South Turkwel: A new Pliocene hominid site in Kenya
Title
South Turkwel: A new Pliocene hominid site in Kenya
Creator
Ward C V; Leakey M G; Brown B; Brown F; Harris J; Walker A
Publisher
Journal of Human Evolution
Date
1999
1999-01
Description
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.
Subject
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
Identifier
Format
Journal Article
URL Address
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Rights
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
Pages
69-95
Issue
1
Volume
36
Citation
Ward C V; Leakey M G; Brown B; Brown F; Harris J; Walker A, “South Turkwel: A new Pliocene hominid site in Kenya,” NEOMED Bibliography Database, accessed April 19, 2024, https://neomed.omeka.net/items/show/7459.