Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations)
We describe late Pliocene and early Pleistocene hominin fossils from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), including two femoral specimens, as well as a partial tibia and a partial fibula. The fossils are likely assignable to Australopithecus africanus and/or Australopithecus prometheus and the morphology of each corroborates previous interpretations of Sterkfontein hominins as at least facultative bipeds.SIGNIFICANCE: • A recent series of papers by our research team describes the morphology of a hominin skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), nicknamed 'Little Foot'. Based on its unique skull morphology, R.J. Clarke, the skeleton's discoverer, places it in the species Australopithecus prometheus, as distinct from the better-known and co-occurring Australopithecus africanus. Here we describe additional hominin thigh and leg fossils from Sterkfontein that, when considered in a comparative context, support the hypothesis that there was significant (probably interspecific) variation in South African hominin postcranial morphology during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene.
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Academy of Science of South Africa
2021
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532021000100018 |
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oai:scielo:S0038-235320210001000182021-03-02Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations)Pickering,Travis RayneHeaton,Jason L.Clarke,Ron J.Stratford,DominicHeile,A.J. Australopithecus femur tibia fibula We describe late Pliocene and early Pleistocene hominin fossils from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), including two femoral specimens, as well as a partial tibia and a partial fibula. The fossils are likely assignable to Australopithecus africanus and/or Australopithecus prometheus and the morphology of each corroborates previous interpretations of Sterkfontein hominins as at least facultative bipeds.SIGNIFICANCE: • A recent series of papers by our research team describes the morphology of a hominin skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), nicknamed 'Little Foot'. Based on its unique skull morphology, R.J. Clarke, the skeleton's discoverer, places it in the species Australopithecus prometheus, as distinct from the better-known and co-occurring Australopithecus africanus. Here we describe additional hominin thigh and leg fossils from Sterkfontein that, when considered in a comparative context, support the hypothesis that there was significant (probably interspecific) variation in South African hominin postcranial morphology during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene.Academy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science v.117 n.1-2 20212021-02-01journal articletext/htmlhttp://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532021000100018en |
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Pickering,Travis Rayne Heaton,Jason L. Clarke,Ron J. Stratford,Dominic Heile,A.J. |
| spellingShingle |
Pickering,Travis Rayne Heaton,Jason L. Clarke,Ron J. Stratford,Dominic Heile,A.J. Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| author_facet |
Pickering,Travis Rayne Heaton,Jason L. Clarke,Ron J. Stratford,Dominic Heile,A.J. |
| author_sort |
Pickering,Travis Rayne |
| title |
Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| title_short |
Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| title_full |
Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| title_fullStr |
Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Hominin lower limb bones from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| title_sort |
hominin lower limb bones from sterkfontein caves, south africa (1998-2003 excavations) |
| description |
We describe late Pliocene and early Pleistocene hominin fossils from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), including two femoral specimens, as well as a partial tibia and a partial fibula. The fossils are likely assignable to Australopithecus africanus and/or Australopithecus prometheus and the morphology of each corroborates previous interpretations of Sterkfontein hominins as at least facultative bipeds.SIGNIFICANCE: • A recent series of papers by our research team describes the morphology of a hominin skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves (South Africa), nicknamed 'Little Foot'. Based on its unique skull morphology, R.J. Clarke, the skeleton's discoverer, places it in the species Australopithecus prometheus, as distinct from the better-known and co-occurring Australopithecus africanus. Here we describe additional hominin thigh and leg fossils from Sterkfontein that, when considered in a comparative context, support the hypothesis that there was significant (probably interspecific) variation in South African hominin postcranial morphology during the late Pliocene and early Pleistocene. |
| publisher |
Academy of Science of South Africa |
| publishDate |
2021 |
| url |
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0038-23532021000100018 |
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