Bipedalism or bipedalisms: The os coxae of StW 573.
Australopithecus
biomechanics
innominate
locomotion
neurobiological degeneracy
os coxae
Journal
Journal of anatomy
ISSN: 1469-7580
Titre abrégé: J Anat
Pays: England
ID NLM: 0137162
Informations de publication
Date de publication:
22 Jul 2024
22 Jul 2024
Historique:
revised:
08
06
2024
received:
05
09
2023
accepted:
20
06
2024
medline:
22
7
2024
pubmed:
22
7
2024
entrez:
22
7
2024
Statut:
aheadofprint
Résumé
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. Statistical comparisons indicate that StW 573 and 431 resemble humans in their anteroposteriorly great iliac crest breadth compared with many other early australopiths, whereas Homo ergaster KNM WT 15000 surprisingly also has a relatively anterioposteriorly short iliac crest. StW 573 and StW 431 appear to resemble humans in having a long ischium compared with Sts 14 and KNM WT 15000. A Quadratic Discriminant Function Analysis of morphology compared with other Plio-Pleistocene hominins and a dataset of modern humans and hominoids shows that, while Lovejoy's heuristic model of the Ardipithecus ramidus os coxae falls with Pongo or in an indeterminate group, StW 573 and StW 431 from Sterkfontein Member 4 are consistently classified together with modern humans. Although clearly exhibiting the classic "basin shaped" bipedal pelvis, Sts 14 (also from Sterkfontein), AL 288-1 Australopithecus afarensis, MH2 Australopithecus sediba and KNM-WT 15000 occupy a position more peripheral to modern humans, and in some analyses are assigned to an indeterminate outlying group. Our findings strongly support the existence of two species of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein and the variation we observe in os coxae morphology in early hominins is also likely to reflect multiple forms of bipedality.
Types de publication
Journal Article
Langues
eng
Sous-ensembles de citation
IM
Subventions
Organisme : National Science Foundation
ID : NSF BCS 0716244. NSF BCS 0647557
Informations de copyright
© 2024 The Author(s). Journal of Anatomy published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Anatomical Society.
Références
Abraham, S., Jani, G., Vinay, V., Belcher, W. & Johnson, A. (2021) A preliminary study to quantify the efficacy of 3D data acquisition for human bone replication. Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine, 83, 102244–102254.
Aiello, L. & Dean, C. (1990) An introduction to human evolutionary anatomy. London: Academic Press.
Bamford, M. (1999) Pliocene fossil woods from an early hominid cave deposit, Sterkfontein, South Africa. South African Journal of Science, 95(5), 231–237.
Bates, K.T., Collins, D., Savage, R., McClymont, J., Webster, E., Pataky, T.C. et al. (2013) The evolution of compliance in the human lateral mid‐foot. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 280(1769), 20131818.
Bates, K.T., Savage, R., Pataky, T.C., Morse, S.A., Webster, E., Falkingham, P.L. et al. (2013) Does footprint depth correlate with foot motion and pressure? Journal of the Royal Society Interface, 10, 20130009. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2013.0009
Beaudet, A., Clarke, R.J., Bruxelles, L., Carlson, K.J., Crompton, R., de Beer, F. et al. (2019) The bony labyrinth of StW 573 (“little foot”): implications for early hominin evolution and paleobiology. Journal of Human Evolution, 127, 67–80.
Beaudet, A., Clarke, R.J., De Jager, E.J., Bruxelles, L., Carlson, K.J., Crompton, R. et al. (2019) The endocast of StW 573 (“little foot”) and hominin brain evolution. Journal of Human Evolution, 126, 112–123.
Beaudet, A., Clarke, R.J., Heaton, J.L., Pickering, T.R., Carlson, K.J., Crompton, R.H. et al. (2020) The atlas of StW 573 and the late emergence of human‐like head mobility and brain metabolism. Scientific Reports, 10(1), 4285.
Behling, A.V., Rainbow, M.J., Welte, L. & Kelly, L. (2023) Chasing footprints in time–reframing our understanding of human foot function in the context of current evidence and emerging insights. Biological Reviews, 98, 2136–2151. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/brv.12999
Berge, C. (1991) Size‐ and locomotion‐related aspects of hominid and anthropoid pelves: an osteometrical multivariate analysis. Human Evolution, 6, 365–376. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02435530
Berge, C., Clarke, R.J., Goularas, D. & Kibii, J.M. (2007) The Australopithecus pelvic morphology (Sts 431 and Sts 14): the taxonomic evidence. Journal of Morphology, 268, 1048–1049 (and see also preprint: Berge, C., Clarke R.J., Goularas D, Kibii, J.B. The Stw 431 pelvis reconstructed by Computer Tomography: implication for growth and evolution of the South African australopithecines. Ciited y permission of Clarke).
Berge, C. & Goularas, D. (2010) A new reconstruction of Sts 14 pelvis (Australopithecus africanus) from computed tomography and three‐dimensional modeling techniques. Journal of Human Evolution, 58(3), 262–272.
Berge, C. & Kazmierczak, J.B. (1986) Effects of size and locomotor adaptations on the hominid pelvis: evaluation of australopithecine bipedality with a new multivariate method. Folia Primatologica, 46(4), 185–204.
Bernstein, N. (1967) The co‐ordination and regulation of movements. Oxford: Pergamon.
Brain, C.K., Vrba, E.S. & Robinson, J.T. (1974) A new hominid innominate bone from Swartkrans. Annals of the Transvaal Museum, 39(5), 55–63.
Brassey, C.A., O'Mahoney, T.G., Chamberlain, A.T. & Sellers, W.I. (2018) A volumetric technique for fossil body mass estimation applied to Australopithecus afarensis. Journal of Human Evolution, 115, 47–64.
Bruxelles, L., Clarke, R.J., Maire, R., Ortega, R. & Stratford, D. (2014) Stratigraphic analysis of the Sterkfontein StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton and implications for its age. Journal of Human Evolution, 70, 36–48.
Bruxelles, L., Stratford, D.J., Maire, R., Pickering, T.R., Heaton, J.L., Beaudet, A. et al. (2019) A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 ‘little foot’ and member 2, Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 133, 78–98.
Carlson, K.J., Green, D.J., Jashashvili, T., Pickering, T.R., Heatons, J.L., Beaudet, A. et al. (2021) The pectoral girdle of StW 573 (‘little foot’) and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina. Journal of Human Evolution, 158, 102983. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102983
Clarke, R. (2013) Australopithecus from Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. In: The Paleobiology of Australopithecus. London: Springer, pp. 105–123.
Clarke, R.J. (1998) First ever discovery of a well‐preserved skull and associated skeleton of Australopithecus. South African Journal of Science, 94(10), 460–463.
Clarke, R.J. (1999) Discovery of complete arm and hand of the 3.3 million‐year‐old Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein. South African Journal of Science, 95, 477–480.
Clarke, R.J. (2002) Newly revealed information on the Sterkfontein member 2 Australopithecus skeleton: news & views. South African Journal of Science, 98(11), 523–526.
Clarke, R.J. (2008) Latest information on Sterkfontein's Australopithecus skeleton and a new look at Australopithecus: research in action. South African Journal of Science, 104(11), 443–449.
Clarke, R.J. (2019a) Excavation, reconstruction and taphonomy of the StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 127, 41–53.
Clarke, R.J. (2019b) Australopithecus prometheus was validly named on MLD 1. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 170(4), 479–481.
Clarke, R.J. & Kuman, K. (2019) The skull of StW 573, a 3.67 ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 134, 102634.
Clarke, R.J. & Tobias, P.V. (1995) Sterkfontein member 2 foot bones of the oldest south African hominid. Science, 269(5223), 521–524.
Claxton, A.G., Hammond, A.S., Romano, J., Oleinik, E. & DeSilva, J.M. (2016) Virtual reconstruction of the Australopithecus africanus pelvis Sts 65 with implications for obstetrics and locomotion. Journal of Human Evolution, 99, 10–24.
Crompton, R.H., McClymont, J., Elton, S., Thorpe, S., Sellers, W., Heaton, J. et al. (2022) StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus: its significance for an australopith bauplan. Folia Primatologica, 92(5–6), 243–275.
D'Anastasio, R., Zipfel, B., Moggi‐Cecchi, J., Stanyon, R. & Capasso, L. (2009) Possible brucellosis in an early hominin skeleton from Sterkfontein, South Africa. PLoS One, 4(7), e6439. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006439
d'Août, K., Vereecke, E., Schoonaert, K., De Clercq, D., Van Elsacker, L. & Aerts, P. (2004) Locomotion in bonobos (pan paniscus): differences and similarities between bipedal and quadrupedal terrestrial walking, and a comparison with other locomotor modes. Journal of Anatomy, 204(5), 353–361.
Deloison, Y. (2003) Fossil foot bones anatomy from South Africa between 2.4 and 3.5 my old. Interpretation in relation to the kind of locomotion. Biometrie de Humain Anthropologie, 21, 189–230.
Deloison, Y. (2004) A new hypothesis on the origin of hominoid locomotion. In: From biped to strider: the emergence of modern human walking, running, and resource transport. Boston, MA: Springer US, pp. 35–47.
Edelman, G.M. & Gally, J.A. (2001) Degeneracy and complexity in biological systems. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(24), 13763–13768.
Eyre, J., DeSilva, J.M., Semaw, S. & Williams, S.A. (2023) Unusual pubic bone morphology in AL 288‐1 (Australopithecus afarensis) and MH2 (Australopithecus sediba). American Journal of Biological Anthropology, 180(3), 573–582.
Fornai, C., Krenn, V.A., Mitteroecker, P., Webb, N.M. & Haeusler, M. (2021) Sacrum morphology supports taxonomic heterogeneity of “Australopithecus africanus” at Sterkfontein member 4. Communications Biology, 4(1), 347.
Gommery, D. & Thackeray, J.F. (2006) Sts 14, a male subadult partial skeleton of Australopithecus africanus? News & views. South African Journal of Science, 102(3), 91–92.
Granger, D.E., Gibbon, R.J., Kuman, K., Clarke, R.J., Bruxelles, L. & Caffee, M.W. (2015) New cosmogenic burial ages for Sterkfontein member 2 Australopithecus and member 5 Oldowan. Nature, 522(7554), 85–88.
Granger, D.E., Stratford, D., Bruxelles, L., Gibbon, R.J., Clarke, R.J. & Kuman, K. (2022) Cosmogenic nuclide dating of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 119(27), e2123516119.
Grine, F.E. (2019) The alpha taxonomy of Australopithecus at Sterkfontein: the postcranial evidence. Comptes Rendus Palevol, 18, 335–352.
Haeusler, M. (2002) New insights into the locomotion of Australopithecus africanus based on the pelvis. Evolutionary Anthropology: Issues, News, and Reviews: Issues, News, and Reviews, 11(S1), 53–57.
Haeusler, M. & Ruff, C.B. (2020) Pelvis. In: Hominin postcranial remains from Sterkfontein, South Africa, 1936–199. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 187–209.
Haile‐Selassie, Y., Saylor, B.Z., Deino, A., Levin, N.E., Alene, M. & Latimer, B.M. (2012) A new hominin foot from Ethiopia shows multiple Pliocene bipedal adaptations. Nature, 483(7391), 565–569.
Hammond, A.S. & Plavcan, J.M. (2013) Precision and accuracy of acetabular size measures in fragmentary hominin pelves obtained using sphere‐fitting techniques. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 150(4), 565–578.
Häusler, M. & Schmid, P. (1995) Comparison of the pelves of Sts 14 and A.L. 288‐1: implications for birth and sexual dimorphism in australopithecines. Journal of Human Evolution, 29, 363–383.
Heaton, J.L., Pickering, T.R., Carlson, K.J., Crompton, R.H., Jashashvili, T., Beaudet, A. et al. (2019) The long limb bones of the StW 573 Australopithecus skeleton from Sterkfontein member 2: descriptions and proportions. Journal of Human Evolution, 133, 167–197.
Johanson, D.C., Lovejoy, C.O., Kimbel, W.H., White, T.D., Ward, S.C., Bush, M.E. et al. (1982) Morphology of the Pliocene partial skeleton (A.L. 288‐1) from the Hadar formation, Ethiopia. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 57, 403–451.
Kibii, J.M., Churchill, S.F., Schmid, P., Carlson, K.J., Reed, N.D., de Ruiter, D.J. et al. (2011) A partial pelvis of Australopithecus sediba. Science, 333(6048), 1407–1411.
Kibii, J.M. & Clarke, R.J. (2003) A reconstruction of the Stw 431 Australopithecus pelvis based on newly discovered fragments: news and views. South African Journal of Science, 99(5), 225–226.
Kozma, E.E., Webb, N.M., Harcourt‐Smith, W.E., Raichlen, D.A., D'Août, K., Brown, M.H. et al. (2018) Hip extensor mechanics and the evolution of walking and climbing capabilities in humans, apes, and fossil hominins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(16), 4134–4139.
Kuman, K. (1994a) The archaeology of Sterkfontein—past and present. Journal of Human Evolution, 27(6), 471–495.
Kuman, K. (1994b) The archaeology of Sterkfontein: preliminary findings on site formation and cultural change. South African Journal of Science, 90(4), 215–219.
Kuman, K. & Clarke, R.J. (2000) Stratigraphy, artefact industries and hominid associations for Sterkfontein, member 5. Journal of Human Evolution, 38(6), 827–847.
Kuman, K. & Field, A.S. (2009) The Olduwan industry from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. In: The cutting edge: New approaches to the archaeology of human origins. Bloomington: Stone Age Institute Press, pp. 827–847.
Latash, M., Scholz, J. & Schöner, G. (2002) Motor control strategies revealed in the structure of motor variability. Exercise and Sports Science Review, 30, 26–31.
Leakey, M.D. (1987) Animal prints and trails. Laetoli: A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania, pp. 451–489.
Lovejoy, C.O., Suwa, G., Spurlock, L., Asfaw, B. & White, T.D. (2009) The pelvis and femur of Ardipithecus ramidus: the emergence of upright walking. Science, 326(5949), 71e1–6.
Macho, G., Fornai, C., Tardieu, C., Hopley, P., Haeusler, M. & Toussaint, M. (2020) The partial skeleton StW 431 from Sterkfontein–is it time to rethink the Plio‐Pleistocene hominin diversity in South Africa? Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 98, 73–88.
Manafzadeh, A.R. & Gatesy, S.M. (2021) Paleobiological reconstructions of articular function require all six degrees of freedom. Journal of Anatomy, 239(6), 1516–1524.
McClymont, J. & Crompton, R.H. (2021) Repetition without repetition: A comparison of the Laetoli G1, Ileret, Namibian Holocene and modern human footprints using pedobarographic statistical parametric mapping. In: Pastoors, A. & Lenssen‐Erz, T. (Eds.) Reading prehistoric human tracks, Berlin: Springer, p. 41.
McClymont, J., Davids, K. & Crompton, R.H. (2022) Variation, mosaicism and degeneracy in the hominin foot. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 4, e2.
McClymont, J., Pataky, T.C., Crompton, R.H., Savage, R. & Bates, K.T. (2016) The nature of functional variability in plantar pressure during a range of controlled walking speeds. Royal Society Open Science, 3(8), 160369.
McClymont, J., Savage, R., Pataky, T.C., Crompton, R., Charles, J. & Bates, K.T. (2021) Intra‐subject sample size effects in plantar pressure analyses. PeerJ, 9, e11660.
McHenry, H. & Jones, H.L. (2006) Hallucial convergence in early hominids. Journal of Human Evolution, 50, 534–539.
McHenry, H.M. (1975) The ischium and hip extensor mechanism in human evolution. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 43(1), 39–46.
McHenry, H.M. (1992) Body size and proportions in early hominids. American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 87(4), 407–431.
McNutt, E.J., Hatala, K.G., Miller, C., Adams, J., Casana, J., Deane, A.S. et al. (2021) Footprint evidence of early hominin locomotor diversity at Laetoli, Tanzania. Nature, 600, 468–471.
Napier, J.R. (1964) The evolution of bipedal walking in the hominids. Archives de Biologie, 75, 673–708.
Partridge, T.C., Granger, D.E., Caffee, M.W. & Clarke, R.J. (2003) Lower Pliocene hominid remains from Sterkfontein. Science, 300(5619), 607–612.
Pickering, T.R., Clarke, R.J. & Heaton, J.L. (2004) The context of Stw 573, an early hominid skull and skeleton from Sterkfontein member 2: Taphonomy and paleoenvironment. Journal of Human Evolution, 46(3), 277–295.
Pickering, T.R., Heaton, J.L., Clarke, R.J., Stratford, D. & Heile, A.J. (2021) Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein caves, South Africa (1998‐2003 excavations). South African Journal of Science, 117(1–2), 1–10.
Prang, T.C. (2019) The African ape‐like foot of Ardipithecus ramidus and its implications for the origin of bipedalism. eLife, 8, e44433. Available from: https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.44433.001
Robinson, J.T. (1972) Early hominid posture and locomotion. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ruff, C. (2010) Body size and body shape in early hominins–implications of the Gona pelvis. Journal of Human Evolution, 58(2), 166–178.
Ruff, C.B. & Walker, A. (1993) Body size and body shape. In: Walker, A. & Leakey, R. (Eds.) The nariokotome homo Erectus skeleton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 234–265.
Sigmon, B.A. (1974) A functional analysis of pongid hip and thigh musculature. Journal of Human Evolution, 3, 161–185.
Stratford, D. & Crompton, R. (2021) Introduction to special issue: a 3.67 ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein caves, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 158, 103008.
Tague, R.G. & Lovejoy, C.O. (1986) The obstetric pelvis of AL 288‐1 (Lucy). Journal of Human Evolution, 15(4), 237–255.
Thorpe, S.K.S., Holder, R. & Crompton, R.H. (2009) Orangutans employ unique strategies to control branch flexibility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA, 109, 12646–12651.
Torres‐Tamayo, N., García‐Martínez, D., Sanz‐Prieto, D., Sanchis‐Gimeno, J.A., Nalla, S., Villa, C. et al. (2021) New reconstruction of the pelvis of KNM‐WT 15000 supports a wide body shape for Early African H. erectus. Abstract, 11th Annual Meeting of the European Society for the Study of Human Evolution.
Tuttle, R. (1987) Kinesiological inferences and evolutionary implications from Laetoli bipedal trails G1, G2‐3 and A. In: Laetoli: A Pliocene Site in Northern Tanzania, pp. 503–523.
Venkataraman, V.V., Kraft, T.S. & Dominy, N.J. (2013) Tree climbing and human evolution. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 110(4), 1237–1242.
Vereecke, E., D'Août, K., De Clercq, D., Van Elsacker, L. & Aerts, P. (2003) Dynamic plantar pressure distribution during terrestrial locomotion of bonobos (Pan paniscus). American Journal of Physical Anthropology: The Official Publication of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists, 120(4), 373–383.
Wainwright, P.C. (1991) Ecomorphology: experimental functional anatomy for ecological problems. American Zoologist, 31(4), 680–693.
Walker, A. & Leakey, R.E.F. (1993) The postcranial bones. In: The Nariokotome Homo erectus skeleton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 95–160.
Walker, A. & Ruff, C.B. (1993) The reconstruction of the pelvis. In: The Nariokotome Homo erectus skeleton. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, pp. 91–92.
White, T.D., Black, M.T. & Folkens, P.A. (2012) Human osteology, Third edition. Oxford: Academic Press.
Wiseman, A.L. (2023) Three‐dimensional volumetric muscle reconstruction of the Australopithecus afarensis pelvis and limb, with estimations of limb leverage. Royal Society Open Science, 10(6), 230356.
Yates, L.B., Karasik, D., Beck, T.J., Cupples, L.A. & Kiel, D.P. (2007) Hip structural geometry in old and old‐old age: similarities and differences between men and women. Bone, 41(4), 722–732.