1
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Beaudet A. The Australopithecus assemblage from Sterkfontein Member 4 (South Africa) and the concept of variation in palaeontology. Evol Anthropol 2023. [PMID: 36632711 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21972] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2022] [Accepted: 12/17/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
Interpreting morphological variation within the early hominin fossil record is particularly challenging. Apart from the fact that there is no absolute threshold for defining species boundaries in palaeontology, the degree of variation related to sexual dimorphism, temporal depth, geographic variation or ontogeny is difficult to appreciate in a fossil taxon mainly represented by fragmentary specimens, and such variation could easily be conflated with taxonomic diversity. One of the most emblematic examples in paleoanthropology is the Australopithecus assemblage from the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa. Whereas some studies support the presence of multiple Australopithecus species at Sterkfontein, others explore alternative hypotheses to explain the morphological variation within the hominin assemblage. In this review, I briefly summarize the ongoing debates surrounding the interpretation of morphological variation at Sterkfontein Member 4 before exploring two promising avenues that would deserve specific attention in the future, that is, temporal depth and nonhuman primate diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.,School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.,Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Sabadell, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
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2
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Grine FE, Mongle CS, Fleagle JG, Hammond AS. The taxonomic attribution of African hominin postcrania from the Miocene through the Pleistocene: Associations and assumptions. J Hum Evol 2022; 173:103255. [PMID: 36375243 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2022.103255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 08/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Postcranial bones may provide valuable information about fossil taxa relating to their locomotor habits, manipulative abilities and body sizes. Distinctive features of the postcranial skeleton are sometimes noted in species diagnoses. Although numerous isolated postcranial fossils have become accepted by many workers as belonging to a particular species, it is worthwhile revisiting the evidence for each attribution before including them in comparative samples in relation to the descriptions of new fossils, functional analyses in relation to particular taxa, or in evolutionary contexts. Although some workers eschew the taxonomic attribution of postcranial fossils as being less important (or interesting) than interpreting their functional morphology, it is impossible to consider the evolution of functional anatomy in a taxonomic and phylogenetic vacuum. There are 21 widely recognized hominin taxa that have been described from sites in Africa dated from the Late Miocene to the Middle Pleistocene; postcranial elements have been attributed to 17 of these. The bones that have been thus assigned range from many parts of a skeleton to isolated elements. However, the extent to which postcranial material can be reliably attributed to a specific taxon varies considerably from site to site and species to species, and is often the subject of considerable debate. Here, we review the postcranial remains attributed to African hominin taxa from the Late Miocene to the Middle and Late Pleistocene and place these assignations into categories of reliability. The catalog of attributions presented here may serve as a guide for making taxonomic decisions in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frederick E Grine
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA.
| | - Carrie S Mongle
- Department of Anthropology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA; Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; Turkana Basin Institute, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - John G Fleagle
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364, USA
| | - Ashley S Hammond
- Division of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA; New York Consortium of Evolutionary Primatology (NYCEP), New York, NY 10024, USA
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3
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Abstract
Sterkfontein is the most prolific single source of Australopithecus fossils, the vast majority of which were recovered from Member 4, a cave breccia now exposed by erosion and weathering at the landscape surface. A few other Australopithecus fossils, including the StW 573 skeleton, come from subterranean deposits [T. C. Partridge et al., Science 300, 607-612 (2003); R. J. Clarke, K. Kuman, J. Hum. Evol. 134, 102634 (2019)]. Here, we report a cosmogenic nuclide isochron burial date of 3.41 ± 0.11 million years (My) within the lower middle part of Member 4, and simple burial dates of 3.49 ± 0.19 My in the upper middle part of Member 4 and 3.61 ± 0.09 My in Jacovec Cavern. Together with a previously published isochron burial date of 3.67 ± 0.16 My for StW 573 [D. E. Granger et al., Nature 522, 85-88 (2015)], these results place nearly the entire Australopithecus assemblage at Sterkfontein in the mid-Pliocene, contemporaneous with Australopithecus afarensis in East Africa. Our ages for the fossil-bearing breccia in Member 4 are considerably older than the previous ages of ca. 2.1 to 2.6 My interpreted from flowstones associated with the same deposit. We show that these previously dated flowstones are stratigraphically intrusive within Member 4 and that they therefore underestimate the true age of the fossils.
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4
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Beaudet A, Dumoncel J, Heaton JL, Pickering TR, Clarke RJ, Carlson KJ, Bam L, Van Hoorebeke L, Stratford D. Shape analysis of the StW 578 calotte from Jacovec Cavern, Gauteng (South Africa). S AFR J SCI 2022. [DOI: 10.17159/sajs.2022/11743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
The fossiliferous deposits within the lower-lying Jacovec Cavern in the locality of Sterkfontein yielded valuable hominin remains, including the StW 578 specimen. Because StW 578 mainly preserves the calotte, the taxonomic status of this specimen has been a matter of discussion. Within this context, here we employed high-resolution microtomography and a landmark-free registration method to explore taxonomically diagnostic features in the external surface of the StW 578 calotte. Our comparative sample included adult humans and common chimpanzees as well as one Australopithecus africanus specimen (Sts 5). We partially restored the StW 578 calotte digitally and compared it to extant specimens and Sts 5 using a landmark-free registration based on smooth and invertible surface deformation. Our comparative shape analysis reveals morphological differences with extant humans, especially in the frontal bones, and with extant chimpanzees, as well as intriguing specificities in the morphology of the StW 578 parietal bones. Lastly, our study suggests morphological proximity between StW 578 and Sts 5. Given the intimate relationship between the brain and the braincase, as well as the integration of the hominin face and neurocranium, we suggest that cranial vault shape differences between StW 578 and extant humans, if confirmed by further analyses, could be either explained by differences in brain surface morphology or in the face. Besides providing additional information about the morphology of the Jacovec calotte that will be useful in future taxonomic discussion, this study introduces a new protocol for the landmark-free analysis of fossil hominin cranial shape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amélie Beaudet
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Catalan Institute of Palaeontology Miquel Crusafont, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jean Dumoncel
- French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Paris, France
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham- Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama, USA
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
| | - Travis R. Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum of Natural History, Pretoria, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Ronald J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Kristian J. Carlson
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, California, USA
| | - Lunga Bam
- South African Nuclear Energy Corporation (Necsa), Pelindaba, South Africa
| | - Luc Van Hoorebeke
- UCGT Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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5
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Abstract
The earliest South African hominids (humans and their ancestral kin) belong to the genera Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo, with the oldest being a ca. 3.67 million-year-old nearly complete skeleton of Australopithecus (StW 573) from Sterkfontein Caves. This skeleton has provided, for the first time in almost a century of research, the full anatomy of an Australopithecus individual with indisputably associated skull and postcranial bones that give complete limb lengths. The three genera are also found in East Africa, but scholars have disagreed on the taxonomic assignment for some fossils owing to historical preconceptions. Here we focus on the South African representatives to help clarify these debates. The uncovering of the StW 573 skeleton in situ revealed significant clues concerning events that had affected it over time and demonstrated that the associated stalagmite flowstones cannot provide direct dating of the fossil, as they are infillings of voids caused by postdepositional collapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronald J. Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Travis Rayne Pickering
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA
| | - Jason L. Heaton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama 35254, USA
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS 2050 Johannesburg, South Africa
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Stratford D, Crompton R. Introduction to special issue StW 573: A 3.67 Ma Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa-An introduction to the special issue. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:103008. [PMID: 33933277 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.103008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, WITS, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
| | - Robin Crompton
- Department of Musculoskeletal and Ageing Science, Institute of Life Course & Medical Sciences, and School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, University of Liverpool, The William Henry Duncan Building, 6 West Derby Street, Liverpool, L7 8TX, UK
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Carlson KJ, Green DJ, Jashashvili T, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Beaudet A, Stratford D, Crompton R, Kuman K, Bruxelles L, Clarke RJ. The pectoral girdle of StW 573 ('Little Foot') and its implications for shoulder evolution in the Hominina. J Hum Evol 2021; 158:102983. [PMID: 33888323 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2021.102983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2020] [Revised: 02/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/23/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
The ca. 3.67 Ma adult skeleton known as 'Little Foot' (StW 573), recovered from Sterkfontein Member 2 breccia in the Silberberg Grotto, is remarkable for its morphology and completeness. Preservation of clavicles and scapulae, including essentially complete right-side elements, offers opportunities to assess morphological and functional aspects of a nearly complete Australopithecus pectoral girdle. Here we describe the StW 573 pectoral girdle and offer quantitative comparisons to those of extant hominoids and selected homininans. The StW 573 pectoral girdle combines features intermediate between those of humans and other apes: a long and curved clavicle, suggesting a relatively dorsally positioned scapula; an enlarged and uniquely proportioned supraspinous fossa; a relatively cranially oriented glenoid fossa; and ape-like reinforcement of the axillary margin by a stout ventral bar. StW 573 scapulae are as follows: smaller than those of some homininans (i.e., KSD-VP-1/1 and KNM-ER 47000A), larger than others (i.e., A.L. 288-1, Sts 7, and MH2), and most similar in size to another australopith from Sterkfontein, StW 431. Moreover, StW 573 and StW 431 exhibit similar structural features along their axillary margins and inferior angles. As the StW 573 pectoral girdle (e.g., scapular configuration) has a greater affinity to that of apes-Gorilla in particular-rather than modern humans, we suggest that the StW 573 morphological pattern appears to reflect adaptations to arboreal behaviors, especially those with the hand positioned above the head, more than human-like manipulatory capabilities. When compared with less complete pectoral girdles from middle/late Miocene apes and that of the penecontemporaneous KSD-VP-1/1 (Australopithecus afarensis), and mindful of consensus views on the adaptiveness of arboreal positional behaviors soliciting abducted glenohumeral joints in early Pliocene taxa, we propose that the StW 573 pectoral girdle is a reasonable model for hypothesizing pectoral girdle configuration of the crown hominin last common ancestor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristian J Carlson
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa.
| | - David J Green
- Department of Anatomy, Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine, Buies Creek, NC 27506, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
| | - Tea Jashashvili
- Department of Integrative Anatomical Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90033, USA; Department of Geology and Paleontology, Georgian National Museum, Tbilisi 0105, Georgia
| | - Travis R Pickering
- Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Jason L Heaton
- Department of Biology, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, AL 35254, USA; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa; Plio-Pleistocene Palaeontology Section, Department of Vertebrates, Ditsong National Museum, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa; Department of Anatomy, University of Pretoria, PO Box 2034, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Robin Crompton
- Department of Musculoskeletal Biology, Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L7 8TX, UK
| | - Kathleen Kuman
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Laurent Bruxelles
- TRACES, UMR 5608 of the French National Centre for Scientific Research, Jean Jaurès University, 31058 Toulouse, France; French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches (INRAP), 30900 Nîmes, France; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050 South Africa
| | - Ronald J Clarke
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Johannesburg WITS 2050, South Africa
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Murszewski A, Boschian G, Herries AI. Complexities of assessing palaeocave stratigraphy: reconstructing site formation of the ∼2.61 Ma Drimolen Makondo fossil site. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10360. [PMID: 33391865 PMCID: PMC7759135 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10360] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Palaeocave sites in South Africa are world renowned repositories for palaeontological and archaeological material, dating from the terminal Pliocene to the Early Pleistocene. Due to their antiquity, complex karstification history and multifaceted infilling phases, palaeocave sites are notoriously difficult to contextualise. Further to this, 19th century lime-mining and diverse excavation and sampling techniques, have complicated stratigraphic interpretations of fossil-bearing deposits within the region. Locating and assessing newly discovered, minimally disturbed palaeocave sites allow for contextual information to be gathered with greater confidence and can aid in constructing a more robust understanding of the South African fossil record. Here, we use Drimolen Makondo; a minimally lime-mined ∼2.61 Ma palaeontological site, to apply a series of in-depth stratigraphic and micromorphological studies. Contextual data presented within this study, testifies to a relatively rapid infill with greater fluvial activity when compared to adjacent deposits at the younger ∼2.04-1.95 Ma Drimolen Main Quarry. The quantity of articulated macromammalian remains, high density of micromammalian remains and pollen identified, also highlights Drimolen Makondo as a key site for ongoing palaeoenvironmental studies at the Pliocene to Pleistocene transition in South Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Murszewski
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - Giovanni Boschian
- Biology Department, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa
| | - Andy I.R. Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
- Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Auckland Park, Gauteng, South Africa
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9
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Bruxelles L, Stratford DJ, Maire R, Pickering TR, Heaton JL, Beaudet A, Kuman K, Crompton R, Carlson KJ, Jashashvili T, McClymont J, Leader GM, Clarke RJ. A multiscale stratigraphic investigation of the context of StW 573 ‘Little Foot’ and Member 2, Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 133:78-98. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2019.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 05/16/2019] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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10
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Clarke RJ. Excavation, reconstruction and taphonomy of the StW 573 Australopithecus prometheus skeleton from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2019; 127:41-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2018] [Revised: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 11/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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11
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The endocast of StW 573 (“Little Foot”) and hominin brain evolution. J Hum Evol 2019; 126:112-123. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2018] [Revised: 11/09/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
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Berger LR, Hawks J. Australopithecus prometheus
is a
nomen nudum. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY 2018; 168:383-387. [DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2018] [Revised: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 10/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Lee R. Berger
- Evolutionary Studies InstituteUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
| | - John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies InstituteUniversity of the Witwatersrand Johannesburg South Africa
- AnthropologyUniversity of Wisconsin Wisconsin
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13
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‘Little Foot’ hominin emerges from stone after millions of years. Nature 2018; 564:169-170. [DOI: 10.1038/d41586-018-07651-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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14
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Beaudet A, Carlson KJ, Clarke RJ, de Beer F, Dhaene J, Heaton JL, Pickering TR, Stratford D. Cranial vault thickness variation and inner structural organization in the StW 578 hominin cranium from Jacovec Cavern, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2018; 121:204-220. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.04.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/04/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Hominin hand bone fossils from Sterkfontein Caves, South Africa (1998–2003 excavations). J Hum Evol 2018; 118:89-102. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2018.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2017] [Revised: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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16
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Bruxelles L, Maire R, Beaudet A, Couzens R, Duranthon F, Fourvel JB, Stratford D, Thackeray F, Braga J. RETRACTED: The revised stratigraphy of the hominin-bearing site of Kromdraai (Gauteng, South Africa) and associated perspectives. J Hum Evol 2018; 114:1-19. [PMID: 29447752 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2017.09.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2017] [Revised: 09/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (http://www.elsevier.com/locate/withdrawalpolicy). This article has been retracted at the request of the co-Editors-in-Chief and the authors. The Results and Discussion of this article duplicate significant parts of book chapter "A revised stratigraphy of Kromdraai", published by L.B., R.M., R.C., F.T. and J.B. in Braga, J. and Thackeray, J.F. (Eds.), "Kromdraai. A Birthplace of Paranthropus in the Cradle of Humankind" (2016, SUN MeDIA MeTRO, pp. 31-47), https://doi.org/10.18820/9781928355076. One of the conditions of submission of a paper to Journal of Human Evolution is that authors declare explicitly that that their work is original and has not been published previously. Reuse of any data should be appropriately cited. As such this article represents an abuse of the scientific publishing system. The scientific community takes a very strong view on this matter and apologies are offered to readers of the journal that this was not detected during the submission process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laurent Bruxelles
- French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Researches (INRAP), Nîmes, France; French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), USR 3336 CNRS, 62 Juta Street, 2001, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Richard Maire
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; ADES, UMR 5195 CNRS, University of Bordeaux 3, Esplanade des Antilles, Pessac, France
| | - Amélie Beaudet
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Raymond Couzens
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Francis Duranthon
- Natural History Museum of Toulouse Metropolis, 35 Allées Jules Guesde, 3100 Toulouse, France
| | - Jean-Baptiste Fourvel
- University of Toulouse, UMR 5608 Du CNRS (TRACES), Maison de La Recherche, 5 Allées Antonio Matchado, F-31058 Toulouse, France
| | - Dominic Stratford
- School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Francis Thackeray
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag 3, Wits, 2050, South Africa
| | - José Braga
- Computer-assisted Palaeoanthropology Team, UMR 5288 CNRS, University of Paul Sabatier, 37 Allées Jules Guesde, 3100 Toulouse, France; Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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Stratford DJ. The Sterkfontein Caves after Eighty Years of Paleoanthropological Research: The Journey Continues. AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/aman.12982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Justin Stratford
- Department of Archaeology, School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies; University of the Witwatersrand; Johanneburg South Africa
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Dirks PH, Roberts EM, Hilbert-Wolf H, Kramers JD, Hawks J, Dosseto A, Duval M, Elliott M, Evans M, Grün R, Hellstrom J, Herries AI, Joannes-Boyau R, Makhubela TV, Placzek CJ, Robbins J, Spandler C, Wiersma J, Woodhead J, Berger LR. The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa. eLife 2017; 6. [PMID: 28483040 PMCID: PMC5423772 DOI: 10.7554/elife.24231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
New ages for flowstone, sediments and fossil bones from the Dinaledi Chamber are presented. We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently by dating three H. naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of 222Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth of 253 +82/–70 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70/–61 ka. We consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphology. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24231.001 Species of ancient humans and the extinct relatives of our ancestors are typically described from a limited number of fossils. However, this was not the case with Homo naledi. More than 1500 fossils representing at least 15 individuals of this species were unearthed from the Rising Star cave system in South Africa between 2013 and 2014. Found deep underground in the Dinaledi Chamber, the H. naledi fossils are the largest collection of a single species of an ancient human-relative discovered in Africa. After the discovery was reported, a number of questions still remained. Not least among these questions was: how old were the fossils? The material was undated, and predictions ranged from anywhere between 2 million years old and 100,000 years old. H. naledi shared several traits with the most primitive of our ancient relatives, including its small brain. As a result, many scientists guessed that H. naledi was an old species in our family tree, and possibly one of the earliest species to evolve in the genus Homo. Now, Dirks et al. – who include many of the researchers who were involved in the discovery of H. naledi – report that the fossils are most likely between 236,000 and 335,000 years old. These dates are based on measuring the concentration of radioactive elements, and the damage caused by these elements (which accumulates over time), in three fossilized teeth, plus surrounding rock and sediments from the cave chamber. Importantly, the most crucial tests were carried out at independent laboratories around the world, and the scientists conducted the tests without knowing the results of the other laboratories. Dirks et al. took these extra steps to make sure that the results obtained were reproducible and unbiased. The estimated dates are much more recent than many had predicted, and mean that H. naledi was alive at the same time as the earliest members of our own species – which most likely evolved between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago. These new findings demonstrate why it can be unwise to try to predict the age of a fossil based only on its appearance, and emphasize the importance of dating specimens via independent tests. Finally in two related reports, Berger et al. suggest how a primitive-looking species like H. naledi survived more recently than many would have predicted, while Hawks et al. describe the discovery of more H. naledi fossils from a separate chamber in the same cave system. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.24231.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Hgm Dirks
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.,Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Eric M Roberts
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia.,Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | | | - Jan D Kramers
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa.,Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
| | - Anthony Dosseto
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Mathieu Duval
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia.,Geochronology, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH), Burgos, Spain
| | - Marina Elliott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Mary Evans
- School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
| | - Rainer Grün
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia.,Research School of Earth Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
| | - John Hellstrom
- School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Andy Ir Herries
- The Australian Archaeomagnetism Laboratory, Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Renaud Joannes-Boyau
- Geoarchaeology and Archaeometry Research Group, Department of GeoScience, Southern Cross University, Lismore, Australia
| | - Tebogo V Makhubela
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Christa J Placzek
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Jessie Robbins
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Carl Spandler
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Jelle Wiersma
- Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Jon Woodhead
- School of Earth Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
| | - Lee R Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, South Africa
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Cognitive Functions: Human vs. Animal - 4:1 Advantage |-FAM72-SRGAP2-|. J Mol Neurosci 2017; 61:603-606. [PMID: 28255958 DOI: 10.1007/s12031-017-0901-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2017] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
With the advent of computational genomics, an intensive search is underway for unique biomarkers for Homo sapiens that could be used to differentiate taxa within the Hominoidea, in particular to distinguish Homo from the apes (Pan, Gorilla, Pongo, and Hylobates) and species or subspecies within the genus Homo (H. sapiens, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, H. erectus, and the Denisovans). Here, we suggest that the |-FAM72-SRGAP2-| (family with sequence similarity 72/SLIT-ROBO Rho GTPase activating protein 2) gene pair is a unique molecular biomarker for the genus Homo that could also help to place Australopithecus at its most appropriate place within the phylogenetic tree and may explain the distinctive higher brain cognitive functions of humans.
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Dirks PH, Placzek CJ, Fink D, Dosseto A, Roberts E. Using 10Be cosmogenic isotopes to estimate erosion rates and landscape changes during the Plio-Pleistocene in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. J Hum Evol 2016; 96:19-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2015] [Revised: 03/05/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Dirks PHGM, Berger LR, Roberts EM, Kramers JD, Hawks J, Randolph-Quinney PS, Elliott M, Musiba CM, Churchill SE, de Ruiter DJ, Schmid P, Backwell LR, Belyanin GA, Boshoff P, Hunter KL, Feuerriegel EM, Gurtov A, Harrison JDG, Hunter R, Kruger A, Morris H, Makhubela TV, Peixotto B, Tucker S. Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. eLife 2015; 4. [PMID: 26354289 PMCID: PMC4559842 DOI: 10.7554/elife.09561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/10/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09561.001 Modern humans, or Homo sapiens, are now the only living species in their genus. But as recently as 20,000 years ago there were other species that belonged to the genus Homo. Together with modern humans, these extinct human species, our immediate ancestors and their close relatives are collectively referred to as ‘hominins’. Now, Dirks et al. describe an unusual collection of hominin fossils that were found within the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star cave system in South Africa. The fossils all belong to a newly discovered hominin species called Homo naledi, which is described in a related study by Berger et al. The unearthed fossils are the largest collection of hominin fossils from a single species ever to be discovered in Africa, and include the remains of at least 15 individuals and multiple examples of most of the bones in the skeleton. Dirks et al. explain that the assemblage from the Dinaledi Chamber is unusual because of the large number of fossils discovered so close together in a single chamber deep within the cave system. It is also unusual that no other large animal remains were found in the chamber, and that the bodies had not been damaged by scavengers or predators. The fossils were excavated from soft clay-rich sediments that had accumulated in the chamber over time; it also appears that the bodies were intact when they arrived in the chamber, and then started to decompose. Dirks et al. discuss a number of explanations as to how the remains came to rest in the Dinaledi Chamber, which range from whether Homo naledi lived in the caves to whether they were brought in by predators. Most of the evidence obtained so far is largely consistent with these bodies being deliberately disposed of in this single location by the same extinct hominin species. However, a number of other explanations cannot be completely ruled out and further investigation is now needed to uncover the series of events that resulted in this unique collection of hominin fossils. DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09561.002
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul H G M Dirks
- Department of Earth and Oceans, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Lee R Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Eric M Roberts
- Department of Earth and Oceans, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia
| | - Jan D Kramers
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Patrick S Randolph-Quinney
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Marina Elliott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Charles M Musiba
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Steven E Churchill
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Darryl J de Ruiter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Peter Schmid
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Lucinda R Backwell
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Georgy A Belyanin
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Pedro Boshoff
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - K Lindsay Hunter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Elen M Feuerriegel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Alia Gurtov
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - James du G Harrison
- School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Rick Hunter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Ashley Kruger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Hannah Morris
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Tebogo V Makhubela
- Department of Geology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Becca Peixotto
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Steven Tucker
- Evolutionary Studies Institute, National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
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22
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New cosmogenic burial ages for Sterkfontein Member 2 Australopithecus and Member 5 Oldowan. Nature 2015; 522:85-8. [DOI: 10.1038/nature14268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Accepted: 01/27/2015] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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23
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Physiological and psychological effects on high school students of viewing real and artificial pansies. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2015; 12:2521-31. [PMID: 25723647 PMCID: PMC4377915 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph120302521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/26/2015] [Revised: 02/14/2015] [Accepted: 02/17/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The relaxation effects of gardening have attracted attention; however, very few studies have researched its physiological effects on humans. This study aimed to clarify the physiological and psychological effects on high school students of viewing real and artificial pansies. Forty high school students (male: 19, female: 21) at Chiba Prefectural Kashiwanoha Senior High School, Japan, participated in this experiment. The subjects were presented with a visual stimulation of fresh yellow pansies (Viola xwittrockiana “Nature Clear Lemon”) in a planter for 3 min. Artificial yellow pansies in a planter were used as the control. Heart rate variability was used as a physiological measurement and the modified semantic differential method was used for subjective evaluation. Compared with artificial pansies, visual stimulation with real flowers resulted in a significant decrease in the ratio of low- to high-frequency heart rate variability component, which reflects sympathetic nerve activity. In contrast, high frequency, which reflects parasympathetic nerve activity, showed no significant difference. With regard to the psychological indices, viewing real flowers resulted in “comfortable”, “relaxed”, and “natural” feelings. The findings indicate that visual stimulation with real pansies induced physiological and psychological relaxation effects in high school students.
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