The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions

Heaton, Jason L.; Pickering, Travis Rayne; Carlson, Kristian J.; Crompton, Robin H.; Jashashvili, Tea; Beaudet, Amélie; Bruxelles, Laurent; Kuman, Kathleen; Heile, A.J.; Stratford, Dominic; Clarke, Ronald J.

doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.015

Cited by 39 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 130 publications

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“…Furthermore, other South African fossils, including Australopithecus sediba (11) and Australopithecus sp. Sterkfontein Wits (StW) 573 (12,13), strengthen this notion that australopiths were committed terrestrial bipeds. However, the different mosaics of human-and ape-like external traits in australopiths have led to debate over the form of bipedalism (14,15), as well as the levels of arboreality in these taxa (16,17).…”

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confidence: 62%

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Evidence for habitual climbing in a Pleistocene hominin in South Africa

Georgiou

Dunmore

Bardo

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Bipedalism is a defining trait of the hominin lineage, associated with a transition from a more arboreal to a more terrestrial environment. While there is debate about when modern human-like bipedalism first appeared in hominins, all known South African hominins show morphological adaptations to bipedalism, suggesting that this was their predominant mode of locomotion. Here we present evidence that hominins preserved in the Sterkfontein Caves practiced two different locomotor repertoires. The trabecular structure of a proximal femur (StW 522) attributed to Australopithecus africanus exhibits a modern human-like bipedal locomotor pattern, while that of a geologically younger specimen (StW 311) attributed to either Homo sp. or Paranthropus robustus exhibits a pattern more similar to nonhuman apes, potentially suggesting regular bouts of both climbing and terrestrial bipedalism. Our results demonstrate distinct morphological differences, linked to behavioral differences between Australopithecus and later hominins in South Africa and contribute to the increasing evidence of locomotor diversity within the hominin clade.

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confidence: 62%

“…Most studies of fossil hominin bipedalism have focused on external morphological traits (1,4,13). However, debates about behavioral interpretations based on external morphology have arisen due to the suggestion that, in the absence of strong selective pressure, primitive traits can be retained that are no longer functionally relevant (15).…”

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confidence: 99%

Evidence for habitual climbing in a Pleistocene hominin in South Africa

Georgiou

Dunmore

Bardo

et al. 2020

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…By extension, another possible explanation for the lower brain metabolism in StW 573 could be a higher investment in postural and locomotor activities that may reduce proportions of the metabolic rate that would have been available for allocation to the brain. The fact that body proportions may have not been adapted to maintain appropriate thermoregulation while walking bipedally in Australopithecus might support the latter scenario 55,56 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human-like head mobility and brain metabolism

Beaudet

Clarke

Heaton

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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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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“…comm. ; (14) Trinkaus, 2016; (15) Trinkaus, Robson Brown, Ortega, & Karaková, 2017; (16) McCown & Keith, 1939; (17) Trinkaus, 2012; (18) Heaton et al, 2019; (19) Churchill et al, 2018; (20) Green, 2020; (21) Lovejoy, Johanson, & Coppens, 1982; (22) T. D. White., pers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Body mass estimation in hominins from humeral articular dimensions

Ruff

Squyres

Junno

2020

American J Phys Anthropol

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Objectives: While many attempts have been made to estimate body mass in hominins from lower limb bone dimensions, the upper limb has received far less attention in this regard. Here we develop new body mass estimation equations based on humeral articular breadths in a large modern human sample and apply them to 95 Plio-Pleistocene specimens. Materials and Methods: Humeral head superoinferior and total distal articular mediolateral breadths were measured in a morphologically diverse sample of 611 modern human skeletons whose body masses were estimated from bi-iliac breadth and reconstructed stature. Reduced major axis regressions were used to compute body mass estimation equations. Consistency of the resulting estimates with those derived previously using lower limb bone equations was assessed in matched Plio-Pleistocene individuals or samples. Results: In the modern reference sample, the new humeral body mass estimation equations exhibit only slightly lower precision compared to the previously derived lower limb bone equations. They give generally similar estimates for Pleistocene Homo, after accounting for the different shape of the humeral head articular surface in archaic Middle and Late Pleistocene Homo, except for distal humeral estimates for Late Pleistocene specimens, which average somewhat below lower limb estimates. Humeral equations give body mass estimates for australopiths that appear much too high, except for Australopithecus sediba. A chimpanzee-based distal humeral articular formula appears to work well for larger australopith specimens. Discussion: The new formulae provide a more secure foundation for estimating hominin body mass from humeri than previously available equations.

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The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein Member 2: Descriptions and proportions

Cited by 39 publications

References 130 publications

Evidence for habitual climbing in a Pleistocene hominin in South Africa

Evidence for habitual climbing in a Pleistocene hominin in South Africa

The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human-like head mobility and brain metabolism

Body mass estimation in hominins from humeral articular dimensions

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