South Turkwel: A new Pliocene hominid site in Kenya
1974-1977 collections; Anthropology; australopithecus-afarensis; ethiopia; evolution; Evolutionary Biology; functional-morphology; hadar formation; hand; hand bones; hominids; Kenya; koobi fora region; metacarpal; olduvai gorge; Pliocene; South Turkwel
New fossils discovered south of the Turkwel River in northern Kenya include an associated metacarpal, capitate, hamate, lunate, pedal phalanx, mandibular fragment, and teeth. These fossils probably date to around 3.5 m.y.a. Faunal information suggests that the environment at South Turkwel was predominantly bushland. The mandibular and dental remains are fragmentary, but the postcranial fossils are informative. Comparisons with Australopithecus, modern human, chimpanzee and gorilla hand bones suggest that the Turkwel hominid was most like Australopithecus afarensis and A. africanus. Carpometacarpal articulations are intermediate between those of modern humans and African apes, suggesting enhanced gripping capabilities compared with extant apes. The hamulus was strikingly large, similar in proportion only to Neandertals and some gorillas, suggesting the presence of powerful forearms and hands. There are no indicators of adaptations to knuckle-walking or suspensory locomotion in the hand, and the pedal phalanx suggests that this hominid was habitually bipedal. (C) 1999 Academic Press.
Ward C V; Leakey M G; Brown B; Brown F; Harris J; Walker A
Journal of Human Evolution
1999
1999-01
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.1998.0262" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1006/jhev.1998.0262</a>
AL 288-1 - Lucy or Lucifer: Gender confusion in the Pliocene
1974-1977; al-288-1; Anthropology; australopithecine; australopithecus-afarensis; body size; collections; dimensions; dimorphism; ethiopia; Evolutionary Biology; hadar formation; Lucy; obstetrics; pelvic size; pelvis; primates; reconstruction; sexual
Hausler & Schmid (1995) challenged the long held opinion that AL 288-1 (Australopithecus afarensis), popularly known as "Lucy," was female. They concluded that AL 288-1 was most probably male ("Lucifer") and, by extension, the hypodigm for A. afarensis consists of two species which differ from one another in body size; in their opinion, AL 288-1 was most probably a male of the smaller of the two species. Hausler & Schmid based their conclusion on an obstetric analysis of AL 288-1 and Sts 14 (A. africanus) and on a comparison of the two australopithecine pelves with those of modern humans. This study evaluates the pelvic anatomy and probable sex of AL 288-1 by both assessing the obstetric adequacy of its pelvis and critically reviewing Hausler & Schmid's (1995, 1997) analyses of australopithecine pelvic dimorphism and relative body size of AL 288-1. Three results are shown. First, using Hausler & Schmid's own data, AL 288-1's and Sts 14's pelves are seen not to be dimorphic with respect to each other, as are human males and females, but they are in fact comparable in both size and shape. Second, AL 288-1's pelvis would have been obstetrically adequate, even with an inferred newborn brain size (as suggested by Hausler & Schmid) for A. afarensis that is likely overestimated. Third, AL 288-1 is shown to be one of the smallest adult individuals in A. afarensis. We conclude that AL 288-1 and Sts 14 were the same sex, and that the name "Lucy" correctly identifies AL 288-1's gender as female. (C) 1998 Academic Press.
Tague R G; Lovejoy C O
Journal of Human Evolution
1998
1998-07
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.1998.0223" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1006/jhev.1998.0223</a>
The taxonomic status of the Chemeron temporal (KNM-BC 1)
Anthropology; australopithecus-africanus; Chemeron temporal; earliest homo; Evolutionary Biology; extant; fossil hominids; hadar formation; hominoids; Homo; lake turkana; meningeal vascular patterns; plio-pleistocene hominids; south-africa; swartkrans formation; temporal bone
Temporal bone morphology, as part of the basicranium, is commonly used in systematic evaluation of early hominid fossils. When an isolated right temporal bone, KNM-BC 1 (the Chemeron temporal) was discovered in the Baringo Basin, Kenya, Tobias (1967a, Nature 215, 476-480), citing ambiguity of characters, hesitated to place the specimen generically, attributing the fossil only to Hominidae gen. et sp. indet. Since that discovery, the early hominid sample has grown considerably and comparisons with this expanded dataset led Hill et al. (1992a, Nature 355, 719-722) to revise the placement of KNM-BC 1 including it within the genus Homo. This revision was possible due to the increased number of hominid fossil specimens from the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene, most notably members of the genus Homo. A thorough investigation into the utility of the temporal bone in hominid systematics shows that many features, as currently used. in the literature, demonstrate high levels of variation thus questioning their phyletic valence. It is shown, however, that the temporal bone still contains useful systematic information. A detailed anatomical description of KNM-BC 1 is provided and, when discussed in the context of temporal bone features provided, affirms the conclusion of Hill et al. (1992a) and places the fossil within the genus Homo. (C) 2002 Academic Press.
Sherwood R J; Ward S C; Hill A
Journal of Human Evolution
2002
2002-01
Journal Article
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1006/jhev.2000.0409" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1006/jhev.2000.0409</a>