Australopithecus

Dating the Drimolen hominins Fossil hominins from South Africa are enriching the story of early human evolution and dispersal. Herries et al. describe the geological context and dating of the hominin-bearing infilled cave, or palaeocave, at a site called Drimolen in South Africa (see the Perspective by Antón). They focus on the age and context of a recently discovered Homo erectus sensu lato fossil and a Paranthropus robustus fossil, which they dated to ∼2.04 million to 1.95 million years ago. This makes Drimolen one of the best-dated sites in South Africa and establishes these fossils as the oldest definitive specimens of their respective species ever discovered. The age confirms that species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus , and early Homo overlapped in the karst of South Africa ∼2 million years ago. Science , this issue p. eaaw7293 ; see also p. 34

As is known, a skull fossil belonging to a 12 or 13-year-old discovered in Malapa in 2008 was given the name "Australopithecus sediba". Between 2010 and 2013, six different articles about the said skull were published in Science magazine and it was declared among evolutionists as the so-called missing link that could be the ancestor of man.

Evolutionist claimed that A. Sediba, which is thought to have existed some two million years ago, predating Homo Erectus, must be the ancestor of man. As a result, various supposedly scientific articles were written, predicated on the claim that the fossil belonged to a transitional form due to some similarities it shared with Australopithecuses and some with humans. These articles made the headlines of many media outlets.

The reconstruction of behavior patterns of extinct hominid populations, far removed chronologically morphologically, and technologically from modern man, has long been important to anthropologists. This paper demonstrates some possibilitiesfor using one archeological technique--faunal analysis--to establish meaningful hypotheses concerning the way of life of the South African australopithecines. Scavenging is found to be significant for these hominids, and an associationis made between scavenging and bipedalism.

1985 Med.Hyp.16:17-32
The aquatic ape theory: evidence and a possible scenario
1987 Med.Hyp.24:293-300
The aquatic ape theory and some common diseases
1991 Med.Hyp.35:108-114
Aquatic ape theory and fossil hominids
1995 Med.Hyp.44:409-413
Aquatic ape theory, speech origins, and brain differences with apes and monkeys

Abstract
One of the greatest unsolved mysteries in palaeoanthropology surrounds the  hundreds of thousands of carefully shaped stone tools that have been found all over the world, known as “hand axes” or macroliths.

Whatever their purpose, the design remained unchanged for at least two million years, making it by far the most successful design of all time.

Considerations of the design, material choice and distribution of these artefacts along with climate, diet and associated fossil remains provide clear evidence that the hand axe was not only critical to the survival of the human species and its precursors but was also instrumental in shaping many of the physiological and anatomical adaptations that so markedly differentiate us from all other primates, from our raised instep to the shape of our teeth and from the structure of our kidneys to our sweat glands.

This teaching aid reviews the major evolutionary landmarks that over the last sixty million years marked the development of intelligence in Homo sapiens. The discussion begins with social primates and charts the adaptations that ultimately led to the emergence of modern humans including the growth of the brain, increased manual dexterity, and evolution of language. Also considered are adaptations to allow for the digestion of starch, and their impact on early agriculture, the first use of fire and cooking. Discussion includes consideration of the following gene mutations: RNF213 GENE, HAR1 GENE, ARHGAP11B GENE, SLC2A1 GENE, SLC2A4 GENE, HACNS1 GENE, MYH16 GENE, SRGAP2 GENE, FOXP2 GENE, AMY1 GENE

KEYWORDS
ARCHAEOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, HUMAN EVOLUTION, EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY, LANGUAGE, GENETICS, HOMO SAPIEN, HOMO HABILIS, AUSTRALOPITHECINES, PRIMATES, CHIMPANZEE, GORILLA, GELADA, MOYAMOYA DISEASE, CAROTID ARTERY, HOMININ, WONDERWERK CAVE, SOUTH AFRICA, STARCH DIET, MEAT DIET, RNF213 GENE MUTATIONS, HAR1 GENE, ARHGAP11B GENE, SLC2A1 GENE, SLC2A4 GENE, HACNS1 GENE, MYH16 GENE, SRGAP2 GENE, FOXP2 GENE, AMY1 GENE

As one of the newest species to enter the pantheon of human ancestors, Australopithecus sediba is remarkable for both it's biology and the story of it's discovery. The Malapa site was discovered by Professor Lee Berger in 2008 using Google Earth and the fossils themselves by his nine year old son Matthew tripping over a rock. The completeness and stunning preservation of the 1.98 million year old Malapa hominins has given us an unprecedented look at the biology of a species in flux, a species that may hold important clues as to the origin of the genus Homo. Karabo, the name given to juvenile male, is the Sesotho work for "the Answer". And he does indeed seem to have brought us tantalisingly close to an answer; but he has raised plenty more questions along the way.

This paper is a detailed summary of the hominin species Australopithecus sediba and an analysis of it's impact on the world of paleoanthropology. This paper was the result of an Independent Study Course at college.

Australopithecus afarensis hominid AL 288-1 picked up the name of "Lucy" from a song to a girl with the sun in her eyes gone in the sky. This article traces first this origin back to the field camp in Afar region at Hadar (Ethiopia). It then asks why this symbolic name form is so important to establish a fossil in the human evolution tree. A brief review of the role of the name Lucy will finally point out how it facilitated the diffusion of the researches on our origins.

Papers on African Ape & Human Evolution, AAT & Speech Origins:
-The Aquatic Ape evolves: Common Misconceptions and Unproven Assumptions about the so-called Aquatic Ape Hypothesis 2013 HE 28:237-266
-Morphological Distance between Australopithecine, Human and Ape Skulls 1996 HE 11:35-41
-Australopithecines: Ancestors of the African Apes? 1994 HE 9:121-139
-Did Robust Australopithecines Partly Feed on Hard Parts of Gramineae? 1992 HE 7:63-64
-African Ape Ancestry 1990 HE 5:295-297
-Letter to the Editor 1987 HE 2:381
-Possible Preadaptations to Speech: A Preliminary Comparative Approach 2004 HE 19:53-70 with Stephen Munro
-Hominid Lifestyle reconsidered: Paleo-environmental and Comparative Data 2000 HE 15:151-162 with Pierre-François Puech

A genus (or group of multiple genera) of fossil
hominins ranging in geological age from the
Pliocene through the early Pleistocene (~4.2–1.2
Ma = Mega-annum, or millions of years) of
Africa, the name Australopithecus comes from
Greek for “ape” (pithekos) and Latin “of the
south” (australis), for the geographical location
of the first material discovered, in South Africa.

Explaining in simple terms the so-called aquatic ape theory.
Human ancestors during the Ice Ages (Pleistocene Homo after +-2 mill.yrs ago) did not disperse intercontinentally running over open plains as popularly assumed, but followed African & Eurasian coasts & rivers, where their diet included shallow-aquatic & waterside foods, which are rich in brain-specific nutrients, e.g. DHA, iodine, taurine, oligo-elements.

Biological reconstruction of ape and human (hominoid) evolution, mostly based on comparative, fossil, paleo-environmental and DNA evidence.

Schematically:

(I) arboreal to aquarboreal:
The evolution from monkey to ape body-plan is best explained by a transition from tree-dwelling to living in flooded forests (Mio-Pliocene).

(II) aquarboreal to littoral:
The evolution from ape/australopith to Homo body-plan can mostly be explained by a transition to a coastal and waterside lifestyle during the Ice Ages (early-Pleistocene dispersal along African and Eurasian coasts).

The longitudinal arch is one of the hallmarks of the human foot but its evolutionary history remains
controversial due to the fragmentary nature of the fossil record. In modern humans, the presence of
a longitudinal arch is reflected in the angular relationships among the major surfaces of the human
talus and calcaneus complex, which is also known as the rearfoot. A complete talus and calcaneus of
Australopithecus sediba provide the opportunity to evaluate rearfoot posture in an early hominin for
the first time. Here I show that A. sediba is indistinguishable from extant African apes in the angular
configuration of its rearfoot, which strongly suggests that it lacked a longitudinal arch. Inferences
made from isolated fossils support the hypothesis that Australopithecus afarensis possessed an
arched foot. However, tali attributed to temporally younger taxa like Australopithecus africanus and
Homo floresiensis are more similar to those of A. sediba. The inferred absence of a longitudinal arch in
A. sediba would be biomechanically consistent with prior suggestions of increased midtarsal mobility
in this taxon. The morphological patterns in talus and calcaneus angular relationships among fossil
hominins suggest that there was diversity in traits associated with the longitudinal arch in the Plio-
Pleistocene.

A series of six partial cervical vertebrae were recovered in association with the KSD-VP-1/1 postcranial remains from the C2 axis to the C7 vertebral level, representing the oldest adult cervical column known in the hominin fossil record. The vertebrae of this large male australopith are more derived than those of its smaller female counterparts, and as a whole, present a biomechanical and enthesopathological signature typical of the dynamic vertical loading regime of orthograde humans. Differences between KSD-VP-1/1 and humans observed in the most cranial cervical levels appear to have insignificant functional implications, and are likely developmental reciprocates of australopith cranial morphogenesis. Despite their antiquity, the KSD-VP-1/1 vertebrae produce a surprisingly human-like kinematic signal, with a highly mobile neck, a head carriage consistent with habitual upright posture and bipedalism, and spinal cord dimensions most similar to that of modern humans.

Paleoanthropologists have long argued—often contentiously— about the climbing abilities of early hominins and whether a foot adapted to terrestrial bipedalism constrained regular access to trees. However, some modern humans climb tall trees routinely in pursuit of honey, fruit, and game, often without the aid of tools or support systems. Mortality and morbidity associated with faculta- tive arboreality is expected to favor behaviors and anatomies that facilitate safe and efficient climbing. Here we show that Twa hunter–gatherers use extraordinary ankle dorsiflexion (>45°) dur- ing climbing, similar to the degree observed in wild chimpanzees. Although we did not detect a skeletal signature of dorsiflexion in museum specimens of climbing hunter–gatherers from the Ituri for- est, we did find that climbing by the Twa is associated with longer fibers in the gastrocnemius muscle relative to those of neighboring, nonclimbing agriculturalists. This result suggests that a more excur- sive calf muscle facilitates climbing with a bipedally adapted ankle and foot by positioning the climber closer to the tree, and it might be among the mechanisms that allow hunter–gatherers to access the canopy safely. Given that we did not find a skeletal correlate for this observed behavior, our results imply that derived aspects of the hominin ankle associated with bipedalism remain compatible with vertical climbing and arboreal resource acquisition. Our findings challenge the persistent arboreal–terrestrial dichotomy that has in- formed behavioral reconstructions of fossil hominins and highlight the value of using modern humans as models for inferring the limits of hominin arboreality.

Australopitheus anamensis fossils demonstrate that craniodentally and postcranially the taxon was more primitive than its evolutionary successor Australopithecus afarensis. Postcranial evidence suggests habitual bipedality combined with primitive upper limbs and an inferred significant arboreal adaptation. Here we report on A. anamensis fossils from the Assa Issie locality in Ethiopia's Middle Awash area dated to ~4.2 Ma, constituting the oldest known Australopithecus axial remains. Because the spine is the interface between major body segments, these fossils can be informative on the adaptation, behavior and our evolutionary understanding of A. anamensis. The atlas, or first cervical vertebra (C1), is similar in size to Homo sapiens, with synapomorphies in the articular facets and transverse processes. Absence of a retroglenoid tubercle suggests that, like humans, A. anamensis lacked the atlantoclavicularis muscle, resulting in reduced capacity for climbing relative to the great apes. The retroflexed C2 odontoid process and long C6 spinous process are reciprocates of facial prognathism, a long clivus and retroflexed foramen magnum, rather than indications of locomotor or postural behaviors. The T1 is derived in shape and size as in Homo with an enlarged vertebral body epiphyseal surfaces for mitigating the high-magnitude compressive loads of full-time bipedality. The full costal facet is unlike the extant great ape demifacet pattern and represents the oldest evidence for the derived univertebral pattern in hominins. These fossils augment other lines of evidence in A. anamensis indicating habitual bipedality despite some plesio-morphic vertebral traits related to craniofacial morphology independent of locomotor or postural behaviors (i.e., a long clivus and a retroflexed foramen magnum). Yet in contrast to craniodental lines of evidence, some aspects of vertebral morphology in A. anamensis appear more derived than its descendant A. afarensis.

The aquatic ape evolves:
Common misconceptions and unproven assumptions about the so-called Aquatic Ape Hypothesis
Hum.Evol.28:237-266, 2013

While some paleo-anthropologists remain skeptical, data from diverse biological and anthropological disciplines leave little doubt that human ancestors were at some point in our past semi-aquatic: wading, swimming and/or diving in shallow waters in search of waterside or aquatic foods.
However, the exact scenario—how, where and when these semi-aquatic adaptations happened, how profound they were, and how they fit into the hominid fossil record—is still disputed, even among anthropologists who assume some semi-aquatic adaptations.
Here, I argue that the most intense phase(s) of semi-aquatic adaptation in human ancestry occurred when populations belonging to the genus Homo adapted to slow and shallow littoral diving for sessile foods such as shellfish during part(s) of the Pleistocene epoch (Ice Ages), presumably when archaic Homo dispersed intercontinentally along South-Asian, African and Mediterranean coasts.

The habitats preferred by hominins and other species are an important theme in palaeoanthropology, and the ‘mosaic habitat’ (also referred to as habitat heterogeneity) has been a central concept in this regard for the last four decades. Here we explore the development of this concept – loosely defined as a range of different habitat types, such as woodlands, riverine forest and savannah within a limited spatial area – in studies of human evolution over the last 60 years or so. We outline the key developments that took place
before and around the time when the term ‘mosaic’ came to wider palaeoanthropological attention. To achieve this, we used an analysis of the published literature, a study of illustrations of hominin evolution from 1925 onwards and an email survey of senior researchers in palaeoanthropology and related fields. We found that the term ‘mosaic’ starts to be applied in palaeoanthropological thinking during the 1970s due to
the work of a number of researchers, including Karl Butzer and Glynn Isaac, with the earliest usage we
have found of ‘mosaic’ in specific reference to hominin habitats being by Adriaan Kortlandt (1972). While we observe a steady increase in the numbers of publications reporting mosaic palaeohabitats, in keeping with the growing interest and specialisation in various methods of palaeoenvironmental reconstruction, we also note that there is a lack of critical studies that define this habitat, or examine the temporal and spatial scales associated with it. The general consensus within the field is that the concept now requires more detailed definition and study to evaluate its role in human evolution.

Asian pongids (orangutans) and African hominids (gorillas, chimpanzees and humans) split 14-10 million years ago, possibly in the Middle East, or elsewhere in Eurasia, where the great ape fossils of 12-8 million years ago display pongid and/or hominid features. In any case, it is likely that the ancestors of the African apes, australopithecines and humans, lived on the Arabian-African continent 8-6 million years ago, when they split into gorillas and humans-chimpanzees. They could have frequently waded bipedally, like mangrove proboscis monkeys, in the mangrove forests between Eurasia and Africa, and partly fed on hard-shelled fruits and oysters like mangrove capuchin monkeys: thick enamel plus stone tool use is typically seen in capuchins, hominids and sea otters.
The australopithecines might have entered the African inland along rivers and lakes. Their dentition suggests they ate mostly fruits, hard grass-like plants, and aquatic herbaceous vegetation (AHV). The fossil data indicates that the early australopithecines of 4-3 million years ago lived in waterside forests or woodlands; and their larger, robust relatives of 2-1 million years ago in generally more open milieus near marshes and reedbeds, where they could have waded bipedally. Some anthropologists believe the present-day African apes evolved from australopithecine-like ancestors, which would imply that knuckle-walking gorillas and chimpanzees evolved in parallel from wading-climbing ‘aquarborealists’.
After the human-chimp split some 6-4 million years ago, our ancestors could have stayed at, or returned to the Indian Ocean shores, where they elaborated their shellfish-eating, tool-using, beach-combing and wading-diving skills. From here the different Homo species could have colonized Africa and Eurasia by following the rivers as bipedal omnivores. Homo erectus crossed Wallace’s Line and reached Flores before 0.8 million years ago, and the earliest erectus fossils are found in beaches and swamps from Java to Georgia and Kenya 1.8-1.6 million years ago. Voluntary breath-holding, an essential requirement for diving, probably facilitated the evolution of human speech.

Les empreintes de pas  de Laetoli (Tanzanie), l'une des principales localités de la préhistoire en Afrique réputée pour les ossements fossiles des premiers hominidés, semblent reproduire le “tramp-tramp-tramp” des Préhistoriques en marche venus jusqu’à nous. What was the foot of the walker becomes the path of the human lineage.

The reconstructed taphonomic and paleoenvironmental contexts of a ca. 4 million-year-old partial hominid skeleton (Stw 573) from Sterkfontein Member 2 are described through presentation of the results of our analyses of the mammalian faunal assemblage associated stratigraphically with the hominid. The assemblage is dominated by cercopithecoids (Parapapio and Papio) and felids (Panthera pardus, P. leo, Felis caracal, and Felidae indet.), based on number of identified specimens, minimum number of elements and, minimum number of individuals. In addition, the assemblage is characterized by a number of partial skeletons and/or antimeric sets of bones across all taxonomic groups. There is scant indication of carnivore chewing in the assemblage. These observations, in addition to other taphonomic data, suggest that the remains of many animals recovered in Member 2 are from individuals that entered the cave on their own—whether accidentally by falling through avens connecting the cave to the ground surface above or by intentional entry—and were then unable to escape, rather than primarily through systematic collection by a biotic, bone-accumulating agent. The taphonomic conclusion that animals with climbing proclivities (i.e., primates and carnivores) are preferentially preserved over other taxa, ultimately because of those proclivities, urges caution in assessing the fidelity of the assemblage for reconstruction of the Member 2 paleoenvironment. With that caveat, we infer that the Member 2 paleoenvironment was typified by rolling, rock-littered and brush- and scrub-covered hills, indicated by the abundant F. caracal and cercopithecoid fossils recovered and the identified presence of the extinct Caprinae Makapania broomi. In addition, the valley bottom may have retained standing water year-round, perhaps supporting some tree cover—a setting suitable for the well-represented ambush predator P. pardus and suggested by the presence of Alcelaphini. Finally, the reconstructed taphonomic and paleoenvironmental settings of Sterkfontein Member 2 are compared to penecontemporaneous sites in South and East Africa.

Le professeur du Collège de France est maître de sa chaire, il n'a qu'une obligation traiter un sujet nouveau chaque année en dix-huit leçons. Yves Coppens qui a pris la suite, au Collège de France, de Leroi-Gourhan (1911–1986)  a proposé pour 1985-1986 de nous faire comprendre l’importance des découvertes réalisées concernant les premiers Hommes.  La paléoanthropologie n’a cessé de progresser pour  « reconstituer la vie »  de nos ancêtres à propos desquels Leroi-Gourhan, dans Le Geste et la Parole, a remis en question les limites assignées à l'humain. Il faut  préciser les nombreuses informations recueillies sur les plus anciens Hominidés et donner un scénario éco-géographique de l'origine de l'Homme séparée de la branche qui mène aux grands singes depuis plus de 7 millions d’années.

The southern African late Pliocene to early Pleistocene carnivore guild was much larger than that of the present day. Understanding how this guild may have functioned is important for the reconstruction of carnivore-hominin interactions and to assess the potential for hominin scavenging in southern Africa. In modern ecosystems, the coexistence of larger carnivore species is constrained by several factors, which include high levels of interspecific competition. Here, the composition of the fossil carnivore guild is examined using Sterkfontein Member 4 (Cradle of Humankind, South Africa) as a case study. Sterkfontein
Member 4 contains 10 larger carnivore taxa (body mass > 21.5 kg) and may also contain two Australopithecus species. Two possible causes of higher numbers of carnivore species in the South African fossil record are initially considered. First, that there is a bias introduced through comparing assemblages of
differing sizes; second, carnivore biodiversity may have been artificially inflated due to previous taxonomic splitting of carnivore species, such as Crocuta. These possibilities are rejected and modern ecological data are used to construct a simple spatial model to determine how many carnivores could have co-existed. Although the resulting model indicates that the carnivore taxa present in Member 4 could have co-occurred, modern ecological studies indicate that it is highly unlikely that they would have co-existed simultaneously. Considering the complex depositional processes that operate in the southern African cave sites, it is proposed that the larger carnivore guild observed in the Sterkfontein Member 4 fossil assemblage is a palimpsest created by time-averaging. In light of this, we suggest that sites which
have a large number of carnivore taxa should be examined for time-averaging, while those sites which have relatively few species may be a better reflection of carnivore communities.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that conarticular surfaces areas and curvatures are correlates of mobility at the hominoid talocalcaneal and talonavicular joints. Materials and Methods: Articular surface areas and curvatures of the talonavicular, anterior talocalcaneal, and posterior talocalcaneal joints were quantified using a total of 425 three-dimensional surface models of extant homi-noid and fossil hominin tali, calcanei, and naviculars. Quadric surface fitting was used to calculate curvatures, pair-wise comparisons were used to evaluate statistical differences between taxa, and regression was used to test for the effects of allometry. Results: Pairwise comparisons show that the distributions of values for joint curvature indices follow the predicted arboreal-terrestrial morphocline in hominoid primates with no effect of body mass (PGLS p > 0.05). OH 8 (Homo habilis) and LB 1 (Homo floresiensis) can be accommodated within the range of human variation for the talo-navicular joint, whereas MH2 (Australopithecus sediba) falls within the ranges of variation for Pan troglodytes and Gorilla gorilla in measures of posterior talocalcaneal joint congruity. Conclusions: Joint curvature indices are better discriminators than joint surface area indices, which may reflect a greater contribution of rotation, rather than translation, to joint movement in plantigrade taxa due to discrepancies in conarticular congruence and the " convex-concave " rule. The pattern of joint congruence in Au. sediba contributes to other data on the foot and ankle suggesting that the lateral side of the foot was more mobile than the medial side, which is consistent with suggestions of increased medial weight transfer associated with hyperpronation. Am J Phys Anthropol 000:000–