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DeSilva J, McNutt E, Benoit J, Zipfel B. One small step: A review of Plio‐Pleistocene hominin foot evolution. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168 Suppl 67:63-140. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23750] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2018] [Revised: 10/01/2018] [Accepted: 10/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy DeSilva
- Department of AnthropologyDartmouth College Hanover New Hampshire
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Ellison McNutt
- Department of AnthropologyDartmouth College Hanover New Hampshire
| | - Julien Benoit
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and School of GeosciencesUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
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Form and function of the human and chimpanzee forefoot: implications for early hominin bipedalism. Sci Rep 2016; 6:30532. [PMID: 27464580 PMCID: PMC4964565 DOI: 10.1038/srep30532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2016] [Accepted: 06/30/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
During bipedal walking, modern humans dorsiflex their forefoot at the metatarsophalangeal joints (MTPJs) prior to push off, which tightens the plantar soft tissues to convert the foot into a stiff propulsive lever. Particular features of metatarsal head morphology such as “dorsal doming” are thought to facilitate this stiffening mechanism. In contrast, chimpanzees are believed to possess MTPJ morphology that precludes high dorsiflexion excursions during terrestrial locomotion. The morphological affinity of the metatarsal heads has been used to reconstruct locomotor behavior in fossil hominins, but few studies have provided detailed empirical data to validate the assumed link between morphology and function at the MTPJs. Using three-dimensional kinematic and morphometric analyses, we show that humans push off with greater peak dorsiflexion angles at all MTPJs than do chimpanzees during bipedal and quadrupedal walking, with the greatest disparity occurring at MTPJ 1. Among MTPJs 2–5, both species exhibit decreasing peak angles from medial to lateral. This kinematic pattern is mirrored in the morphometric analyses of metatarsal head shape. Analyses of Australopithecus afarensis metatarsals reveal morphology intermediate between humans and chimpanzees, suggesting that this species used different bipedal push-off kinematics than modern humans, perhaps resulting in a less efficient form of bipedalism.
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Harcourt-Smith WEH, Throckmorton Z, Congdon KA, Zipfel B, Deane AS, Drapeau MSM, Churchill SE, Berger LR, DeSilva JM. The foot of Homo naledi. Nat Commun 2015; 6:8432. [PMID: 26439101 PMCID: PMC4600720 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms9432] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Accepted: 08/20/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Modern humans are characterized by a highly specialized foot that reflects our obligate bipedalism. Our understanding of hominin foot evolution is, although, hindered by a paucity of well-associated remains. Here we describe the foot of Homo naledi from Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, using 107 pedal elements, including one nearly-complete adult foot. The H. naledi foot is predominantly modern human-like in morphology and inferred function, with an adducted hallux, an elongated tarsus, and derived ankle and calcaneocuboid joints. In combination, these features indicate a foot well adapted for striding bipedalism. However, the H. naledi foot differs from modern humans in having more curved proximal pedal phalanges, and features suggestive of a reduced medial longitudinal arch. Within the context of primitive features found elsewhere in the skeleton, these findings suggest a unique locomotor repertoire for H. naledi, thus providing further evidence of locomotor diversity within both the hominin clade and the genus Homo.
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Affiliation(s)
- W. E. H. Harcourt-Smith
- Department of Anthropology, Lehman College CUNY, 250 Bedford Park Boulevard W, Bronx, New York 10468, USA
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, CPW @ W. 79th Street, New York, New York 10024, USA
- Department of Anthropology, City University of New York Graduate Center, 365 5th Avenue, New York, New York 10016, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - Z. Throckmorton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anatomy, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, Tennessee 37724, USA
| | - K. A. Congdon
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Southern Utah University, 351W Center Street, Cedar City, Utah 84720, USA
| | - B. Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - A. S. Deane
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, MN 224 UK Medical Center, Lexington, Kemtucky 40536, USA
| | - M. S. M. Drapeau
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, Quebec H3C 3J7, Canada
| | - S. E. Churchill
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, 104 Biological Sciences Building, Box 90383, Durham, North Carolina 27708, USA
| | - L. R. Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
| | - J. M. DeSilva
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre for Excellence in Palaeosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, Johannesburg 2050, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire 03775, USA
- Department of Anthropology, Boston University, 232 Bay State Road, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, USA
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