Because of its exceptional degree of preservation and its geological age of ∼3.67 Ma, StW 573 makes an invaluable contribution to our understanding of early hominin evolution and paleobiology. The ...morphology of the bony labyrinth has the potential to provide information about extinct primate taxonomic diversity, phylogenetic relationships and locomotor behaviour. In this context, we virtually reconstruct and comparatively assess the bony labyrinth morphology in StW 573. As comparative material, we investigate 17 southern African hominin specimens from Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Makapansgat (plus published data from two specimens from Kromdraai B), attributed to Australopithecus, early Homo or Paranthropus, as well as 10 extant human and 10 extant chimpanzee specimens. We apply a landmark-based geometric morphometric method for quantitatively assessing labyrinthine morphology. Morphology of the inner ear in StW 573 most closely resembles that of another Australopithecus individual from Sterkfontein, StW 578, recovered from the Jacovec Cavern. Within the limits of our sample, we observe a certain degree of morphological variation in the Australopithecus assemblage of Sterkfontein Member 4. Cochlear morphology in StW 573 is similar to that of other Australopithecus as well as to Paranthropus specimens included in this study, but it is substantially different from early Homo. Interestingly, the configuration of semicircular canals in Paranthropus specimens from Swartkrans differs from other fossil hominins, including StW 573. Given the role of the cochlea in the sensory-driven interactions with the surrounding environment, our results offer new perspectives for interpreting early hominin behaviour and ecology. Finally, our study provides additional evidence for discussing the phylogenetic polarity of labyrinthine traits in southern African hominins.
One of the most crucial debates in human paleoneurology concerns the timing and mode of the emergence of the derived cerebral features in the hominin fossil record. Given its exceptional degree of ...preservation and geological age (i.e., 3.67 Ma), StW 573 (‘Little Foot’) has the potential to shed new light on hominin brain evolution. Here we present the first detailed comparative description of the external neuroanatomy of StW 573. The endocast was virtually reconstructed and compared to ten southern African hominin specimens from Makapansgat, Malapa, Sterkfontein and Swartkrans attributed to Australopithecus and Paranthropus. We apply an automatic method for the detection of sulcal and vascular imprints. The endocranial surface of StW 573 is crushed and plastically deformed in a number of locations. The uncorrected and therefore minimum cranial capacity estimate is 408 cm3 and plots at the lower end of Australopithecus variation. The endocast of StW 573 approximates the rostrocaudally elongated and dorsoventrally flattened endocranial shape seen in Australopithecus and displays a distinct left occipital petalia. StW 573 and the comparative early hominin specimens share a similar sulcal pattern in the inferior region of the frontal lobes that also resembles the pattern observed in extant chimpanzees. The presumed lunate sulcus in StW 573 is located above the sigmoid sinus, as in extant chimpanzees, while it is more caudally positioned in SK 1585 and StW 505. The middle branch of the middle meningeal vessels derives from the anterior branch, as in MH 1, MLD 37/38, StW 578. Overall, the cortical anatomy of StW 573 displays a less derived condition compared to the late Pliocene/early Pleistocene southern African hominins (e.g., StW 505, SK 1585).
Functional morphology of the atlas reflects multiple aspects of an organism's biology. More specifically, its shape indicates patterns of head mobility, while the size of its vascular foramina ...reflects blood flow to the brain. Anatomy and function of the early hominin atlas, and thus, its evolutionary history, are poorly documented because of a paucity of fossilized material. Meticulous excavation, cleaning and high-resolution micro-CT scanning of the StW 573 ('Little Foot') skull has revealed the most complete early hominin atlas yet found, having been cemented by breccia in its displaced and flipped over position on the cranial base anterolateral to the foramen magnum. Description and landmark-free morphometric analyses of the StW 573 atlas, along with other less complete hominin atlases from Sterkfontein (StW 679) and Hadar (AL 333-83), confirm the presence of an arboreal component in the positional repertoire of Australopithecus. Finally, assessment of the cross-sectional areas of the transverse foramina of the atlas and the left carotid canal in StW 573 further suggests there may have been lower metabolic costs for cerebral tissues in this hominin than have been attributed to extant humans and may support the idea that blood perfusion of these tissues increased over the course of hominin evolution.
Pickering et al. (Nature 2018;565:226–229) utilised calcium carbonate flowstone deposits (i.e. speleothems) from eight Pliocene and Pleistocene South African Cradle of Humankind cave sites to propose ...that biases were created within the fossil record due to absent clastic sedimentation phases during wet periods, when caves were closed and only speleothems accumulated. Such a scenario has significant implications for our understanding of variability in hominin mobility, resource exploitation, functional repertoires and interactions with competitors in changing environmental and ecological contexts. We find considerable issues with the article. First, Pickering et al.’s contribution omits crucial fossil evidence from various stratigraphic units of the Sterkfontein Caves that indicates conditions were not always arid when the caves were open and sediments were deposited. Second, Pickering et al.’s proposal that clastic and speleothemic deposits (including faunal and floral material) form mutually exclusively is an overly simplified, binary depositional (and in this case environmental) framework that demonstrates an inherent bias in the sampling of cave deposits for dating. This creates the impression that either speleothems or clastic sediments are deposited and does not take into account the full spectrum of sedimentary complexity in karst caves. Third, closure of the caves across the Cradle of Humankind landscape during wet periods is not substantiated geomorphologically or speleologically; identification of the responsible process is critical to the proposed infilling scenario.Significance:• We propose that Pickering et al.’s interpretation of the environmental context of the South African early hominin record is problematic in that it omits crucial faunal and floral fossil evidence associating hominins with non-arid climates, is geomorphologically unsupported, and perpetuates biases against temporally and climatically representative clastic sediments due to challenges related to their dating.
StW573, or ‘Little Foot’, is a nearly complete Australopithecus skeleton discovered in 1997, in Member 2 of the Sterkfontein Formation – the oldest fossil-bearing member of the cave. The importance ...of StW573 lies not only in its completeness, which provides comprehensive anatomical and locomotor information on one individual, but also in its age and phylogenetic relationships with other hominid species. The age of StW573 was first suggested to be about 3.5 Ma based on its deep stratigraphic position and the absence of any other hominid fossils which are so abundant in the higher Member deposits. McKee argued on faunal grounds that it should be younger, but Tobias and Clarke countered his arguments. Berger et al.even suggested that StW573 ‘may be as young as 1.07–1.95 Ma’. Their arguments were comprehensively countered by Clarke. A date of 4.17±0.35 Ma was based on cosmogenic burial dating of the breccia in which the skeleton was found. Dating has also been applied to calcite speleothems found in close proximity to the skeleton, but careful stratigraphic mapping refined and expanded in Bruxelles et al. shows that the speleothems postdate the skeleton and thus cannot be used to determine more than a minimum age for the specimen.
Zusammenfassung: Die auf der Hochebene Causse du Larzac gelegene Siedlung von Soulages liefert ein bislang unbekanntes Beispiel für eine ländliche Ansiedlung in mittlerer Höhenlage, die sich zwischen ...dem 6. und 9. Jahrhundert n. Chr. entwickelte. Die Hinterlassenschaften umfassen den gesamten Siedlungsbereich, sowie Gräber der Bewohner. Innerhalb der Ansiedlung waren die Gebäude nach ihrer Funktion angeordnet: die Nebengebäude waren in mit Palisaden umgebenen Bereichen gruppiert, das Hauptwohngebäude lag abgetrennt in höherer Lage. Neben der Lage innerhalb der Ansiedlung ermöglicht es auch die Untersuchung der Bautechniken und der verwendeten Baumaterialien, das Hauptwohngebäude von den Nebengebäuden durch die Verwendung von Stein zu unterscheiden, wobei die Nebengebäude hauptsächlich mit Holzgerüsten und Lehmwänden errichtet wurden. Unter den Bestattungen sind früh verstorbene Kleinkinder überrepräsentiert. Diese Art von Siedlung hat sehr wenig Artefakte geliefert, die jedoch das Leben einer Gemeinschaft in einem neugegründeten Weiler dokumentieren.
El yacimiento de Soulages, situado en la meseta calcárea del Larzac, ilustra, por primera vez en este sector de media montaña, una ocupación rural que se desarrolla entre los siglos VI y IX. Los ...restos se organizan en un espacio que agrupa el conjunto de los lugares de vida, mezclados con las sepulturas de los habitantes. En el seno de este espacio, los edificios se reparten según su función: los anexos están agrupados en sectores rodeados por una palizada y la casa principal se halla aislada y a una mayor altura. Más allá de la localización de las construcciones, el análisis de las técnicas de construcción y de los materiales utilizados permite también diferenciar la casa principal de los edificios anexos mediante el uso de la piedra, en lo que concierne a la primera, y el empleo de estructuras portantes de madera y muros de tierra cruda principalmente, para los segundos. En lo que se refiere a las inhumaciones, los niños fallecidos en edad temprana están sobrerrepresentados. Este tipo de ocupación proporciona escasos objetos que documentan la vida de una comunidad instalada ex nihilo.
This article presents some findings from the French-Moroccan archaeological mission to Siğilmāsa. Given the poor preservation and visibility of the archaeological remains, which makes their ...interpretation particularly difficult, we first proposed a geomorphological study of the site. This was then completed by geoarchaeological test pits in order to better understand the topography of the site. The observation of two different qualities of «pisé», one orange and one gray, together with direct radiocarbon dating, suggests some technological evolution of the construction material and enables us to place it in a clear stratigraphic framework. Finally, we posited the existence of a relationship between the process of site formation and availability of the raw materials (gravel, loam, earth…) used in different pisés observed.
Located on the plateau of Larzac, the site of Soulages testifies, for the first time in a low mountain area, a rural settlement which expand from the 6th to the 9th century. The remains are organised ...in an area that groups together all living quarters, mixed with the burials of the inhabitants. Within this area, the buildings are divided by activity: the service buildings are gathered in areas surrounded by a palisade, the main house is secluded above them. In addition to the locations of the buildings, the study of the construction techniques and materials also makes it possible to distinguish the main dwelling house from the service buildings, with the use of stone for the former and the use of wooden load-bearing structures and earthen walls for the latter. Among the burials, young children are over-represented. This kind of settlement yields few material remains documenting the life of a community settled ex nihilo.
This research presents the stratigraphie analysis of the fossil and artefact-bearing Name Chamber deposits at Sterkfontein, in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, South Africa. Two allogenic ...deposits have filled into the Name Chamber and formed four talus slopes documenting a long history of sediment movement through the Sterkfontein cave system. The depositional regime of the allogenic deposits can be described as a multi-phase, multi-destination redeposition of sediments through a long, narrow and vertical articulating shaft from the now surface-exposed Member 5 deposits in the upper gallery into the lower gallery Name Chamber, during and after the formation of the Member 5 Oldowan-bearing deposit. This regime has resulted in a proportion of the <20 mm component of the Sterkfontein Oldowan assemblage being disassociated from its original depositional context and redistributed much deeper into the cave system. Filtration processes active in the Feeding Shaft have further influenced the resultant faunal and archaeological assemblage profiles. The complex depositional processes influencing the movement of sediments from Member 5 into the Name Chamber are typical of cave sites and illustrate the value of detailed stratigraphie work in sourcing, tracking and understanding faunal and archaeological assemblages from these challenging contexts.
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