To characterize further the Australopithecus sediba hypodigm, we describe 22 dental traits in specimens MH1 and MH2. Like other skeletal elements, the teeth present a mosaic of primitive and derived features. The new nonmetric data are then qualitatively and phenetically compared with those in eight other African hominin samples, before cladistic analyses using a gorilla outgroup. There is some distinction, largely driven by contrasting molar traits, from East African australopiths. However, Au. sediba links with Au. africanus to form a South African australopith clade. These species present five apomorphies, including shared expressions of Carabelli's upper first molar (UM1) and protostylid lower first molar (LM1). Five synapomorphies are also evident between them and monophyletic Homo habilis/rudolfensis + H. erectus. Finally, a South African australopith + Homo clade is supported by four shared derived states, including identical LM1 cusp 7 expression.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1233062 | DOI Listing |
Am J Biol Anthropol
January 2025
Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, M263 Medical Sciences Building, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USA.
Objectives: The purpose of this paper is to examine the proportions of the manubrium and sternebrae across anthropoid primates to explore variation hypothesized to be related to thoracic shape and locomotor specialization, and to determine whether the sternoclavicular joint orientation in hominoids reflects hypothesized differences in shoulder joint positioning relative to the thorax.
Materials And Methods: Metric data and sternoclavicular joint orientation data were collected from calibrated photographs of manubria and sternebrae from a large sample (n = 244) of extant anthropoid primates, as well as a small sample of fossil taxa. Manubriosternal and rib cage metric data were also collected from CT scans of an additional 52 extant anthropoid torsos.
J Hum Evol
January 2025
Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, USA.
Hominin pelvic form differs dramatically from that of other primates by having more laterally facing iliac blades, a wider sacrum, and a larger, transversely broad pelvic inlet. The orientation of the acetabulum may also differ, plausibly related to differences in load transmission during upright posture and habitual bipedal locomotion, which may, in turn, affect overall pelvic geometry. We compared acetabular orientation in humans, a phylogenetically broad sample of extant anthropoid primates, and fossil hominins including Australopithecus afarensis (A.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Hum Evol
November 2024
Paleoanthropology, Senckenberg Centre for Human Evolution and Palaeoenvironment, Institute for Archaeological Sciences, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstraße 23, Tübingen D-72070, Germany; DFG Centre of Advanced Studies 'Words, Bones, Genes, Tools', Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Rümelinstraße 23, Tübingen D-72070, Germany; Anthropological Collection, Natural History Museum Basel, Augustinergasse 2, Basel S-4051, Switzerland; Integrative Prehistory and Archaeological Science, University of Basel, Spalenring 145, Basel S-4055, Switzerland. Electronic address:
The evolution of the human hand is a topic of great interest in paleoanthropology. As the hand can be involved in a vast array of activities, knowledge regarding how it was used by early hominins can yield crucial information on the factors driving biocultural evolution. Previous research on early hominin hands focused on the overall bone shape.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Anat
July 2024
Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, Faculty of Health & Life Sciences, the W.H. Duncan Building, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
There has been a long debate about the possibility of multiple contemporaneous species of Australopithecus in both eastern and southern Africa, potentially exhibiting different forms of bipedal locomotion. Here, we describe the previously unreported morphology of the os coxae in the 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus StW 573 from Sterkfontein Member 2, comparing it with variation in ossa coxae in living humans and apes as well as other Plio-Pleistocene hominins.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiology (Basel)
May 2024
UMR 7268 ADES, Aix Marseille University, EFS, CNRS, 51 Boulevard Pierre Dramard, 13344 Marseille CEDEX 15, France.
The origin of difficult birth is still a matter of debate in obstetrics. Recent studies hypothesized that early hominins already experienced obstructed labor even with reduced neonatal head sizes. The aim of this work is to test this hypothesis using an extant obstetrical sample with known delivery outcomes.
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