder to temporarily store kinetic energy. For example, tissue remodeling after rotator cuff repair continues for months to years; however, the newly formed tissue lacks the same elasticity of the native tendon. This suggests why throwing performance typically does not return for 7 or more months after repair even though there may be structural integrity at 3-4 months. CONCLUSION The shoulder has developed uniquely in modern man for the act of throwing. The anatomic deficiencies in primates for throwing provide an illustration of the more subtle changes that a throwing athlete might have that are detrimental to throwing. Nonhuman primates have been unable to demonstrate the kinetic chain sequence for throwing secondary to the lack of neurologic pathways required. Humans are more sophisticated and precise in their movements but lack robusticity in their bone and muscle architecture, seen especially in the human rotator cuff. Successful treatment of a throwing injury requires familiarity with the conditions that cause the injury or affect the rehabilitation process. The return of performance following injury or surgery requires regaining the elasticity in the tissues of the shoulder to temporarily store kinetic energy from the kinetic chain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heinz Hoenecke
- Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA; Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research & Education at Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | | | | | - Darryl D D'Lima
- Division of Sports Medicine, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA; Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research & Education at Scripps Clinic, La Jolla, CA, USA
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2
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Powell VCR, Barr WA, Hammond AS, Wood BA. Behavioral and phylogenetic correlates of limb length proportions in extant apes and monkeys: Implications for interpreting hominin fossils. J Hum Evol 2024; 190:103494. [PMID: 38564844 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2024.103494] [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: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 01/02/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The body proportions of extant animals help inform inferences about the behaviors of their extinct relatives, but relationships between body proportions, behavior, and phylogeny in extant primates remain unclear. Advances in behavioral data, molecular phylogenies, and multivariate analytical tools make it an opportune time to perform comprehensive comparative analyses of primate traditional limb length proportions (e.g., intermembral, humerofemoral, brachial, and crural indices), body size-adjusted long bone proportions, and principal components. In this study we used a mix of newly-collected and published data to investigate whether and how the limb length proportions of a diverse sample of primates, including monkeys, apes, and modern humans, are influenced by behavior and phylogeny. We reconfirm that the intermembral index, followed by the first principal component of traditional limb length proportions, is the single most effective variable distinguishing hominoids and other anthropoids. Combined limb length proportions and positional behaviors are strongly correlated in extant anthropoid groups, but phylogeny is a better predictor of limb length proportion variation than of behavior. We confirm convergences between members of the Atelidae and extant apes (especially Pan), members of the Hylobatidae and Pongo, and a potential divergence of Presbytis limb proportions from some other cercopithecoids, which correlate with adaptations for forelimb-dominated behaviors in some colobines. Collectively, these results substantiate hypotheses indicating that extinct hominins and other hominoid taxa can be distinguished by analyzing combinations of their limb length proportions at different taxonomic levels. From these results, we hypothesize that fossil skeletons characterized by notably disparate limb length proportions are unlikely to have exhibited similar behavioral patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vance C R Powell
- Department of Anatomy, Howard University College of Medicine, 520 W St. N.W., Washington, D.C., 20059, USA; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA.
| | - W Andrew Barr
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History (AMNH), New York, N.Y., 10024, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology at AMNH, New York, N.Y., 10024, USA
| | - Bernard A Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, Department of Anthropology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., 20052, USA
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3
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Meyer MR, Jung JP, Spear JK, Araiza IF, Galway-Witham J, Williams SA. Knuckle-walking in Sahelanthropus? Locomotor inferences from the ulnae of fossil hominins and other hominoids. J Hum Evol 2023; 179:103355. [PMID: 37003245 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2022] [Revised: 03/03/2023] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
Abstract
Because the ulna supports and transmits forces during movement, its morphology can signal aspects of functional adaptation. To test whether, like extant apes, some hominins habitually recruit the forelimb in locomotion, we separate the ulna shaft and ulna proximal complex for independent shape analyses via elliptical Fourier methods to identify functional signals. We examine the relative influence of locomotion, taxonomy, and body mass on ulna contours in Homo sapiens (n = 22), five species of extant apes (n = 33), two Miocene apes (Hispanopithecus and Danuvius), and 17 fossil hominin specimens including Sahelanthropus, Ardipithecus, Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo. Ulna proximal complex contours correlate with body mass but not locomotor patterns, while ulna shafts significantly correlate with locomotion. African apes' ulna shafts are more robust and curved than Asian apes and are unlike other terrestrial mammals (including other primates), curving ventrally rather than dorsally. Because this distinctive curvature is absent in orangutans and hylobatids, it is likely a function of powerful flexors engaged in wrist and hand stabilization during knuckle-walking, and not an adaptation to climbing or suspensory behavior. The OH 36 (purported Paranthropus boisei) and TM 266 (assigned to Sahelanthropus tchadensis) fossils differ from other hominins by falling within the knuckle-walking morphospace, and thus appear to show forelimb morphology consistent with terrestrial locomotion. Discriminant function analysis classifies both OH 36 and TM 266 with Pan and Gorilla with high posterior probability. Along with its associated femur, the TM 266 ulna shaft contours and its deep, keeled trochlear notch comprise a suite of traits signaling African ape-like quadrupedalism. While implications for the phylogenetic position and hominin status of S. tchadensis remain equivocal, this study supports the growing body of evidence indicating that S. tchadensis was not an obligate biped, but instead represents a late Miocene hominid with knuckle-walking adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91737, USA.
| | - Jason P Jung
- Department of Biology, California State University, San Bernardino, CA 92407, USA
| | - Jeffrey K Spear
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Isabella Fx Araiza
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Julia Galway-Witham
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY 10024, USA
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4
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Stamos PA, Alemseged Z. Hominin locomotion and evolution in the Late Miocene to Late Pliocene. J Hum Evol 2023; 178:103332. [PMID: 36947894 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2023.103332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
In this review, we present on the evolution of the locomotor adaptation of hominins in the Late Miocene to Late Pliocene, with emphasis on some of the prominent advances and debates that have occurred over the past fifty years. We start with the challenging issue of defining hominin locomotor grades that are currently used liberally and offer our own working definitions of facultative, habitual, and obligate bipedalism. We then discuss the nature of the Pan-Homo last common ancestor and characterize the locomotor adaptation of Sahelanthropus, Orrorin, and Ardipithecus-often referred to as facultative bipeds-and examine the debates on the extent of bipedality and arboreality in these taxa. Moreover, the question of Middle Pliocene hominin locomotor diversity is addressed based on information derived from the 'Little Foot' specimen from Sterkfontein, footprints from Laetoli, and the Burtele Foot in Ethiopia. Our review suggests that the most convincing evidence for locomotor diversity comes from Burtele, whereas the evidence from Sterkfontein and Laetoli is unconvincing and equivocal, respectively. Finally, we address the decades old issue of the significance of arboreality in the otherwise habitual biped, Australopithecus, with emphasis on Australopithecus afarensis and its implications for the paleobiology of these creatures. We conclude that many of the apelike features encountered, mostly in the upper part of the Australopithecus skeleton, were retained for their significance in climbing. Approaches that have investigated character plasticity and those exploring internal bone structure have shown that the shoulder and limbs in Au. afarensis and Australopithecus africanus were involved in arboreal activities that are thought to be key for feeding, nesting, and predator avoidance. We conclude that many of the so-called retained ape-like features persisted due to stabilizing selection, that early hominins engaged in a considerable amount of arboreality even after Australopithecus had become a habitual biped, and arboreality only ceased to be an important component of hominin locomotor behavior after the emergence of Homo erectus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter A Stamos
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Anatomy Bldg 201, 1027 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Zeresenay Alemseged
- Department of Organismal Biology & Anatomy, The University of Chicago, Anatomy Bldg 201, 1027 E 57th Street, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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5
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Cazenave M, Kivell TL. Challenges and perspectives on functional interpretations of australopith postcrania and the reconstruction of hominin locomotion. J Hum Evol 2023; 175:103304. [PMID: 36563461 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
In 1994, Hunt published the 'postural feeding hypothesis'-a seminal paper on the origins of hominin bipedalism-founded on the detailed study of chimpanzee positional behavior and the functional inferences derived from the upper and lower limb morphology of the Australopithecus afarensis A.L. 288-1 partial skeleton. Hunt proposed a model for understanding the potential selective pressures on hominins, made robust, testable predictions based on Au. afarensis functional morphology, and presented a hypothesis that aimed to explain the dual functional signals of the Au. afarensis and, more generally, early hominin postcranium. Here we synthesize what we have learned about Au. afarensis functional morphology and the dual functional signals of two new australopith discoveries with relatively complete skeletons (Australopithecus sediba and StW 573 'Australopithecus prometheus'). We follow this with a discussion of three research approaches that have been developed for the purpose of drawing behavioral inferences in early hominins: (1) developments in the study of extant apes as models for understanding hominin origins; (2) novel and continued developments to quantify bipedal gait and locomotor economy in extant primates to infer the locomotor costs from the anatomy of fossil taxa; and (3) novel developments in the study of internal bone structure to extract functional signals from fossil remains. In conclusion of this review, we discuss some of the inherent challenges of the approaches and methodologies adopted to reconstruct the locomotor modes and behavioral repertoires in extinct primate taxa, and notably the assessment of habitual terrestrial bipedalism in early hominins.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Cazenave
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA; Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK; Centre for the Exploration of the Deep Human Journey, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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6
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Beaudet A. The Australopithecus assemblage from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) and the concept of variation in palaeontology. Evol Anthropol 2023. [PMID: 36632711 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Interpreting morphological variation within the early hominin fossil record is particularly challenging. Apart from the fact that there is no absolute threshold for defining species boundaries in palaeontology, the degree of variation related to sexual dimorphism, temporal depth, geographic variation or ontogeny is difficult to appreciate in a fossil taxon mainly represented by fragmentary specimens, and such variation could easily be conflated with taxonomic diversity. One of the most emblematic examples in paleoanthropology is the Australopithecus assemblage from the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa. Whereas some studies support the presence of multiple Australopithecus species at Sterkfontein, others explore alternative hypotheses to explain the morphological variation within the hominin assemblage. In this review, I briefly summarize the ongoing debates surrounding the interpretation of morphological variation at Sterkfontein Member 4 before exploring two promising avenues that would deserve specific attention in the future, that is, temporal depth and nonhuman primate diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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7
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Grine FE, Mongle CS, Fleagle JG, Hammond AS. The taxonomic attribution of African hominin postcrania from the Miocene through the Pleistocene: Associations and assumptions. J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103255. [PMID: 36375243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Postcranial bones may provide valuable information about fossil taxa relating to their locomotor habits, manipulative abilities and body sizes. Distinctive features of the postcranial skeleton are sometimes noted in species diagnoses. Although numerous isolated postcranial fossils have become accepted by many workers as belonging to a particular species, it is worthwhile revisiting the evidence for each attribution before including them in comparative samples in relation to the descriptions of new fossils, functional analyses in relation to particular taxa, or in evolutionary contexts. Although some workers eschew the taxonomic attribution of postcranial fossils as being less important (or interesting) than interpreting their functional morphology, it is impossible to consider the evolution of functional anatomy in a taxonomic and phylogenetic vacuum. There are 21 widely recognized hominin taxa that have been described from sites in Africa dated from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene; postcranial elements have been attributed to 17 of these. The bones that have been thus assigned range from many parts of a skeleton to isolated elements. However, the extent to which postcranial material can be reliably attributed to a specific taxon varies considerably from site to site and species to species, and is often the subject of considerable debate. Here, we review the postcranial remains attributed to African hominin taxa from the Late Miocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene and place these assignations into categories of reliability. The catalog of attributions presented here may serve as a guide for making taxonomic decisions in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - John G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY 10024, USA
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8
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van Heteren AH, Friess M, Détroit F, Balzeau A. Covariation of proximal finger and toe phalanges in Homo sapiens: A novel approach to assess covariation of serially corresponding structures. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2022; 177:471-488. [PMID: 36787692 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.24439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 10/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES As hands and feet are serially repeated corresponding structures in tetrapods, the morphology of fingers and toes is expected to covary due to a shared developmental origin. The present study focuses on the covariation of the shape of proximal finger and toe phalanges of adult Homo sapiens to determine whether covariation is different in the first ray relative to the others, as its morphology is also different. MATERIAL AND METHODS Proximal phalanges of 76 individuals of unknown sex (Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle, Paris, and the Natural History Museum, London) were digitized using a surface scanner. Landmarks were positioned on 3D surface models of the phalanges. Generalized Procrustes analysis and two-block partial least squares (PLS) analyses were conducted. A novel landmark-based geometric morphometric approach focusing on covariation is based on a PCoA of the angles between PLS axes in morphospace. The results can be statistically evaluated. RESULTS The difference in PCo scores between the first and the other rays indicates that the integration between the thumb and the big toe is different from that between the lateral rays of the hand and foot. DISCUSSION We speculate that the results are possibly the evolutionary consequence of differential selection pressure on the big toe relative to the other toes related to the rise of bipedalism, which is proposed to have emerged very early in the hominin clade. In contrast, thumb morphology and its precision grip never ceased undergoing changes, suggesting less acute selection pressures related to the evolution of the precision grip.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anneke H van Heteren
- PaleoFED Team, UMR 7194, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, 17, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, 75016, France
| | - Martin Friess
- Éco-Anthropologie, UMR 7206, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Université de Paris, Paris, 75016, France
| | - Florent Détroit
- PaleoFED Team, UMR 7194, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, 17, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, 75016, France
| | - Antoine Balzeau
- PaleoFED Team, UMR 7194, CNRS, Département Homme et Environnement, Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Musée de l'Homme, 17, Place du Trocadéro, Paris, 75016, France.,Department of African Zoology, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, Tervuren, 3080, Belgium
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9
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Abstract
The earliest South African hominids (humans and their ancestral kin) belong to the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo, with the oldest being a ca. 3.67 million-year-old nearly complete skeleton of Australopithecus (StW 573) from Sterkfontein Caves. This skeleton has provided, for the first time in almost a century of research, the full anatomy of an Australopithecus individual with indisputably associated skull and postcranial bones that give complete limb lengths. The three genera are also found in East Africa, but scholars have disagreed on the taxonomic assignment for some fossils owing to historical preconceptions. Here we focus on the South African representatives to help clarify these debates. The uncovering of the StW 573 skeleton in situ revealed significant clues concerning events that had affected it over time and demonstrated that the associated stalagmite flowstones cannot provide direct dating of the fossil, as they are infillings of voids caused by postdepositional collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama 35254, USA
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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10
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Stratford D, Crompton R. Introduction to special issue StW 573: A 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa-An introduction to the special issue. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:103008. [PMID: 33933277 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
| | - Robin Crompton
- Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, and School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, The William Henry Duncan Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TX, UK
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11
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Carlson KJ, Green DJ, Jashashvili T, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Beaudet A, Stratford D, Crompton R, Kuman K, Bruxelles L, Clarke RJ. The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:102983. [PMID: 33888323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The ca. 3.67 Ma adult skeleton known as 'Little Foot' (StW 573), recovered from Sterkfontein Member 2 breccia in the Silberberg Grotto, is remarkable for its morphology and completeness. Preservation of clavicles and scapulae, including essentially complete right-side elements, offers opportunities to assess morphological and functional aspects of a nearly complete Australopithecus pectoral girdle. Here we describe the StW 573 pectoral girdle and offer quantitative comparisons to those of extant hominoids and selected homininans. The StW 573 pectoral girdle combines features intermediate between those of humans and other apes: a long and curved clavicle, suggesting a relatively dorsally positioned scapula; an enlarged and uniquely proportioned supraspinous fossa; a relatively cranially oriented glenoid fossa; and ape-like reinforcement of the axillary margin by a stout ventral bar. StW 573 scapulae are as follows: smaller than those of some homininans (i.e., KSD-VP-1/1 and KNM-ER 47000A), larger than others (i.e., A.L. 288-1, Sts 7, and MH2), and most similar in size to another australopith from Sterkfontein, StW 431. Moreover, StW 573 and StW 431 exhibit similar structural features along their axillary margins and inferior angles. As the StW 573 pectoral girdle (e.g., scapular configuration) has a greater affinity to that of apes-Gorilla in particular-rather than modern humans, we suggest that the StW 573 morphological pattern appears to reflect adaptations to arboreal behaviors, especially those with the hand positioned above the head, more than human-like manipulatory capabilities. When compared with less complete pectoral girdles from middle/late Miocene apes and that of the penecontemporaneous KSD-VP-1/1 (Australopithecus afarensis), and mindful of consensus views on the adaptiveness of arboreal positional behaviors soliciting abducted glenohumeral joints in early Pliocene taxa, we propose that the StW 573 pectoral girdle is a reasonable model for hypothesizing pectoral girdle configuration of the crown hominin last common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian J Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa.
| | - David J Green
- Department of Anatomy, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Buies Creek, NC 27506, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Geology and Paleontology, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
| | - Travis R Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa; Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Robin Crompton
- Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Laurent Bruxelles
- TRACES, UMR 5608 of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Jean Jaurès University, 31058 Toulouse, France; French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches (INRAP), 30900 Nîmes, France; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
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12
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Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Clarke RJ, Stratford D, Heile A. Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations). S AFR J SCI 2021. [DOI: 10.17159/sajs.2021/6758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
We describe late Pliocene and early Pleistocene hominin fossils from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), including two femoral specimens, as well as a partial tibia and a partial fibula. The fossils are likely assignable to Australopithecus africanus and/or Australopithecus prometheus and the morphology of each corroborates previous interpretations of Sterkfontein hominins as at least facultative bipeds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Travis Rayne Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham- Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
| | - Ron J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - A.J. Heile
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
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13
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Araiza I, Meyer MR, Williams SA. Is ulna curvature in the StW 573 ('Little Foot') Australopithecus natural or pathological? J Hum Evol 2020; 151:102927. [PMID: 33370642 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102927] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2020] [Revised: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 12/01/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Isabella Araiza
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Riverside, CA, 92521, USA
| | - Marc R Meyer
- Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, 91737, USA.
| | - Scott A Williams
- Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, 25 Waverly Place, New York, NY, 10003, USA; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, NY, 10024, USA
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14
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Elimari N, Lafargue G. Network Neuroscience and the Adapted Mind: Rethinking the Role of Network Theories in Evolutionary Psychology. Front Psychol 2020; 11:545632. [PMID: 33101120 PMCID: PMC7545950 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.545632] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary psychology is the comprehensive study of cognition and behavior in the light of evolutionary theory, a unifying paradigm integrating a huge diversity of findings across different levels of analysis. Since natural selection shaped the brain into a functionally organized system of interconnected neural structures rather than an aggregate of separate neural organs, the network-based account of anatomo-functional architecture is bound to yield the best mechanistic explanation for how the brain mediates the onset of evolved cognition and adaptive behaviors. While this view of a flexible and highly distributed organization of the brain is more than a century old, it was largely ignored up until recently. Technological advances are only now allowing this approach to find its rightful place in the scientific landscape. Historically, early network theories mostly relied on lesion studies and investigations on white matter circuitry, subject areas that still provide great empirical findings to this day. Thanks to new neuroimaging techniques, the traditional localizationist framework, in which any given cognitive process is thought to be carried out by its dedicated brain structure, is slowly being abandoned in favor of a network-based approach. We argue that there is a special place for network neuroscience in the upcoming quest for the biological basis of information-processing systems identified by evolutionary psychologists. By reviewing history of network theories, and by addressing several theoretical and methodological implications of this view for evolutionary psychologists, we describe the current state of knowledge about human neuroanatomy for those who wish to be mindful of both evolutionary and network neuroscience paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gilles Lafargue
- Department of Psychology, Université de Reims Champagne Ardenne, C2S EA 6291, Reims, France
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15
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DeSilva JM, McNutt E, Zipfel B, Ward CV, Kimbel WH. Associated Australopithecusafarensis second and third metatarsals (A.L. 333-133) from Hadar, Ethiopia. J Hum Evol 2020; 146:102848. [PMID: 32717476 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2020.102848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2020] [Revised: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 06/05/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy M DeSilva
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, 03755, USA.
| | - Ellison McNutt
- Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Carol V Ward
- Integrative Anatomy Program, Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, 65212, USA
| | - William H Kimbel
- Institute of Human Origins and School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, 85287, USA
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16
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Beaudet A, Clarke RJ, Heaton JL, Pickering TR, Carlson KJ, Crompton RH, Jashashvili T, Bruxelles L, Jakata K, Bam L, Van Hoorebeke L, Kuman K, Stratford D. The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human-like head mobility and brain metabolism. Sci Rep 2020; 10:4285. [PMID: 32179760 PMCID: PMC7075956 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-60837-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2019] [Accepted: 02/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional morphology of the atlas reflects multiple aspects of an organism’s biology. More specifically, its shape indicates patterns of head mobility, while the size of its vascular foramina reflects blood flow to the brain. Anatomy and function of the early hominin atlas, and thus, its evolutionary history, are poorly documented because of a paucity of fossilized material. Meticulous excavation, cleaning and high-resolution micro-CT scanning of the StW 573 (‘Little Foot’) skull has revealed the most complete early hominin atlas yet found, having been cemented by breccia in its displaced and flipped over position on the cranial base anterolateral to the foramen magnum. Description and landmark-free morphometric analyses of the StW 573 atlas, along with other less complete hominin atlases from Sterkfontein (StW 679) and Hadar (AL 333-83), confirm the presence of an arboreal component in the positional repertoire of Australopithecus. Finally, assessment of the cross-sectional areas of the transverse foramina of the atlas and the left carotid canal in StW 573 further suggests there may have been lower metabolic costs for cerebral tissues in this hominin than have been attributed to extant humans and may support the idea that blood perfusion of these tissues increased over the course of hominin evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa. .,Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa.
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Birmingham, AL, 35254, United States.,Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum), 432 Paul Kruger Street, Pretoria Central, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Travis R Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, 900 Arkadelphia Road, Birmingham, AL, 35254, United States.,Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
| | - Kristian J Carlson
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1975 Zonal Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, United States
| | - Robin H Crompton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, William Henry Duncan Building, W Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TX, United Kingdom
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,Molecular Imaging Center, Department of Radiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2250 Alcazar Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, United States.,Department of Geology and Paleontology, Georgian National Museum, 3 Shota Rustaveli Ave, T'bilisi, 0105, Georgia
| | - Laurent Bruxelles
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa.,French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches (INRAP), 561 rue Etienne Lenoir, 30900, Nîmes, France.,French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), USR 3336 CNRS, 62 Juta Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001, South Africa
| | - Kudakwashe Jakata
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Lunga Bam
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation SOC Ltd. (Necsa), Elias Motsoaledi Street Ext. (Church Street West), R104, Pelindaba, North West Province, South Africa
| | - Luc Van Hoorebeke
- UGCT Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Proeftuinstraat 86/N12, B-9000, Gent, Belgium
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg, WITS, 2050, South Africa
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17
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Agoada D, Kramer PA. Radiographic measurements of the talus and calcaneus in the adult pes planus foot type. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2020; 171:613-627. [PMID: 31930491 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2019] [Revised: 12/02/2019] [Accepted: 12/13/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A distinctive feature of the modern human foot is the presence of a medial longitudinal arch when weight-bearing. Although the talus and calcaneus play a major role in the structure and function of the human foot, the association between the morphology of these bones and longitudinal arch height has not been fully investigated. A better understanding of this relationship may assist in the interpretation of pedal remains of fossil hominins, where features of the foot and ankle morphology have been described as providing evidence for the presence of a longitudinal arch. METHODS For this study, weight-bearing radiographs of 103 patients from an urban US Level 1 trauma center, taken as part of a clinical examination for medical evaluation, were selected. These radiographs were classified as to foot type by arch height as defined using the calcaneal inclination angle. From this group, 68 radiographs were suitable for linear and angular measurements of the talus and 74 of the calcaneus. The relationships between these measurements and arch height were explored using least squared linear regression analysis. RESULTS The results demonstrate that angular measurements of the calcaneus (particularly those that reflect the relationship of the talar articular facets to each other and the tilt of the calcaneocuboid joint to the longitudinal axis of the calcaneus) are predictive of arch height (r2 = .29-.44 p ≤ .001). All angular measurements of the talus and all examined linear measurements of both the talus and calcaneus were not predictive of arch height. DISCUSSION These results suggest that certain angular measurements of the calcaneus are associated with arch height in the modern human foot. While this information is useful in the interpretation of hominin pedal remains, the relationship of the morphology of these bones, as well as other bones of the foot, to arch height is complex, requiring further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Agoada
- Department of Anthropology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington
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18
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Bruxelles L, Stratford DJ, Maire R, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Beaudet A, Kuman K, Crompton R, Carlson KJ, Jashashvili T, McClymont J, Leader GM, Clarke RJ. A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 ‘Little Foot’ and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 133:78-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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19
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Heaton JL, Pickering TR, Carlson KJ, Crompton RH, Jashashvili T, Beaudet A, Bruxelles L, Kuman K, Heile AJ, Stratford D, Clarke RJ. The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions. J Hum Evol 2019; 133:167-197. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2018] [Revised: 05/30/2019] [Accepted: 05/31/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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20
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Komza K, Skinner MM. First metatarsal trabecular bone structure in extant hominoids and Swartkrans hominins. J Hum Evol 2019; 131:1-21. [PMID: 31182196 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.03.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2018] [Revised: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 03/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Changes in first metatarsal (MT1) morphology within the hominin clade are crucial for reconstructing the evolution of a forefoot adapted for human-like gait. Studies of the external morphology of the MT1 in humans, non-human apes, and fossil hominins have documented changes in its robusticity, epiphyseal shape and its articulation with the medial cuneiform. Here, we test whether trabecular structure in the MT1 reflects different loading patterns in the forefoot across extant large apes and humans, and within this comparative context, infer locomotor behavior in two fossil hominins from Swartkrans, South Africa. Microtomographic scans were collected from the MT1 of Pongo sp. (n = 6), Gorilla gorilla (n = 10), Pan troglodytes (n = 10), Homo sapiens (n = 11), as well as SKX 5017 (Paranthropus robustus), and SK 1813 (Hominin gen. sp. indet.). Trabecular structure was quantified within the head and base using a 'whole-epiphysis' approach with medtool 4.2. We found that modern humans displayed relatively higher bone volume fraction (BV/TV) in the dorsal region of each epiphysis and a higher overall degree of anisotropy (DA), whereas great apes showed higher BV/TV in the plantar regions, reflecting dorsiflexion at the metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joint in the former and plantarflexion in the latter. Both fossils displayed low DA, with SKX 5017 showing a hyper-dorsal concentration of trabecular bone in the head (similar to humans), while SK 1813 showed a more central trabecular distribution not seen in either humans or non-human apes. Additionally, we found differences between non-human apes, modern humans, and the fossil taxa in trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp.), number (Tb.N.), and thickness (Tb.th.). While low DA in both fossils suggests increased mobility of the MT1, differences in their trabecular distributions could indicate variable locomotion in these Pleistocene hominins (recognizing that the juvenile status of SK 1813 is a potential confounding factor). In particular, evidence for consistent loading in hyper-dorsiflexion in SKX 5017 would suggest locomotor behaviors beyond human-like toe off during terrestrial locomotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara Komza
- Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Canada; School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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21
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The bony labyrinth of StW 573 (“Little Foot”): Implications for early hominin evolution and paleobiology. J Hum Evol 2019; 127:67-80. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Revised: 12/01/2018] [Accepted: 12/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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22
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Clarke RJ. Excavation, reconstruction and taphonomy of the StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 127:41-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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23
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The endocast of StW 573 (“Little Foot”) and hominin brain evolution. J Hum Evol 2019; 126:112-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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24
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Affiliation(s)
- TASUKU KIMURA
- The University Museum, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo
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25
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Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Clarke RJ, Stratford D. Hominin vertebrae and upper limb bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168:459-480. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 09/08/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Travis Rayne Pickering
- Department of Anthropology; University of Wisconsin-Madison; Madison Wisconsin
- Evolutionary Studies Institute; University of the Witwatersand; Johannesburg South Africa
- Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates; Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum); Pretoria South Africa
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute; University of the Witwatersand; Johannesburg South Africa
- Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates; Ditsong National Museum of Natural History (Transvaal Museum); Pretoria South Africa
- Department of Biology; Birmingham-Southern College; Birmingham Alabama
| | - R. J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute; University of the Witwatersand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
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26
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DeSilva J, McNutt E, Benoit J, Zipfel B. One small step: A review of Plio‐Pleistocene hominin foot evolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168 Suppl 67:63-140. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy DeSilva
- Department of AnthropologyDartmouth College Hanover New Hampshire
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Ellison McNutt
- Department of AnthropologyDartmouth College Hanover New Hampshire
| | - Julien Benoit
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
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27
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McNutt EJ, Zipfel B, DeSilva JM. The evolution of the human foot. Evol Anthropol 2018; 27:197-217. [DOI: 10.1002/evan.21713] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2017] [Revised: 04/20/2018] [Accepted: 05/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Ellison J. McNutt
- Department of Anthropology; Dartmouth College; Hanover New Hampshire
- Ecology, Evolution, Ecosystems, and Society; Dartmouth College; Hanover New Hampshire
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Jeremy M. DeSilva
- Department of Anthropology; Dartmouth College; Hanover New Hampshire
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of Geosciences; University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
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28
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Holowka NB, Lieberman DE. Rethinking the evolution of the human foot: insights from experimental research. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:221/17/jeb174425. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.174425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT
Adaptive explanations for modern human foot anatomy have long fascinated evolutionary biologists because of the dramatic differences between our feet and those of our closest living relatives, the great apes. Morphological features, including hallucal opposability, toe length and the longitudinal arch, have traditionally been used to dichotomize human and great ape feet as being adapted for bipedal walking and arboreal locomotion, respectively. However, recent biomechanical models of human foot function and experimental investigations of great ape locomotion have undermined this simple dichotomy. Here, we review this research, focusing on the biomechanics of foot strike, push-off and elastic energy storage in the foot, and show that humans and great apes share some underappreciated, surprising similarities in foot function, such as use of plantigrady and ability to stiffen the midfoot. We also show that several unique features of the human foot, including a spring-like longitudinal arch and short toes, are likely adaptations to long distance running. We use this framework to interpret the fossil record and argue that the human foot passed through three evolutionary stages: first, a great ape-like foot adapted for arboreal locomotion but with some adaptations for bipedal walking; second, a foot adapted for effective bipedal walking but retaining some arboreal grasping adaptations; and third, a human-like foot adapted for enhanced economy during long-distance walking and running that had lost its prehensility. Based on this scenario, we suggest that selection for bipedal running played a major role in the loss of arboreal adaptations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas B. Holowka
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
| | - Daniel E. Lieberman
- Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, 11 Divinity Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
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29
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Beaudet A, Carlson KJ, Clarke RJ, de Beer F, Dhaene J, Heaton JL, Pickering TR, Stratford D. Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2018; 121:204-220. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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30
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Peterson A, Abella EF, Grine FE, Teaford MF, Ungar PS. Microwear textures of Australopithecus africanus and Paranthropus robustus molars in relation to paleoenvironment and diet. J Hum Evol 2018; 119:42-63. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2017] [Revised: 02/03/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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31
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Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations). J Hum Evol 2018; 118:89-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Revised: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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32
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Trinkaus E. One hundred years of paleoanthropology: An American perspective. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 165:638-651. [PMID: 29574840 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Revised: 09/18/2017] [Accepted: 09/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erik Trinkaus
- Department of Anthropology, Washington University, Saint Louis, Missouri, 63130
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33
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Stratford DJ. The Sterkfontein Caves after Eighty Years of Paleoanthropological Research: The Journey Continues. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Justin Stratford
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies; University of the Witwatersrand; Johanneburg South Africa
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Rosas A, Ferrando A, Bastir M, García-Tabernero A, Estalrrich A, Huguet R, García-Martínez D, Pastor JF, de la Rasilla M. Neandertal talus bones from El Sidrón site (Asturias, Spain): A 3D geometric morphometrics analysis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 164:394-415. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2016] [Revised: 06/16/2017] [Accepted: 06/27/2017] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Antonio Rosas
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC; Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC; Madrid 28006 Spain
| | - Anabel Ferrando
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC; Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC; Madrid 28006 Spain
| | - Markus Bastir
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC; Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC; Madrid 28006 Spain
| | - Antonio García-Tabernero
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC; Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC; Madrid 28006 Spain
| | - Almudena Estalrrich
- Department of Paleoanthropology; Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt; Frankfurt A. M D-60325 Germany
| | - Rosa Huguet
- Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social (IPHES); Àrea de Prehistòria, Universitat Rovira i Virgili; Tarragona 43005 Spain
| | - Daniel García-Martínez
- Group of Paleoanthropology MNCN-CSIC; Department of Paleobiology, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC; Madrid 28006 Spain
| | - Juan Francisco Pastor
- Museo Anatómico; departamento de Anatomía Humana, Universidad de Valladolid; Valladolid 47005 Spain
| | - Marco de la Rasilla
- Área de Prehistoria; Department of History, Universidad de Oviedo. Calle Teniente Alfonso Martínez s/n; Oviedo 33011 Spain
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Kiley HM, Ainsworth GB, van Dongen WFD, Weston MA. Variation in public perceptions and attitudes towards terrestrial ecosystems. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2017; 590-591:440-451. [PMID: 28291613 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.12.179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2016] [Revised: 12/26/2016] [Accepted: 12/28/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Biodiversity is a global asset of inestimable value which is threatened by human activities. Biodiversity exists within ecosystems, which enjoy differing levels of conservation. The ways in which humans regard ecosystems can play an important role in identifying strategies to change human behaviour, thereby achieving conservation goals. We investigated how preference, scenic attractiveness, perceptions of biodiversity and conservation value varied between five terrestrial ecosystems in Victoria, Australia (503 respondents). We document, for the first time, distinct ecosystem preferences, with people favouring wet forest, followed by dry forest, arid woodland/shrubland, heathland and then grassland. The ecological worldview of the respondent (i.e., the set of beliefs that guide the way a person interacts with the natural world), their familiarity with the habitat and perceived scenic attractiveness influenced the conservation value assigned by the members of the public to each ecosystem. The conservation and biodiversity value assigned to each ecosystem was higher where people were familiar with the ecosystem, considered it attractive, and held an ecocentric worldview. These aspects may correlate with public attitudes and represent key elements which could be used to engender higher levels of support for less appreciated ecosystems. Enhanced support may then underpin better conservation outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Heather M Kiley
- Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Burwood Campus, Victoria, Australia.
| | - Gillian B Ainsworth
- Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods, Charles Darwin University, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
| | - Wouter F D van Dongen
- Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Burwood Campus, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael A Weston
- Deakin University, Geelong, Australia, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Burwood Campus, Victoria, Australia
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Tsegai ZJ, Skinner MM, Gee AH, Pahr DH, Treece GM, Hublin JJ, Kivell TL. Trabecular and cortical bone structure of the talus and distal tibia in Pan and Homo. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2017; 163:784-805. [PMID: 28542704 DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2016] [Revised: 04/20/2017] [Accepted: 05/03/2017] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Internal bone structure, both cortical and trabecular bone, remodels in response to loading and may provide important information regarding behavior. The foot is well suited to analysis of internal bone structure because it experiences the initial substrate reaction forces, due to its proximity to the substrate. Moreover, as humans and apes differ in loading of the foot, this region is relevant to questions concerning arboreal locomotion and bipedality in the hominoid fossil record. MATERIALS AND METHODS We apply a whole-bone/epiphysis approach to analyze trabecular and cortical bone in the distal tibia and talus of Pan troglodytes and Homo sapiens. We quantify bone volume fraction (BV/TV), degree of anisotropy (DA), trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), bone surface to volume ratio (BS/BV), and cortical thickness and investigate the distribution of BV/TV and cortical thickness throughout the bone/epiphysis. RESULTS We find that Pan has a greater BV/TV, a lower BS/BV and thicker cortices than Homo in both the talus and distal tibia. The trabecular structure of the talus is more divergent than the tibia, having thicker, less uniformly aligned trabeculae in Pan compared to Homo. Differences in dorsiflexion at the talocrural joint and in degree of mobility at the talonavicular joint are reflected in the distribution of cortical and trabecular bone. DISCUSSION Overall, quantified trabecular parameters represent overall differences in bone strength between the two species, however, DA may be directly related to joint loading. Cortical and trabecular bone distributions correlate with habitual joint positions adopted by each species, and thus have potential for interpreting joint position in fossil hominoids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zewdi J Tsegai
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Matthew M Skinner
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew H Gee
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Dieter H Pahr
- Institute for Lightweight Design and Structural Biomechanics, Vienna University of Technology, Wien, Austria
| | - Graham M Treece
- Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tracy L Kivell
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany.,Skeletal Biology Research Centre, School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
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Abstract
The dispersal of the genus Homo out of Africa approximately 1.8 million years ago (Ma) has been understood within the context of changes in diet, behavior, and bipedal locomotor efficiency. While various morphological characteristics of the knee and ankle joints are considered part of a suite of traits indicative of, and functionally related to, habitual bipedal walking, the timing and phylogenetic details of these morphological changes remain unclear. To evaluate the timing of knee and ankle joint evolution, we apply geometric morphometric methods to three-dimensional digital models of the proximal and distal tibiae of fossil hominins, Holocene Homo sapiens, and extant great apes. Two sets of landmarks and curve semilandmarks were defined on each specimen. Because some fossils were incomplete, digital reconstructions were carried out independently to estimate missing landmarks and semilandmarks. Group shape variation was evaluated through shape-and form-space principal component analysis and fossil specimens were projected to assess variation in the morphological space computed from the extant comparative sample. We show that a derived proximal tibia (knee) similar to that seen in living H. sapiens evolved with early Homo at ∼2 Ma. In contrast, derived characteristics in the distal tibia appear later, probably with the arrival of Homo erectus. These results suggest a dissociation of the morphologies of the proximal and distal tibia, perhaps indicative of divergent functional demands and, consequently, selective pressures at these joints. It appears that longer distance dispersals that delivered the Dmanisi hominins to Georgia by 1.8 Ma and H. erectus to east-southeast Asia by 1.6 Ma were facilitated by the evolution of a morphologically derived knee complex comparable to that of recent humans and an ankle that was morphologically primitive. This research sets the foundation for additional paleontological, developmental, and functional research to better understand the mechanisms underlying the evolution of bipedalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélanie A Frelat
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy; UMR 7268 ADES, Aix-Marseille Université/EFS/CNRS, Marseille, France.
| | - Colin N Shaw
- PAVE Research Group, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, Department of Archaeology & Anthropology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; Cambridge BioTomography Centre, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Simone Sukhdeo
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
| | - Jean-Jacques Hublin
- Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Stefano Benazzi
- Department of Cultural Heritage, University of Bologna, Ravenna, Italy; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Timothy M Ryan
- Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA; Center for Quantitative Imaging, EMS Energy Institute, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA
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Tardieu C, Hasegawa K, Haeusler M. How Did the Pelvis and Vertebral Column Become a Functional Unit during the Transition from Occasional to Permanent Bipedalism? Anat Rec (Hoboken) 2017; 300:912-931. [DOI: 10.1002/ar.23577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2016] [Revised: 01/17/2017] [Accepted: 01/27/2017] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Christine Tardieu
- UMR 7179 “Mécanismes adaptatifs: des organismes aux communautés”, USM 301-Département E.G.B; Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle; Paris France
| | | | - Martin Haeusler
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich; Zürich Switzerland
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Thackeray J. A History of Research on Human Evolution in South Africa from 1924 to 2016. REVUE DE PRIMATOLOGIE 2016. [DOI: 10.4000/primatologie.2708] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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Wood B, K. Boyle E. Hominin taxic diversity: Fact or fantasy? AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2016; 159:S37-78. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bernard Wood
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University; Washington DC 20052
| | - Eve K. Boyle
- Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University; Washington DC 20052
- Hominid Paleobiology Graduate Program, George Washington University; Washington DC 20052
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41
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Prang TC. The subtalar joint complex of Australopithecus sediba. J Hum Evol 2016; 90:105-19. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.10.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2015] [Revised: 10/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/20/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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Beaudet A, Braga J, de Beer F, Schillinger B, Steininger C, Vodopivec V, Zanolli C. Neutron microtomography-based virtual extraction and analysis of a cercopithecoid partial cranium (STS 1039) embedded in a breccia fragment from sterkfontein member 4 (South Africa). AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2015; 159:737-45. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2015] [Revised: 11/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/19/2015] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier; France
| | - José Braga
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier; France
- Evolutionary Studies Institute University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Frikkie de Beer
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation; Pelindaba North West Province South Africa
| | - Burkhard Schillinger
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center (FRM-II), Technische Universität München; Garching Germany
| | - Christine Steininger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute University of the Witwatersrand; Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Vladimira Vodopivec
- Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Center (FRM-II), Technische Universität München; Garching Germany
| | - Clément Zanolli
- Laboratoire AMIS, UMR 5288 CNRS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier; France
- Department of Anatomy; University of Pretoria; South Africa
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43
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Gill CM, Bredella MA, DeSilva JM. Skeletal development of hallucal tarsometatarsal joint curvature and angulation in extant apes and modern humans. J Hum Evol 2015; 88:137-145. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2014] [Revised: 06/01/2015] [Accepted: 07/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Harcourt-Smith WEH, Throckmorton Z, Congdon KA, Zipfel B, Deane AS, Drapeau MSM, Churchill SE, Berger LR, DeSilva JM. The foot of Homo naledi. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8432. [PMID: 26439101 PMCID: PMC4600720 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern humans are characterized by a highly specialized foot that reflects our obligate bipedalism. Our understanding of hominin foot evolution is, although, hindered by a paucity of well-associated remains. Here we describe the foot of Homo naledi from Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, using 107 pedal elements, including one nearly-complete adult foot. The H. naledi foot is predominantly modern human-like in morphology and inferred function, with an adducted hallux, an elongated tarsus, and derived ankle and calcaneocuboid joints. In combination, these features indicate a foot well adapted for striding bipedalism. However, the H. naledi foot differs from modern humans in having more curved proximal pedal phalanges, and features suggestive of a reduced medial longitudinal arch. Within the context of primitive features found elsewhere in the skeleton, these findings suggest a unique locomotor repertoire for H. naledi, thus providing further evidence of locomotor diversity within both the hominin clade and the genus Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- W. E. H. Harcourt-Smith
- Department of Anthropology, Lehman College CUNY, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard W, Bronx, New York 10468, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, CPW @ W. 79th Street, New York, New York 10024, USA
- Department of Anthropology, City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10016, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Z. Throckmorton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anatomy, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee 37724, USA
| | - K. A. Congdon
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Southern Utah University, 351W Center Street, Cedar City, Utah 84720, USA
| | - B. Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - A. S. Deane
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MN 224 UK Medical Center, Lexington, Kemtucky 40536, USA
| | - M. S. M. Drapeau
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - S. E. Churchill
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 104 Biological Sciences Building, Box 90383, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - L. R. Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - J. M. DeSilva
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03775, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
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Fornai C, Bookstein FL, Weber GW. Variability of Australopithecus second maxillary molars from Sterkfontein Member 4. J Hum Evol 2015; 85:181-92. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.05.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2014] [Revised: 05/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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46
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New cosmogenic burial ages for Sterkfontein Member 2 Australopithecus and Member 5 Oldowan. Nature 2015; 522:85-8. [DOI: 10.1038/nature14268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Griffin NL, Miller CE, Schmitt D, D'Août K. Understanding the evolution of the windlass mechanism of the human foot from comparative anatomy: Insights, obstacles, and future directions. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2014; 156:1-10. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.22636] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2014] [Revised: 09/25/2014] [Accepted: 09/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L. Griffin
- Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology; Temple University School of Medicine; Philadelphia PA 19140
| | | | - Daniel Schmitt
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology; Duke University; NC
| | - Kristiaan D'Août
- Department of Musculoskeletal Biology; Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool; Liverpool UK
- Department of Biology; University of Antwerp, Antwerp; Belgium
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48
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Bruxelles L, Clarke RJ, Maire R, Ortega R, Stratford D. Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age. J Hum Evol 2014; 70:36-48. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2014.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2013] [Revised: 02/07/2014] [Accepted: 02/11/2014] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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49
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Sutou S. The Hairless Mutation Hypothesis: a Driving Force of Humanization by Enforcing Bipedalism to Hold a Baby, by Allowing Immature Baby Delivery to Enlarge the Brain after Birth, and by Making Use of Fire to Get Meat and to Cook Foods. Genes Environ 2014. [DOI: 10.3123/jemsge.2014.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
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50
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Bates KT, Collins D, Savage R, McClymont J, Webster E, Pataky TC, D'Aout K, Sellers WI, Bennett MR, Crompton RH. The evolution of compliance in the human lateral mid-foot. Proc Biol Sci 2013; 280:20131818. [PMID: 23966646 PMCID: PMC3768320 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2013.1818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossil evidence for longitudinal arches in the foot is frequently used to constrain the origins of terrestrial bipedality in human ancestors. This approach rests on the prevailing concept that human feet are unique in functioning with a relatively stiff lateral mid-foot, lacking the significant flexion and high plantar pressures present in non-human apes. This paradigm has stood for more than 70 years but has yet to be tested objectively with quantitative data. Herein, we show that plantar pressure records with elevated lateral mid-foot pressures occur frequently in healthy, habitually shod humans, with magnitudes in some individuals approaching absolute maxima across the foot. Furthermore, the same astonishing pressure range is present in bonobos and the orangutan (the most arboreal great ape), yielding overlap with human pressures. Thus, while the mean tendency of habitual mechanics of the mid-foot in healthy humans is indeed consistent with the traditional concept of the lateral mid-foot as a relatively rigid or stabilized structure, it is clear that lateral arch stabilization in humans is not obligate and is often transient. These findings suggest a level of detachment between foot stiffness during gait and osteological structure, hence fossilized bone morphology by itself may only provide a crude indication of mid-foot function in extinct hominins. Evidence for thick plantar tissues in Ardipithecus ramidus suggests that a human-like combination of active and passive modulation of foot compliance by soft tissues extends back into an arboreal context, supporting an arboreal origin of hominin bipedalism in compressive orthogrady. We propose that the musculoskeletal conformation of the modern human mid-foot evolved under selection for a functionally tuneable, rather than obligatory stiff structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karl T Bates
- Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Aging and Chronic Disease, University of Liverpool, Sherrington Buildings, Ashton St, Liverpool L69 3GE, UK.
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