Research: New Postcranial Fossils of Australopithecus Afarensis and A. anamensis

研究：南方古猿阿法种和南方古猿新颅后化石

• 批准号: 9601025
• 负责人: Carol Ward
• 金额: $ 5.02万
• 依托单位: University of Missouri-Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-08-01 至 2001-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9601025&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Research; New; Postcranial; Fossils; Australopithecus

The purpose of this study is to describe and analyze new fossils of the earliest human ancestors. These fossils include numerous torso and limb bones of at least two species, Australopithecus afarensis and Australopithecus anamensis, from Ethiopia and Kenya. These new postcranial fossils will reveal adaptations to posture and locomotion in these early hominids. Thirty-seven new postcranial bones of A. afarensis have been discovered from Hadar, Ethiopia, dated to about 3.5 - 3 million years ago. These fossils include the first-known A. afarensis lunate; talus of a large A. afarensis individual, associated early australopithecine ulna and metacarpals, and many other discoveries. In Kenya, a partial hand skeleton and associated toe phalanx of Australopithecus sp. indet were recovered from South Turkwel, West Turkana, and are dated to a similar time period. These are the first associated hand bones known for any early australopithecine. The Kenyan team also has recently discovered the first tibia and phalanx of the earliest known australopithecine species, Australopithecus anamensis from Kanapoi, dated to 4.0 mya. These new fossils will help resolve debate over the nature of early hominid locomotion. Paleoanthropologists agree that the first major adaptive shift of our earliest ancestors was the adoption of upright, bipedal locomotion. However, considerable debate remains about how important arboreality remained for the earliest hominids. An accurate interpretation of the locomotor behavior of our earliest ancestors is critical for understanding human origins. The proposed study will provide novel information about early hominid locomotor adaptations because it provides (1) New A. afarensis fossils from anatomical regions and functional complexes not previously sampled, (2) New fossils of the earliest australopithecine species, A. anamensis, (3) First analyses of the proportions and certain regions of the A. afarensis forelimb which have never been analyzed in detail, and (4) A consideration of the developmental basis of anatomical features when interpreting locomotor behavior. Objectives of the proposed research are to: (1) Provide detailed anatomical descriptions and photographs of all new fossils, (2) Collect extensive standard metric, nonmetric, and long bone shaft cross-sectional data that reflect locomotor adaptation on a large sample of australopithecine, modern human and ape skeletons, (3) Conduct a pilot study on the anatomy of muscle insertions and its effect on the development of muscle scars on bones in apes and hominids, and (4) Test hypotheses of locomotion in A. afarensis, A. anamensis and other australopithecine species to assess locomotor evolution in our earliest ancestors.

这项研究的目的是描述和分析人类最早祖先的新化石。这些化石包括至少两个物种的大量躯干和四肢骨骼，分别是来自埃塞俄比亚和肯尼亚的南方古猿和南方古猿。这些新的颅后化石将揭示这些早期原始人对姿势和运动的适应。在埃塞俄比亚的哈达尔发现了37块新的阿法尔人的头骨，可以追溯到大约350万到300万年前。这些化石包括第一个已知的阿法斯新月化石；一个大型阿法斯人的距骨；与早期南方古猿尺骨和掌骨相关的距骨，以及许多其他发现。在肯尼亚，南方古猿的部分手部骨骼和相关的脚趾指骨。INDET是在西图尔卡纳的南图尔克韦尔发现的，可以追溯到类似的时期。这是已知的早期南方古猿中第一块与之相关的手骨。肯尼亚团队最近还发现了已知最早的南方古猿物种的第一块胫骨和指骨，这是来自卡纳波伊的南方古猿，可以追溯到4.0万年前。这些新化石将有助于解决关于早期人类运动本质的争论。古人类学家一致认为，我们最早的祖先的第一个重大适应性转变是采用直立的两足行走。然而，关于树生现实对最早的原始人来说有多重要，仍然存在相当大的争论。准确地解释我们最早的祖先的运动行为对于理解人类的起源至关重要。这项拟议的研究将提供关于早期原始人运动适应的新信息，因为它提供了(1)来自以前未采样的解剖区域和功能复合体的新的阿法尔人化石，(2)最早的南方古猿物种的新化石，(3)首次分析了阿法尔人前肢的比例和某些从未被详细分析的区域，以及(4)在解释运动行为时考虑了解剖特征的发育基础。拟议研究的目标是：(1)提供所有新化石的详细解剖学描述和照片，(2)收集反映运动适应的大量南方古猿、现代人和类人猿骨骼的标准、非测量和长骨切片数据，(3)对类人猿和类人猿骨骼中肌肉附着点的解剖及其对骨骼上肌肉疤痕形成的影响进行初步研究，以及(4)测试阿法尔猿、阿纳姆猿和其他南猿物种的运动假说，以评估我们最早的祖先的运动进化。